April 1908. J 



331 



TIMBER. 



PRESERVATIVE AGAINST WOOD 

 SPLITTING. 



It is only too well known by those in- 

 terested in the timber trade that losses 

 amounting to several thousands of 

 pounds annually are incurred owing to 

 the splitting of logs. Felled trees begin 

 to crack and split at their ends after a 

 very short period, thereby renderiug 

 useless a good portion of the wood, there- 

 fore in calculating the volume of trunks 

 and logs the parts thus affected are 

 always left out of the reckoning. These 

 troubles make themselves obvious, 

 especially in the case of beech, oak and 

 ash wood, which are more than others 

 subject to wood splitting, thus causing 

 extensive losses, which were considered 

 unavoidable because no means were 

 then known to prevent the same. 



The cause of wood splitting can be 

 easily explained when one takes into 

 consideration the structure of the timber 

 and its attitude when brought into 

 contact with humidity, Every one 

 knows that thin planks warp as soon as 

 they get dry and expand when affected 

 by the dampness of the atmosphere. As 

 the pores lie principally in the direction 

 of the fibres, it is easily understood that 

 the timber begins to dry up at its ends 

 in the first place, because the open pores 

 which are there give up their moisture 

 very quickly, whereas towards the middle 

 of the timber the moisture remains much 

 longer. Besides this, the air which 

 penetrates the pores to take the place of 

 the moisture oxidises and therefore 

 hardens the sap, which naturally acceler- 

 ates the drying-up process. Now, as 

 wood shriuks when it dries, it is quite 

 natural for the ends of the timber to 

 contract transversely, and as the middle 

 parts which are still moist cannot follow 

 this pressure, the consequence is that a 

 certain tension is brought about causing 

 the wood to split. From this point of 

 view the firm of Daniel Lorach, of 

 Mulhouse (Alsace), has, after many years' 

 experiments, introduced into commerce 

 a most efficacious means for the preven- 

 tion of wood splitting under the style of 

 "Preservative against Wood Splitting." 

 The thought that first gave birth to this 

 preparation was to prevent the timber 

 from drying up and decaying; in the 

 second place to prevent the air from 

 penetrating into the pores, thereby pre- 

 senting a surface proof against all 

 chemical actions of the atmosphere. This 



preservative surface to be a success must 

 be composed of a substance which is 

 absolutely air-proof, which has no 

 chemical action whatever in the wood, 

 and which offers a great resistance to 

 atmospherical and mechanical attacks 

 of all kinds. The preservative against 

 wood splitting which has just been in- 

 troduced into the trade by the above- 

 named inventor presents not only these 

 properties, but also tne following great 

 advantages :— 



It can be applied in the most simple 

 way by means of a brush, drying im- 

 mediately into a homogenous surface, 

 and at the same time is both elastic and 

 resistable, thus taking the place of the 

 bark. 



This preservative can be used just as 

 efficaciously with freshly hewn trees as 

 with planks of all description. If a 

 block of any valuable wood (say £10 

 worth) measuring 12 feet in length and 

 2 x 2 ft. in width, is split at both ends to 

 the depth of only 4" in., the loss amounts 

 to lis. l£d. Now, it is claimed that if this 

 preservative is used and both ends are 

 coated with same (which means in this 

 case an outlay of 2£d.) the saving effected 

 on one single log amounts to 10s. lid. 

 Considering tnat thousands of logs lose 

 part of their value through splitting at 

 the ends, it is obvious that an enormous 

 economy could be effected. 



As this preservative penetrates but 

 very liotle iuto the surface of the timber, 

 and as it does not injure the wood in 

 any way, (but on the contrary keeps it 

 in good condition), there are no draw- 

 backs to fear. 



This preservative has already been 

 used in manufacto v ies of Agricultural 

 implements, in the construction of mills, 

 in match manufactories, shipbuilding 

 works, forestry works, etc, etc., with the 

 greatest success. We had the oppor- 

 tunity a few days ago of inspecting logs 

 that had been treated by this preser- 

 vative, and similar wood in its natural 

 state, the former had not a crack in it, 

 whilst the wood that had not undergone 

 the preserving process was split at the 

 ends in all directions. 



Our readers can obtain further parti- 

 culars of the London Ageut, Mr. A. W. 

 Christian the Peninsular House, 4, Monu- 

 ment St., E C. — Timber Trades Journal. — 

 Indian Forester, Vol. XXXIV., No, 2, 

 February, 1908. 



