Current issue: 58(5)
A model was developed in order to describe the peeling of veneer for determining value relationship for birch veneer logs and stems. The model was based on selling prices of veneer and other products as well as processing costs. The model was utilized for determining the effect of various input variables on the log value.
According to the results, the effect of tree size was important for the value of raw material. Even knottiness had an effect although only in the higher manufacturing costs of knotty veneer were taken into account. Pruning was a method to increase substantially the proportion of knotless veneer.
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Totally 653 battens and planks sawn from butt logsof Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were chosen from 3 saw mills. The sawn goods were sorted according to normal sorting principles. In order to determine growth rate in the youth, the mean value of the average ring width was measured at the butt end at various distances from the pith.
The average ring width increased as the quality of the sawn goods decreased. The difference between the quality classes in ring width was measured between 2 and 4 cm from the pith. As the size of sawn goods, and, simultaneously, the log size increased, the average ring width increased in a given quality class. Research reinforced previous results, in which slow diameter growth of young Scots pines has been shown to reflect the good quality of sawn goods.
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A test sawing was made of 807 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saw logs of varying size and quality. The most important knot characteristic affecting the value of sawn goods was the diameter of the thickest dry knot. The new minimum requirements for pine logs were proposed on the basis of top diameter of the log and the diameter of the thickest dry and living knot.
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In order to evaluate the strength properties of boards made from small and large Norway spruce (Picea abies) butt logs, 15 small (top end diameter 13 cm) and 15 large (top end diameter 25 cm) logs were sampled from a sawmill in Finland. From each log two test pieces were made in order to measure the bending and compression strength, dry density and average ring width.
The boards from small logs were stronger and their density higher. When the differences between groups were analysed it was found that the strength was determined by the density and ring width. When the density was kept constant, the increase in ring width had a decreasing effect on the strength properties. Because there was a negative correlation between ring width and density, ring width alone had a great effect on the strength properties.
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A material of 478 birch logs were measured. The horizontal diameter was on average larger than the vertical one, the difference increasing with the increasing diameter. The reason was supposed to be the effect of sweep and out-of-roundness of logs. The difference between the actual and nominal length increased with the increasing lengths, but decreased with increasing diameter.
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At three Finnish match factories 1,629 aspen logs were measured (see Kärkkäinen and Salmi 1978). When the estimation was based on the condition of the butt cross section of a log, less than half of the logs were sound without any discoloration or decay. Based on the condition of the top cross-section, the corresponding figure was a little higher than 50%. The logs with decay were bigger than those without it. There were relatively more butt logs among the logs with decay than among the totally sound logs.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
In this study the area, 8 diameters, and 16 radii were measured of 174 discs representing aspen logs in a mill. The average difference between the largest and smallest diameter was 18 mm, or 7% of the longest diameter. The difference between the largest and smallest radius was 29 mm, or 22% of the longest radius. The diameter was on the average 2.4 mm longer than the two corresponding radii.
The exact area of each disc was measured using a planimeter. In comparison, the area based on the circle formula the diameter being the arithmetic mean of largest and smallest diameters overestimated the area by 1.7%. The results also indicated that the use of random direction in the measurement of diameter overestimated the cross-sectional area on the average by 1.8%.
The study is continuation of the earlier study where the bibliography is presented. As far as the results are comparable, they support each other.
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The material of this study consists of 1,080 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saw logs measures in two saw mills in Northern Finland. The largest and the smallest top-diameter of each log was measured under bark. According to the results, the ovalness was rather small, 1 mm or 4.9% on average. On the other hand, only 14.3% of all logs showed a diameter difference smaller than 2%. The ovalness was larger than 10% in 5.8% of all logs.
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The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which the cross section of birch (Betula sp.) and aspen (Populus tremula L.) logs differ from a circle and to test some simple methods for measuring the cross-sectional area which can be used, for instance, for determining the volume of the logs. The material consisted of 420 debarked birch disks and 240 aspen disks which were representative of the logs arriving at two factories.
The convex deficit values for the material were very small, the cross-sectional area error being in general less than 1%. On the other hand, the other parameters deviated from the circular form to quite a large degree. It was also evident that the radii measured from the piths to the surface of the wood varied considerably more in the same disk, as regards length, than the diameters measured in different directions.
It was evident that the shape of the average cross-sectional area was not in general elliptical. It thus appears that any method for measuring the cross-sectional area which is based on elliptical formula is not suitable. The method which gave the best result was that in which the cross-sectional area was taken as the average of the area of the circle calculated from the smallest diameter and that calculated from the diameter passing at right angles to it. This method also appeared to be the best for disks which deviated to quite a large degree from the circular form. The suitability of this method is increased by the fact that the relative error is only slightly dependent on the size of the disk.
