What is made from birch boards?

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Birch is a tree that grows widely in our country, so boards made from it are quite common and are used to perform a variety of tasks. In this article we will look at all the main features of the material, talk about its advantages and disadvantages, so that you can understand the issue as best as possible.

In the photo: birch parquet boards are very popular due to their attractive structure

general characteristics

Birch is a deciduous tree and shrub species. Trees are most widely represented, but shrub forms are also found. Scientific name Betula, birch family. In nature, there are more than a hundred species of these tree species growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The most common in Russia are weeping birch (warty birch) and downy birch. These species occupy more than two-thirds of all deciduous Russian forests. The birch tree is rightfully considered the national symbol of the Russian people.

Read also: How to make blackthorn marmalade

Birch in nature

Birch is a tall tree, reaching a height of 30 to 45 m, with a trunk diameter ranging from 40 to 70 cm, but larger specimens are also found. Life expectancy is on average 100-120 years; there are some long-lived specimens (up to 400 years).

Birch grows on any soil, forming a powerful root system that goes deep into the ground.

Birch bark has a characteristic white color with black markings, but there are also trees with yellowish or gray bark, it all depends on the place of growth. Commercial timber is harvested from trees aged 60-80 years. Trees over 40 years old are harvested as fuel (birch firewood is considered the best).

Valuable wood species

In this article we will talk about lumber from the main tree species. Let's consider their properties, characteristics, as well as their scope of application.

Ash board

Ash is a deciduous tree of the olive family. Experts value ash timber for its strength and flexibility: thin boards can be used to make bent elements and products. Ash lumber holds up well to impacts, does not cut well, and does not crack, but on the street they rot quite quickly.

Ash wood material, characterized by high physical and mechanical properties, is widely used. The boards have a coarse texture. According to the main characteristics, ash raw materials are similar to oak raw materials, but are distinguished by increased impact strength and resistance to splitting. Ash raw materials can be used to produce veneer, bent and carved furniture parts, and propellers for light aircraft. It is also used to make skis, tennis rackets and other sports equipment. In ancient times, utensils were made from ash because it has no taste.

But you shouldn’t stain or paint ash products, because these procedures change the shade for the worse. For this reason, ash is most often used unpainted, but always thoroughly dried. If drying is carried out according to all the rules, the wood will not be susceptible to cracking. Ash materials are quite expensive; their price can be compared with oak.

The main advantages of ash after heat treatment:

Beech board

Beech wood is a very valuable type of lumber. In solid beech wood you can see a straight-grain structure and a fine, even texture. Lumber may vary in density and hardness. It all depends on where exactly the tree grew. After drying, most of the properties are improved, resulting in beech superior to oak in bending, as well as in rigidity and shear resistance by approximately 20%.

Beech wood has an unusual pattern with narrow, heart-shaped, shiny lines. By polishing, a wonderful pattern is obtained on the manufactured item. Beech materials retain their natural strength for a long time in a dry room, but they rot very quickly if exposed to moisture for a long time. As a result of these properties, beech products often need to be used only in residential buildings.

Beech serves as a raw material for creating furniture and household items. If you steam it, it bends easily, which makes it possible to make Viennese chairs from it. In addition, beech boards are used to create stairs and parquet.

Linden board

Linden lumber is most suitable for use in baths and saunas. They are characterized by low density, which means the risk of getting burned is insignificant. In addition, linden smells very pleasant. Rodents do not like this type of wood; it retains heat well. Even after prolonged use, linden does not darken or turn yellow, and the light natural color is retained. This type is very easy to process, for which it is highly valued by wood carving masters.

Birch floors. Your opinion?

Hello. We discussed here whether it is possible and how to make a floor from birch boards. The question remains open. I wanted to do this: freshly sawn birch boards are planed, then laid on the joists and the floor is used for its intended purpose. After a year, the boards dried in this way are finally processed and re-laid. The floor will be constructed using reinforced concrete. ceilings in a private house, the height from the ground is 2.7 m. A friend did this but from pine, I don’t want to use pine because it's more than twice as expensive.

