We often hear about the shrinkage of wood and it is a familiar thing, where the wood will also shrink if we do not take good care of it. Shrinkage of wood itself is an event in which the condition of the wood experiences a water loss below the saturation point of the wood fiber. Did you know that in the shrinkage of wood there is a process of evaporation of water in a cell wall below the fiber saturation point which occurs in a very fast period of time if the wood is in a place that does not have good air circulation.
As a result of this reduction in water, the wood will have a wooden wall that shrinks and dries. We can also often see as if the wood is shrinking. Whereas shrinkage in wood will affect the dimensions of the wood, as yesterday we discussed about stabilizing wood dimensions.
picture 1. shoreline Logs Closeup stock photo
Source : (www.istockphoto.com)
Did you know that many types of wood have a high shrinkage if the wood is dry? Dimensional changes in wood experience three directions, namely longitudinal, radial, and tangential.
The longitudinal direction of shrinkage ranges from 0.1% – 0.2% normally, and the radial direction ranges from 2.1% – 8.5%, and the tangential direction ranges from 4.3% – 14%. (Dumanauw, 1990).
With this we have to look at the effect of MC on the point of expansion and shrinkage in wood, with this the wood must be oven-processed. If we carelessly measure the degree of drying, this will have an impact on the wood, which is cracked and brittle.
If you know the increase in lignin in wood will also decrease shrinkage,
Ways to prevent wood from shrinking are :
1. Pay attention to the air circulation of the wood in storage, if the wood has formed furniture then make sure your wood furniture is in a place that has good air circulation and is not humid.
2. Do a good drying method according to wood type standards, if you put wood in the oven, you must know and measure the measurement standards and see the effect of MC. Dry the wood at a steady rate so that the shrinkage will be relatively less.
3. Use a coating material that can stabilize the moisture content, to prevent changes in the moisture content of the wood, such as covering materials when finishing. Because this can inhibit water changes in the wood.
Reference :
Wood Shrinkage Direction:
Dumanauw,J.F.1990.Mengenal Kayu.Kanisius.Yogyakarta