C and D – what do they stand for?
The European Standard EN 338 contains a list of strength classes for structural timber. There is a set primarily for softwoods which begin with the […]
Thoughts
The journey of plywood
On 19th July members of the board of the Wood Technology Society of IOM3 were treated to a tour of the “plywood” exhibition at the […]
What is the density of wood?
This is one of those simple sounding questions that has a lot of possible answers. For now, let’s keep it simple and ask something more […]
H0 H0 H0 (Santa’s hypothesis testing)
We all know that Santa is going to find out whether a child has been naughty or nice – but how does he do it? […]
Why grading isn’t about the grade
The strength grading of timber is not about the strength grade – it is about the properties of the timber. A strength grade (or, more […]
5th percentile shear modulus?
In the current version of Eurocode 5 (EN 1995-1-1:2004+A2:2014) you can find equations that relate to the lateral torsional buckling of beams. Equation 6.31 gives the […]
Thinking beyond strength classes
This paper summarises the processes and normative requirements involved in grading of structural timber, and outlines a number of areas in which matters may be […]
Brexit and standards
Edit November 2016: You can also read about this topic, and other issues, in the RAEng publication “Engineering a future outside the EU“. The UK […]
Growth rate and wood density
In this post I am building upon Dan’s earlier discussion of the misconceptions surrounding growth rate and wood density. This post extends the discussion to include virtually […]
Rate of growth
In a previous post “Grade in Britain” we said that “rate of growth”, as a concept in timber grading, isn’t so closely linked to the […]