difficult to carve, but when used for small patterns,
flat surface without full air circulation will usually
it will outlast pine 5 to 1.
warp toward the exposed surface. The air draws
more moisture from the exposed surface than from
the underneath surface.
LIGNUM VITAE is excessively heavy, hard, and
resinous. Its color varies from light yellow to dark
The carpenter shop usually has overhead lumber
greenish-brown--at times almost black. This wood
storage racks. The bulk of the lumber is stowed in
is native to tropical America, New South Wales, and
other parts of the ship because of space limitations
New Zealand.
aboard a repair ship or tender.
TEAK is heavy, strong, and oily. It has a dark
You should maintain a careful record of the
color. It does not shrink, crack, or warp. Teak
lumber used and on hand. If possible, at least 3
comes from East India.
months' supply should be on hand.
Care and Storage of Lumber
MANUFACTURED WOOD PRODUCTS
Lumber is a tool like the saw or plane and
Laminated lumber is made up of layers of wood
should be considered as such. Store and care for
glued face-to-face (fig. 3-7). The parts glued
lumber properly. This will prevent it from becoming
together to make laminated lumber may be thinly
water-soaked, rotted, or warped. The best way to
sliced sheets of veneer or they may be sawed boards.
stow lumber is by stacking it on end in racks. This
way air can circulate around all the boards.
One advantage of laminated wood is that it can
Circulation dries the wood evenly and reduces
be any desired thickness. Also, staggering the ends
warping.
of individual layers can produce timbers that are
much longer than solid timbers.
Room for storing lumber on end is hard to find
aboard ship. Lumber usually gets stored in the next
Plywood (fig. 3-8) is thin layers of wood glued
best manner. The accepted method is to store the
face-to-face. It usually has the grain of each layer
lumber horizontally. Separate the lumber by sizes.
at right angles to the next layer. Plywood alternates
Put the l-inch lumber together, the 1 1/2-inch
grain each ply, and laminated wood never alternates
lumber together, and so on. When placing the
grain. Plywood always has an odd number of plies.
lumber in racks, you should place small strips or
Veneered stock for furniture manufacture usually
battens about 1 inch thick across the boards about
has five layers. A thick layer called the core is in
6 feet apart. This will separate the boards and form
the center. The layers that are glued on with the
a space for the air to circulate around them. Air
grain running across are called cross bands. The
circulation is important. A dressed board laid on its
surface layers or faces are placed so their grain runs
parallel to the length of the panel.
One-quarter inch and one-eighth inch fir
plywood has only 3 plies. Plywood always has an
odd number of plies--up to 15. The standard size of
Figure 3-8.--Plywood.
Figure 3-7.--Laminated lumber.
3-12