1. Materials Materials Materials 1 Materials Materials Materials

2. Materials 2 The task should take about 1 hour
Aim: At the end of this session you should know exactly what the difference is between hardwoods and softwoods and also know what the properties are of a few named varieties of timber
Materials
Using the www and a few suggested ‘urls’ create an A3 table that details the properties of the following types of timber:
Hardwoods: Beech, Ash, Elm, Oak, Mahogany, Teak
Softwoods : Scots Pine (Redwood), Western Red Cedar, Parana Pine, Whitewood ( Spruce )
You should be able to explain why the structure of hardwoods makes them better suited to using outdoors and also for some applications such as furniture and toy making

3. 3
Materials
Look at the words that appear in this list – Can you see why the ones that are there, relate to the topic of ‘ types of timber’ ?

4. Properties / Working characteristics4
Hardwoods + softwoods
Name
Source
Properties / Working characteristics
Uses
Beech
Ash
Elm
Oak
Mahogany
Teak
Redwood
Red Cedar
Parana Pine
Whitewood -Spruce
Your final chart should look something like this.
Download
© W. Richmond 2010

5. 5
Hardwoods + softwoods
Examiners can ask you questions that say “ Why is a particular materials suitable for making an item that is being used in ….. “ or they can
describe the characteristics of a material and ask you to name it.
Either way a table like this has to be remembered – and that is much easier to do if you understand what the differences between two named materials is – and that comes from knowing how the structure of hardwoods and softwoods is different.. Which of these types has more densely-packed ‘late-wood’ cells and narrower fibres ? Why do you think hardwoods are often used outdoors for furniture, etc. ?
Text © W. Richmond 2010

6. Man-made materials ~ Manufactured boards6
Man-made materials ~ Manufactured boards
MDF

7. Properties / Working characteristics7
Manufactured Boards
Name
Image
Properties / Working characteristics
Uses
Plywood
MDF
Chipboard
Block-board
Sterling Board
Try to find better images of your own – or better still take your own digital images and be 100% original
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© W. Richmond 2010

8. 8
Manufactured boards
Find out what ‘veneers’ are and how they can be used.
Which of the man made boards uses thin laminated sheets of veneer glued together with the grain of one veneer going one way and the next layer going the opposite way … and so on ?
Why does this board product always have an odd number of layers glued together ?
Draw a diagram to show how the veneers are made up into larger sheets of man-made boards
Back to start
Text © W. Richmond 2010