Hardwood Products

College of Agricultural Sciences • Cooperative Extension

AN EDUCATIONAL SERIES ABOUT FORESTRY FOR YOUTH ennsylvania is known for its Hardwoods vs. softwoods beautiful and productive Hardwood trees have leaves that are forests. More broad, flat, and Pthan 108 different kinds of green in the summer trees (each one called a “spe- (left). Softwood trees have leaves cies”) grow naturally here. that are narrow, called needles, and Forests provide many benefits most species stay and materials that we need. green all year round Red oak Hemlock (right). Forests are places to camp, (hardwood) (softwood) hike, fish, and watch wildlife. Forests also provide us with we need. This is why forests chemicals, building products, Log preparation. Before the wood we use to make are “renewable.” and lumber. Lumber is simply it is sawn, a log is usually run many different products. logs (sections of tree trunks) through a debarker, which re- For some of our needs, we cut into pieces, called boards. moves the bark. Debarking Forests that are well cared for remove trees from the forest. prevents wear and damage to can continuously provide the These trees go through many the saw blade from soil or many benefits and materials processes to produce paper, HARDWOODS AND SOFTWOODS stones that might be stuck in The tree species of Pennsylva- or on the bark. nia can be placed into two The sawmill also may use a categories. metal detector to find old Hardwood trees are easy to recognize because in the summer their leaves are broad, flat, By-products and green, and in the fall the Nothing is wasted in leaves change color and drop the lumber industry. Bark becomes off. Over 85 percent of landscaping mulch, Pennsylvania’s trees are hard- and sawdust is used woods, and many are valuable as animal bedding or for particleboard for making hardwood lumber. production. Softwood trees have leaves that are narrow, called needles, and most species stay green all year round. Pennsylvania’s state tree, the eastern hemlock, is a softwood.

Sawdust FROM THE FOREST Tr ucks transport the logs harvested from the forest to the log yard at a sawmill. In the log yard, people and machines sort and stack logs by species, length, and quality.

Bark From forest to lumber . . .

Loading logs for 1 Transporting logs2 Sawmill 3 processing 4 Debarking

8 Kiln-drying lumber 7 Air-drying lumber 6 Grading 5 Sawing

nails, fencing, or other metal “By-products.” The bark paper, and any excess wood objects that were attached to Where do and other by-products, such as can become fuelwood. the tree’s trunk sometime dur- sawdust, slabs, or wood chips, Pennsylvania’s Grading. Hardwood lum- ing its growth. Undetected ob- were once considered “wood harvested ber is inspected and sorted for jects could seriously damage waste.” Today, they are no its appearance and beauty. the saw blade or injure a saw- trees go? longer waste. Bark becomes This is called grading. Imper- mill worker during sawing. landscaping mulch. Sawdust is fections or “defects” like usedBark asand animal sawdust bedding or for Sawing. knots, splits, and decay may In the sawmill, a particleboard (boards made large saw cuts the curved sides, Lumber greatly reduce the value of 70% from a mixture of sawdust and hardwood lumber. The saw- or “slabs,” off the bare log to glues pressed together). ing process removes or cuts make four flat surfaces. Aided Slabs and chips produce by lasers, computers, or just Paper away some defects, but not all. their eyes, the saw operators Products 25% (called “sawyers”) evaluate each log for the lumber desired. The Red oak Maple sawyers vary the spacing of the cut in the log to create indi- Other products 5%: veneer, bats, cabin logs, vidual boards. Other saws fence stock, etc. square off edges and cut boards to length. Lumber is cut into standard thicknesses and differ- Cherry ent widths and lengths.

White oak Drying lumber. After grading, lumber is often air- dried and/or dried in a lumber dry kiln. A lumber dry kiln is a large, low-tempera- ture oven that dries the hardwood lumber over a period of several weeks. Kiln-dried wood is less likely to crack and twist out of shape.

HARDWOOD LUMBER PRODUCTS Many different products, including kitchen cabinets, flooring, household furniture, doors, window frames, decorative molding, pallets, and factory-made wooden buildings come from Pennsylvania’s hardwood lumber. Many of these products are manufactured right here in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania also exports From furniture to flooring, there are thousands of hardwood lumber products. some logs and lumber to other states or countries for Prepared by Sanford Smith, natural resources and youth specialist; further manufacturing. ful texture and color. Hard- Roy Adams, former associate professor of wood products; and Pennsylvania’s hardwood wood lumber is just one of Anni Davenport, former extension assistant in forest resources. the many products we re- lumber is among the finest Support for the printing of this document was provided by the in the world. It has beauti- ceive from renewable forests. U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry.

Appreciation to Spectra Wood, Thomas Timberland, and Deer Park Lumber Co. for providing facilities for on-site photography.

This publication is available from the Publications Distribution Center, The Pennsylvania State Univer- THE BAT CONNECTION sity, 112 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802. For information telephone (814) 865-6713.

Major league Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by Penn State Cooperative Extension is implied. baseball bats are Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of Congress May 8 and June 30, 1914, in made from white cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Legislature. T. R. Alter, Di- rector of Cooperative Extension, The Pennsylvania State University. ash lumber. This This publication is available in alternative media on request. wood is shock- The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to resistant, strong, programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authori- and relatively ties. The Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran sta- light—perfect for tus. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Willard Building, University Park PA 16802-2801; Tel. (814) 865- slugging a homer. 4700/V; (814) 863-1150/TTY.