Explorations in Wood

Wood is one of the many materials and natural resources used by man. Humans have been using wood for millenniums, first as fuel for fire, then for tools and tool grips. What followed was its use for shelter and seating. Wood is not very hard so it could be shaped easily. Thus man began usinSoftwooduently. One character of wood which goes unnoticed is it’s feel which is very natural. Wood maintains an average temperature. Metal and stone can get hot or cold, restraining human touch. Wood has good tensile strength and load bearing capacity, making it a favored material to be used in furniture. We have easy access to it as trees grow on the earth surface, unlike metal which has to be mined and stone which has to be quarried. It can easily be shaped by sawing, chiseling, filing and turning. We can bend it by strip bending and steam bending. Wood has to be seasoned. This removes the moisture which is bound to the wood cells. The drying of wood can be done by kiln seasoning and air drying. By removing extra moisture from the timber it gets stabilized, this prevents warping, excessive expansion and contraction.