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In this literature review some error possibilities in the measurement of solid volume of logs and pulpwood are discussed. Although both underestimation and overestimation can occur for various reasons it seems likely that in the stereometric measurement method the real volume is underestimated, at least when Huber’s formula is applied, and the respective middle form factors are too low. Numerous results of empirical investigations are presented in the paper, too.
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The present paper presents studies on the influence of some relatively common defects of Scots pine logs in Northern Finland on both the sawing yield and on the quality of the sawn goods. The study was based on test sawing of 25 logs for each of the defects (upright limb, heart shake and various kinds of wounds and scars) at Karihaara sawmill. The yield was graded into grades used for export timber according to the system of the sawmill. The proportion of the different export grades (U/S), fifths, sixths and culls) were used as characteristics together with the ratio of raw-wood consumption expressed as cu.ft/std.
Upright limbs occurring in a piece of sawn timber was shown to lower its quality to fifth grade in 43.5%, to sixth grade in 46.8% and to the category of culls in 6.5% of all cases. Only 3.2% of the cases the piece remained in U/S-grades. The size of the upright limb was the most important factor lowering the quality and affecting the ratio of raw-wood consumption.
Heart shakes are relatively common defects in pine logs deriving from over-mature trees. The quality-decreasing influence on the sawing yield depends clearly on the length of the shake in the cross-section. The same characteristics also decreases the ratio of raw-wood consumption. In addition, twisting and star shakes are considerably more harmful than straight ones. If rot occurs in connection with shakes, the places marred by the shakes are only capable of yielding sixth-grade sawn goods or culls.
Scar encountered in logs affect the sawn yield and its quality to quite a varying degree, but these defects themselves may also vary considerably both in size and quality. The length of the scar is highly significant as a quality-decreasing factor. If, in addition, rot is encountered, the defect is of a severe nature.
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The aim of the present study was to find the factors influencing the distribution of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) logs on various grades with special stress on the effects of the grade on the value of logs. The material was obtained from ten sawmills located in Southern Finland by grading a total of 13,559 logs.
The results showed that knottiness in its different forms of appearance is the most important factor influencing the quality of spruce logs. Its significance is clearly greater in spruce than in Scots pine saw logs. Among the other defects, the most common are crooks. Even scars and decay occur to a considerable degree, but other defects seldom affect the grade. The quality of butt logs is markedly better than that of top logs. Both in butt and top logs the smallest logs in diameter are of poorer quality. However, in the largest diameter classes the quality begins again to decrease.
The difference in the quality of logs of the same grade at various sawmills is very small. The results of grading at varying times at the same sawmill show greater differences than can be observed between different sawmills. However, the logs of sawmills that procure the timber from coastal areas and islands are inferior to those which procure the timber from the mainland.
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Wood demand and practices in the marking of trees for cutting have affected the silvicultural state of the forests of Finland in the early 1900s. The aim of the study was to study the development of timber sales and the marking of trees for logging, with a special emphasis on variation in the volume of the sales and assortment range. The study is based on statistics of the District Forestry Boards and Forest Management Associations about timber marked for cutting in 1931-1953.
The professionals in the District Forestry Boards and Forest Management Associations have marked annually in average 9 million stems of heavy timber and about 7 million m3 of stacked wood for sales. The volume follows business cycles, the changes in the volume of stacked wood being larger than of heavy timber. When demand was high, the number of professional workers limited the supply of wood. There were large differences in the volumes marked within the country. The share of small diameter stacked wood has increased since 1930s compared to heavy timber.
The article includes a summary in German.
The wages of logging and haulage has been dependent on the decisions of foremen. The aim of this study was to provide better insight on how working conditions in a logging site affect productivity of the work. Six working sites operated by Forest Service, Veitsiluoto Oy and Kemi Oy in the communes of Salla, Muonio and Kolari in Lapland were studied. The forests in the area were mostly Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.).
The effect of average volume of the stems, the average daily haulage over distances of various lengths, density of the stand and shape of the stem on effectivity was calculated. The size of the team was of considerable importance to the felling and haulage result in the Northern Finland where the feller assists in loading of the logs. One of the aims of the study was to find out what size of team is most advantageous for each haulage distance. The results show the optimum distance of haulage for teams of different sizes.
The article includes a summary in English.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation discusses accuracy of the quality grading of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saw logs suggested by professor Ilmari Vuoristo based on a data collected by Valtiala. According to the study, greatest inaccuracies in the grading by visual inspection was caused by differences between the evaluators.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
Quality grading has been rarely used in pricing of saw logs due to lack of knowledge on how the quality of logs affects the value of the sawn wood. This presentation discusses the subject based on unpublished data professor Ilmari Vuoristo collected in 1930s on effects of timber grading on the quality and value of sawn wood. The quality classification developed by professor Vuoristo is presented.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes benefits of the qualitative classification of saw logs to forest owners and forest industry.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes the uses and principles of different kinds of grading of saw logs.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes the grading of sawn timber for export and domestic use, and suggests improvements to grading of the sawn products in the saw mills to better answer the needs of export.