Birch will lead steeper, so you need to stock up and dry it right away. And after re-laying, of course, it will serve longer and better. I didn’t do it myself - my dad did it, I just pulled the nails, I was still very young. There was a birch tree in one room, a pine tree in the other. Twenty years later the difference is quite noticeable.

Use of material

Carpenters made products from Karelian birch wood in ancient times. In the 18th century, noble princes noticed it, and as a result, furniture production began. At this time, the Russian Empire style appeared, and Karelian sets fit into the interior perfectly.

Already in the first third of the 20th century, boxes made of Karelian birch wood, photo frames and other interior items became popular. They began to produce furniture in larger quantities than before.

At the beginning of the 21st century, many production facilities working with Karelian steel were opened. It is noteworthy that work with this tree is taught right on the spot. There are no actual data and rules for its processing; as a result, training occurs in a special way. You can’t put Karelian birch on a conveyor belt, only manual processing.

In work, Karelian birch veneer is most often used, rather than solid wood. These are pieces of wood 0.8 mm thick. One large birch tree will produce about 70 m2 of this material. The cut-out parts are glued onto cheaper woods, such as linden, to produce high-quality cases and frames.

Solid wood is used for expensive, large interior items, such as watches, chess sets or writing instruments. It is the burls (ball-shaped growths) of Karelian birch that are best suited for such products.

Karelian birch responds very poorly to any mechanical influences, it is difficult to work with, one unsuccessful movement and you end up with an unsightly chip, the cut was started at the wrong angle - the entire piece crumbled. This type of wood tolerates polishing best and loves being varnished.

To prevent expensive wood from turning into a pile of chips, it should be dried properly and for a long time. Then deformed parts and cracks will not appear. If the product provides holes for screws, then they are drilled in advance.

In furniture production, Karelian birch wood occupies a place of honor; it is in demand, is expensive and is used only in exclusive finishes. It is often combined with openwork metal, which gives the products lightness, grace and originality.

Treatment

Although birch wood is dense, it can be easily processed with any tool, both manual and mechanized. Processing on planing machines, manual milling machines, turning on lathes allows us to obtain clean surfaces of a high class of cleanliness. At the same time, the likelihood of chipping on products is very low, and with certain skills it is reduced to zero.

Cutting with chisels or knives both along and across the grain allows you to get very clean cuts. The main condition for this is a sharp tool. According to these characteristics, birch wood is superior even to linden wood.

Due to the fact that birch is very finely porous and dense, it lends itself well to grinding operations. The resulting surfaces are very smooth and have a silky soft shine.

The process of gluing birch wood blanks does not cause any difficulties; the glue adheres tightly to the wood, forming strong joints.

Mordants and stains perfectly color wood, and an imitation of mahogany or walnut is easily obtained. Varnishes and polishes easily adhere to birch wood, forming high-quality external coatings.

Mechanical properties

Birch wood has high strength, resists shock loads well, and is difficult to split. Bending strength is average, bends well, elasticity is average.

Wear resistance is high, in these parameters it is almost not inferior to oak wood.

Resistance to fungal diseases and damage by insect pests is low. In the open air, birch products quickly become rotten and destroyed. Therefore, measures should be taken to protect wood from negative external factors and treatment with antiseptic materials should be used.

To dry birch wood, gentle conditions must be followed, as warping and cracking are possible. When drying under natural conditions, lumber must be bundled, which reduces the risk of warping of the workpieces. Drying under such conditions can last up to two years. In this case, the ends of the workpieces must be painted over with lime, paint, or sealed with paper using PVA glue. This will reduce cracking of the workpieces and minimize defects.

The fasteners hold well, but it is advisable to drill holes before using them. Although it is easier to screw a screw into a birch board than into an oak board, it also requires more effort.

Birch lumber

Birch

Birch wood has a uniform structure. It contains practically no natural resins. Materials made from this wood have high strength, especially under impact loads. Often used for furniture production.

Birch comes to the market in the form of round timber, lumber, as sliced or peeled veneer, and also in the form of plywood. The material is very easy to process, does not chip, is easy to paint, polish, and bends well when steamed.

