Choosing The Right Materials For Your Workshop: Wood And Its Properties

As there is a specific tool for a specific job, there is a specific material for a specific project. To make sure that your project will be completely worth the while, it is an important skill to be able to determine which material will be most suited for what object. There are various materials to choose from. A material has its own characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. Let us take some time to understand one of the most common material used in projects—the wood.

Wood is a material that is easy to manipulate, shape, and resize. Power tools like Milwaukee 18v will have its easy way on this material. It is cheap and flexible for any projects. Wood is also easy to replace and maintain. This makes wood a very popular material for construction. It is also used for making musical instruments, boats, furniture, and sculptures. But for us to fully understand this material and what projects would be fitting for wood, let’s get to know this material more by analyzing its properties.

ADVANTAGES
Physical Properties -- Wood is a tough material. It may be not as strong as steel, but it is more flexible and lighter. Wood is also resistant to squeezing. And unlike plastic, it is difficult to stretch wood out.

Thermal Properties – Unlike other materials, wood does not change in size and volume when temperature seizes. Wood does not expand when expose to heat. On the contrary, it dries out and gains strength.

Acoustic Properties – The lightness of wood makes it an ideal material for musical instruments and concert halls. It reduces echo and absorbs sounds.

Aesthetic Properties – Wood is a highly decorative material. And depending on the tree from where it will be taken from, it can vary in color, design, and smell. The design can be changed depending on how the wood is sliced. It can even be painted and varnished.

Environmental Properties – Since wood is taken from trees, it is a sustainable material. Trees taken down for wood can be replaced by growing new trees. Also, wood can easily be disposed through the natural process of decomposition. Variation – There are more than 5000 kinds of wood in the world. This variety will offer different options for different kinds of projects.

DISADVANTAGES
- Because wood is a natural material, it is also vulnerable to natural conditions.
- Exposing wood to moisture may cause fungi and mold to grow on it.
- Most wood is vulnerable to termites and insects.
- Wood can easily catch fire.

There are several steps on how to strengthen wood and fight these disadvantages. For instance, to prevent termites and fungi from growing on the surface of the wood, the wood can be treated with chemicals or painted. Coating the wood will also strengthen its resistance to weather conditions.

Knowing the properties of your materials and their characteristic will help you decide on how you can utilize it and maximize its potential. So before you start up those Milwaukee 18v and work up a new project, make sure to have a clear visual of the materials that you will be using to save you from possible problems that you might encounter.

A Piece of Wood Doesn’t Always Stay as a Piece of Wood

Trees provide mankind everything it could. Starting from its top branch and bushy leaves that gives shade, fruits that could be eaten, the oxygen people breathe, and its roots that sip the excess water when heavy rains came. Trees can also give its self in exchange of the pieces of wood—pieces of wood that could be transformed into creative and useful things for man. Trees have been doing all these for as long as they’ve been here.

Woodworkers, with their Milwaukee power tools, are able to make products and furniture unimaginably done from the pieces of wood cut from trees. Wood crafts that vary from simple four-sided center table, to more intricately designed wall decors and shelves, and to a fully functioning automobile.

They were able to make wooden furniture that lasts for a long time. Wooden furniture is known of its durability that endures through family generations. Tables and chairs made from wood are also easy to clean, wherein regular swabbing may keep it looking good for a long period of time. Wooden furniture can easily blend with the other furnishings inside the house because of its earthy tone. In addition, using wood as a material in furniture and house construction help lower heart rate and reduces stress.

Aside from using wood as a material in furniture making, amazing hands of woodworkers can also make cute toys from it. Using Milwaukee power tools, it is easier for them to cut pieces of wood into small pieces that will be used as toy parts. Making toys out from wood benefits the children’s imagination and thinking skills. Wooden toys which are not automatic and as appealing as plastic toys may look let the children think as they play. They don’t also have toxic materials that children may acquire through contact. Wooden toys vary from the different animals, vehicles, princess’ tea set, fruit slices, kitchen tools, and cars.

But a Hungarian man, Istvan Puskas, actually made a wooden care. He developed a fully functioning automobile made out of wood. There are only two things that were not made from wood in his car: the car engine that comes from a Fiat 126 and the steering wheel that came from an old Mercedes Benz. He used an old beer barrel as the fuel tank, and the frame, gears and axles are made from timber. He has built the wooden car in four months to keep him busy during winter season. Although the car can’t be registered, the police allow him to use the car in his village. He also made a three-wheeled motorcycle and bicycle all from wood as well. His motorcycle is constructed mainly from pine with horns of Grey Hungarian cattle as handle bars.

These creations, from the simple yet durable home furniture, to the cute and non-toxic wooden toys for children, and to the fully-functioning automobile and motorcycle, proves that a piece of wood cut from trees would not stay as a simple piece of wood forever. Wood crafts extend and preserve the beauty and value of trees even inside the household.