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Content
1. Introduction
2. Overview about types of distortion
3. Fact sheets containing
- Reasons for distortions
- Methods to measure distortions
- Classification of distortions
- Minimizing distortions
4. Appendix
1. Introduction
This leaflet is a part of the total outcome of COST Action E53 Quality control for wood
and wood products, which has been funded by the European Commission. Working
Group 2 in COST E53 has been supported by European Drying Group, a pool of
specialists in the field of timber drying.
Many practitioners who process or use sawn timber have to deal with distortions of the
dried material. Often information regarding this problem is missing. The aim of this leaflet
is to supply information about the issue distortion of sawn timber to those who have to
face this problem in their daily work. The information starts with an overview about the
various types of distortion. It also provides further information about the reasons, on how
to measure, how to classify and how to minimize distortions.
The leaflet is not product related. It is intended to handle distortions in a more general
manner. Nevertheless, users of this paper can easily find their own method to classify
their specific wooden products in terms of distortion.
Distortion of Sawn Timber
2. Overview
Cupping
Twist
Types of Distortion
Bow
Spring or Crook
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 3/14 Fact sheet Cupping
Fact sheet 1
Cupping
Cupping is a
Due to the curvature of the annual rings, in a flat sawn timber the bark face is
nearer to the tangential direction than the pith face. So the shrinkage of the bark
face will be higher than the shrinkage of the pith face. As a consequence the
board will cup as it dries.
During shrinkage the growth rings tend to become straighter: as shown below:
Causes
Changes in the level of cupping can occur due to MC/EMC changes in service.
Maximum cup
3 3 3 5 5
in % of the width
Cupping can also be expressed as mm depth per 100 mm width measured on the
concave side of a board. Example for classification could be as follows:
If the width is less than 100 mm, check the table and the method in the appendix.
floor
wall studs panels
beams
Maximum cup
2 2 2
in % of the width
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 5/14 Fact sheet Cupping
Do not over-dry. Try to bring the moisture content as close to the target value as
possible.
Fact sheet 2
Twist
Definition After the drying process previously straight boards are formed like propeller blades.
How to X
measure
or
x in mm
Express twist in % of the width: twist x 100 % .
width in mm
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 7/14 Fact sheet Twist
Maximum twist in % of
the width over a length of 8 8 8 10 20
2000 mm
How to For timber in joinery table 1 in EN 942 gives the following limits
classify
Quality level J2 J5 J10 J20 J30 J40 J50
not not
twist in mm/m 10 10 10 20 20
allowed allowed
Put heavy top load on stack, 180 - 1000 kg per m, e.g. weight made of
concrete.
How to Avoid over-drying! Try to bring the moisture content as close to the target
value as possible.
minimize
Apply or extend the conditioning phase in order to relax stresses.
Fact sheet 3
Bow
Timber forms a curvature over the long axis at right angles to the thickness of the
Definition
board.
Bad piling:
-
bearers and piling stickers not
aligned vertically
bearers and stickers too far apart
Curved form of the trunk
How to
measure Width
Bow
2m
Thickness
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 10/14 Fact sheet Bow
EN 942 and most hardwood standards do not specify limits for bow as these
products are normally re-sawn or machined prior to use.
Maximum bow
4 4 4 10 30
in mm / 2 m
Where bowing is the result of improper stacking, it may be possible to reduce the
bow by re-stacking and applying a steaming or stress relief schedule.
Do not over-dry. Try to bring the moisture content as close to the target value as
possible.
If the timber is prone to develop stresses increasing both temperature and relative
humidity during drying can be helpful.
Apply a stress relief or conditioning period at the end of the kiln run, particularly
when timber is to be re-sawn.
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 11/14 Fact sheet Spring or
Crook
Fact sheet 4
Spring or
Crook
Due to immediate stress relief, spring often occurs right after sawing
Rarely: internal stresses due to incorrect drying operation, for example too rapid
drying.
2m
classify < 45 mm
10 10 15 50 50
thickness
45 mm
10 10 10 20 20
thickness
EN 942 and most hardwood standards do not specify limits for spring as these
are normally re-sawn or machined prior to use.
Best practice to minimize the problem is to orientate the log before sawing to
produce bow, not spring. Bow can be more easily
corrected than spring, by correct piling (see
bow).
Avoid over-drying. Try to bring the moisture content as close to the target value
as possible.
Apply a stress relief or conditioning period at the end of the kiln run, particularly
when timber is to be re-sawn.
Appendix
Cup values were calculated according to the following formula (EDG recommendation):
2
w
cup x cup100 x
100
where cup100 is a maximum cup value for width of 100 mm and w is the width of a board.
EN 975-1
EN 1611-1
EN 14081-1
EN 518
EN 519
EN 942