Birch wood has the necessary properties that allow it to be widely used in interior finishing work. Birch boards can easily be imitated to resemble most valuable tree species.

Most of the wood produced today goes into the production of veneer and plywood. Despite its pliability, flexibility and elasticity, it is not popular among craftsmen.

Birch boards are a common lumber for work around the house. As a result of the fact that birch wood is quite elastic and soft, it is easy to process, and at the same time it is much harder than poplar or linden.

Solid dry birch board is used only for interior work. It is not suitable as a material for building a house because it is highly vulnerable to fungus and moisture.

Such properties indicate the successful use of birch veneer plywood as a material for interior decoration and furniture production, but it is not recommended for outdoor use, because this wood is susceptible to rotting and warping in conditions of high humidity. Birch plywood is much stronger than other types, easy to process and optimal for further painting or any other type of finishing.

Application areas of birch wood

Birch wood is widely used in carpentry and furniture production and for the manufacture of various household crafts.

Birch plywood is widely used by home craftsmen. Various wall shelves, openwork flower stands, and light furniture are made from it. Plywood is also used for cladding wall panels indoors, to create various partitions, and to change the interior. It should be noted that birch plywood can be successfully used instead of drywall.

Cost and characteristics of edged boards

Edged boards remain the most common material on the modern construction market. It is easy to process and responds well to finishing. When steamed, wood can bend. Edged boards are characterized by the following qualities:

great strength;
light tone, making it easy to give the wood any desired shade;
resistance to decay and negative environmental influences.

Birch boards require a long drying time during production - at least 10 days, the average period is more than 3 weeks. During this period, a humidity of 12% is achieved. Expensive flooring and premium furniture are made from Karelian birch boards.

The material is recommended for use on the upper part of the heated floor. Even after thorough drying, there is still a risk of shrinkage and deformation due to high humidity in the room.

Distinctive features of the birch tree

The structure of the array is noticeably strengthened thanks to proper processing and special drying. Wood is characterized by antimicrobial qualities, which make it possible to produce various pieces of furniture.

The smooth texture and its pleasant natural shade allow you not to paint the array, but only to cover it with a layer of protection. Sometimes the wood is whitened to emphasize the originality of the structure. When painted, birch imitates different types of wood.

Karelian birch is often used for the production of luxury furniture. A bed made of such material can last more than 30 years, and a set even longer. The service life of other types of birch wood is approximately 10 – 12 years.

Birch processing

In a country rich in natural birch forests, only 10% of the felled trees are used. A fairly large part is sold abroad in the form of round timber, while the processing of birch wood is only now beginning in the Lower Angara region.

From it you can make:

pyrolysis briquettes;
wood pellets;
cellulose;
furniture panels;
plywood;
veneer.

So far this production has not been put on a wide scale and Russia is still only a supplier of raw timber. Thus, in the country there are only a few manufacturers of laminate, including those based on birch wood.

Disadvantages of a birch house

The suspiciously low price of birch timber actually turns out to be quite justified - this material is of little use for full-fledged construction of houses, especially for buildings in which year-round living is expected. Here are two key disadvantages:

l This tree, first of all, perfectly absorbs water, which significantly increases the likelihood of the development of fungi and mold on a newly built house.

l Shrinkage is also worth mentioning. Many people refuse wooden houses because of their impatience and unwillingness to wait for complete shrinkage, but a birch house dries out 3 times longer than traditional pine or maple, which cannot be compared! In this case, you will have to “freeze” finishing work for at least a year or two. These two significant drawbacks do not allow building houses from this material, no matter how accessible it may be.

Despite this, unscrupulous companies try to sell birch houses cheaply to gullible buyers, carefully masking problems or trying to avoid them. Of course, you can constantly treat your house with special solutions that protect it from insects and bacteria, you can use only the highest quality batches of birch, but is it worth it? In order for a house to last for decades, you will have to spend additional money on high-quality protection from aggressive environmental factors, and these costs, together with construction, are comparable to building a house made of coniferous wood, which is free from many disadvantages.