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Distortion of Sawn Timber

Authors

Rainer Grohmann grohmann@fh-rosenheim.de Daniel Alon daniel-aleon@fcba.fr

Gordon Knaggs gordonknaggs@eircom.net Rastislav Lagana lagana@vsld.tuzvo.sk

Carlos Baso carlosbaso@uvigo.es

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

deformation across the width of a sawn timber.

Definition curvature perpendicular to the face of a board.


convex deformation towards the pith of the tree.

concave deformation towards the bark of the tree.

Cupping occurs mainly on flat sawn


boards.

It is inherent in the wood due to


anisotropy of shrinkage and swelling.
In tangential direction wood shrinks twice
as much as in radial direction.

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.

Re-sawing in the width of case-hardened boards (deeping) can cause boards to


cup.

Cupping is not caused by improper drying!


Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 4/14 Fact sheet Cupping

The height of the curvature across the width is


how to measured on the concave face with a 0,1mm scaled
measure device, 100 mm long, at the place where - by eye -
cupping is maximal.

For appearance grading of softwoods according to EN 1611:

G2/G4-0 G2/G4-1 G2/G4-2 G2/G4-3 G2/G4-4

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:

Quality level 100 mm width


how to
classify STANDARD 4.0 mm cup

SUPERIOR 2.0 mm cup

If the width is less than 100 mm, check the table and the method in the appendix.

Example for a product-oriented classification:

floor
wall studs panels
beams

Maximum cup
2 2 2
in % of the width
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 5/14 Fact sheet Cupping

Put heavy top load on stack, 180 - 1000


kg per m, e.g. made of concrete weight
and

Use more piling stickers than usual

If the timber is prone to develop


stresses, an increase in both
temperature and relative humidity can
be helpful.

Do not over-dry. Try to bring the moisture content as close to the target value as
possible.

Use rift or quarter sawn patterns instead of flat sawn boards.

Rift and quarter sawing patterns Types of sawn boards


How to
minimize

Cupping cannot be avoided completely!

But it can be reduced, if the recommended measures are taken.


Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 6/14 Fact sheet Twist

Fact sheet 2

Twist

Definition After the drying process previously straight boards are formed like propeller blades.

Spiral grain orientation along the axis of a stem

Cells are not oriented parallel to the longitudinal


axis of a log.

Inherent in the tree/in the wood

Often found in juvenile timber of Spruce and other species.


Causes
Boards cut close to the pith or including the pith can be severely affected.

The drying process is not the reason for twist,


although it occurs mainly during the drying process!

Put one front side tight on an even underlayer.

Measure maximum height h in a distance of 2000 mm from front side, see


picture.

Express twist in mm height per 25 mm width over a 2000 mm length of board.

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

For grading of structural softwoods according to EN 14081-1, EN 518, EN 519:

Quality level C18 > C18

Maximum twist over a


2 mm / 25 mm width 1 mm / 25 mm width
length of 2000 mm

For appearance grading of softwoods according to EN 1611:

Quality level G2/G4-0 G2/G4-1 G2/G4-2 G2/G4-3 G2/G4-4

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

Please note that EN 942 does not account for width.

Due to huge variety of requirements depending on the final product, no general


classification system for twist can be given. On demand contracting parties could
fix their special requirements following the example shown the table below:

Any other purposes STANDARD SUPERIOR

Maximum twist over a


X mm / 25 mm width Y mm / 25 mm width
length of 2000 mm
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 8/14 Fact sheet Twist

Put heavy top load on stack, 180 - 1000 kg per m, e.g. weight made of
concrete.

Use more piling stickers than usual.

If the timber is prone to develop stresses, increasing both temperature and


relative humidity during kiln drying can be helpful.

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.

Avoid small diameter logs and boxed heart / included pith.

Twist cannot be avoided completely!

But it can be reduced, if the mentioned measures are taken.


Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 9/14 Fact sheet Bow

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

Timber contains reaction wood:


Causes
- compression wood in softwoods
- tension wood in hardwoods
- both can shrink longitudinally unlike normal wood

Distorted grain around knots

Re-sawing timber containing reaction wood

Re-sawing timber containing stresses and / or casehardening

Maximum deviation in mm from the longitudinal axis on the concave side,


measured over a length of 2 m on boards placed on edge,
expressed as mm / 2 m

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.

For structural softwoods according to EN 14081-1, EN 518 and EN 519:

Quality level C18 > C18

Maximum bow over a


< 20 mm < 10 mm
length of 2000 mm

How to For appearance grading of softwoods according to EN 1611:

classify Quality level G2/G4-0 G2/G4-1 G2/G4-2 G2/G4-3 G2/G4-4

Maximum bow
4 4 4 10 30
in mm / 2 m

Use a product-oriented classification according to the following table:

product wall stud floor beam panel

Maximum bow length in mm


6 50
in mm / entire length 300

Measure bow after sawing, not after drying!

Stickers should be positioned in vertical alignment at the appropriate centres over


bearers

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.

Pre-sort, rejecting pieces containing excessive reaction wood.


How to Use more piling stickers than usual.
minimize Use heavy top load on stack, 180 - 1000 kg per m, e.g. weight made of concrete.

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

Definition The board is curved in its own plane.

The most frequent cause is


curvature of the log:

Timber containing reaction wood:

Causes - compression wood in softwoods


- tension wood in hardwoods
- leads to locally different shrinking behavior compared
to normal wood

Distorted grain around knots

Internal growth stresses, for example when fast grown

Due to immediate stress relief, spring often occurs right after sawing

Rarely: internal stresses due to incorrect drying operation, for example too rapid
drying.

Spring or crook is not normally caused by the drying process!


Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 12/14 Fact sheet Spring or
Crook

Measure maximum deviation after sawing in mm over a length of 2 m

Express result height h


in mm / 2 m:
How to
measure

2m

For structural softwoods according to EN 14081-1, EN 518 and EN 519:

Quality level C18 > C18

Maximum spring over a


< 12 mm < 8 mm
length of 2 m

For appearance grading of softwoods according to EN 1611:

how to Quality level G2/G4-0 G2/G4-1 G2/G4-2 G2/G4-3 G2/G4-4

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.

For special agreements use table shown in fact sheet 2 Twist.


Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 13/14 Fact sheet Spring or
Crook

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).

If reaction wood or growth stresses are present,


use appropriate sawing patterns to avoid normal
and reaction wood on both sides of one board.

Reject logs containing too much reaction wood.

If internal stresses due to inappropriate drying are


how to the reason for spring, apply a conditioning phase after the drying phase and / or
minimize carry out an extended storage in a climate controlled hall.

Avoid over-drying. Try to bring the moisture content as close to the target value
as possible.

If the timber is prone to develop stresses, an increase in both temperature and


relative humidity 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.

A steaming process before drying can be helpful in reducing stresses due to


growth factors.
Distortion of Sawn Timber
page 14/14 Fact sheet - Appendix

Appendix

Cup values for widths differing from 100 mm (in mm):

Quality level 50 60 70 80 90 100

STANDARD 1.0 1.4 2.0 2.6 3.2 4.0

SUPERIOR 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.3 1.6 2.0

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.

See also documents which may contain information on deformations:

EN 975-1

EN 1611-1

EN 14081-1

EN 518

EN 519

EN 942

EDG recommendation: Assessment of drying quality of timber

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