Silva Fennica issue 52 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1938. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes the conditions according to which the state can reclaim valuable timber-trees on forest land which ownership is transferred to landless population in settlement work.
Majority of the timber floated in Finland has been floated loose. Repair of the floating channels in the end of 1800s decreased the amount of sunken logs and loss of timber during the transportation. The increase of floating of pulpwood and other small timber has later increased the number of sunken logs. More information is needed on the amount and quality of floated timber, also the floating channels should be classified. A detailed study plan to investigate how big proportion of the timber is lost during floating, which factors influence the sinking of timber, and how the timber dries in the forest depots is presented. A classification of timber by its floatability is presented.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The objective of the present investigation was to clarify the profitability of pruning silver birch (Betula verrucosa, now Betula pendula Roth) in the growing of raw material for veneer industry. Calculations were made on the grade, value, and price of pruned and untreated butt logs as well as on costs of pruning and the development of pruned trees.
The grade distribution of unpruned veneer butt logs, the grade distribution of the veneer yield, and consequently, the value of veneer yield and log prices at the plant are considerably better than those of average logs. The grade, value and price increased with increasing diameter. The value and price of pruned butt logs depended primarily on the difference between the turning pruning diameters, and their increase with decreasing pruning diameter and increasing turning diameter. The value of pruned butt logs is always considerably higher than that of unpruned logs. The increase in the value correlates to the pruning and turning diameters, and is, for example, in rotary-cut logs which have been pruned when 10 cm in diameter 80–130%.
Pruning increases the stumpage in naturally regenerated silver birch stands on Oxalis-Myrtillus site by 2,000–3,000 Fmk/ha when employed at 20 years of stand age and rotary cutting at 60–80 years of age respectively. The average pruning costs on Oxalis-Myrtillus site are 51–57 Fmk/ha.
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A time study was conducted in saw log harvesting site in state forests of Evo in Southern Finland in 1934. Felling was performed in teams of two loggers. Two teams were observed. The work was divided into several stages of work: felling, branching, cross-cutting, barking and making of top log. On the site grew Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.).
The daily working hours not including breaks was in average 5 hours and 33 minutes. The most time-consuming stage of the work was barking of the stem (55% of working time for Scots pine and 47% for Norway spruce), followed by felling (22.5% for pine and 19.4% for spruce), branching (11.7% and 21.6%) and cross-cutting (11.3% and 11.8%). Temperature affects barking strongly. Scots pine is slower to bark than Norway spruce. Similarly, butt and middle logs are slower to bark than top logs. It took in average 79.02 min to process one solid m3 of timber with bark and 91.45 min without bark.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
Due to shortage of large logs, sawmill industry has been forced to buy also smaller logs, which also pulp industry uses as a raw material. Sawmills must be careful in the pricing of the logs, because profitability of sawing of timber depends on the size of the logs. These industries use different measures when they buy timber: pulp industry uses piled measure in meters, while saw logs are measured individually in cubic feet. The aim of the study was to develop sets of figures on technical cubic measure of a saw log and its relation to a piled cubic meter from the same log used as pulp wood. In addition, the effect of form class on the measures was studied.
The relation was assessed for trunks that had good, mediocre or unfavourable form class, which distinction is easy to make for a forest worker buying timber. The relations can be used by a buyer of saw logs or pulpwood who need to compare the prices or when the seller of the wood compares the offers.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The aim of the study was to find out the ratio of raw wood consumption and the quantity and quality of the sawing yield using circular saws. The unit of study was one single log, the Norway spruce logs were divided into two grades and Scots pine logs in three grades. The principal material of the study was collected in 1950-51 using four types of saws of type EKA-50. The data consisted of 1,690 logs.
On the basis of the material, the efficiency of centre-piece sawing was 63.9% of the technical volume. On the average, 32.1% was unsorted goods, 11.5% fifths, 19.1% sixths and 1.2% culls. For spruce, the efficiency was superior to pine, which means that the consumption of raw wood for preparation of one standard of sawn goods is smaller in spruce than in pine. The volume of side boards trimmed reached about 2% of the total log volume. The efficiency of sawing and the ratio of raw-wood consumption were calculated both on the basis of the estimated and actual volume of trimmed goods. The raw-wood consumption is particularly good in logs of small and large top-diameter.
Goods sawn with circular saw have a characteristic shape. They are thinner at the ends than in the middle parts, and the deviation from the correct measure is larger in the first than in the last end of the pieces. They are also wedge-shaped because of the first piece sawn is thinner than the second one. The deviation from the correct measure exceeded the allowance for shrinking in seasoning. The goods are often under sized even if surplus measure occurs. In goods sawn using frame saws, however, it was difficult to discover any deviation from the correct measure.
The PDF includes a summary in English.