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“Wood” You Mind?
Carpenters are masters of wood and the tools they employ to work with wood. It takes years of practice and hard work to achieve a thorough understanding of the many techniques and methods used to create the most beautiful and durable constructions. Here are ten considerations about wood materials that a carpenter takes into account when planning a project.

AGING:
Woods differ by their aging processes, which can affect the way a carpenter goes about construction. Some woods expand over time, while others shrink. Some become brittle and some darken with time. Carpenters must account for all of these considerations when planning a project. Aging will also affect repairs. When repairing a damaged plank in an aging wood floor, the color of the new plank won’t match for the first few years. A carpenter must be able to anticipate and accommodate the particular changes characteristic of the raw wood he or she is using to make effective repairs.

AROMA:
The aroma of a wood can make it ideal for specific projects. Woods often have a signature scent that may fade over time, but many woodsy smells have benefits beyond what meets the nose. For example, Aromatic Cedar is a deterrent to moths and other burrowing pests; this makes Aromatic Cedar a favorite material for the construction of wool clothing storage trunks and closets. Sandalwood is a wood favored for its relaxing scent, and it is often used in bathrooms because its scent tends to become stronger around heat and moisture. Zebrawood’s smell is described as spicy, unpleasant and garbage-like unless it’s dry, so it would be a less desirable choice for humid environments.

CLIMATE:
Woods tend to do best in the climates from which they are harvested. Woods planted and cultivated in warm, moist climates such as the tropics may become dry and brittle in colder, drier climates. This can lead to splintering, cracking and breaking. Woods that grow in cold, dry climates may become soggy and susceptible to burrowing mites in warm, moist climates. For these reasons, a carpenter must consider the ideal climate for a given wood when planning to embark on any new project.

COLOR:
The color of wood contributes to a carpenter’s plan for the visual aspects of a particular project. Woods come in many shades from white to black, blonde to brown, red to purple, and everything in between. Carpenters stain woods to adjust shades subtly, and sometimes use paint to dramatically change the appearance of finished projects. Purpleheart wood is famous for its purple tones, Ebony is known for its jet black, almost grainless, appearance. Woods can be combined to create delicate accents and veneers – thin layers of decorative facing that are applied to a different core material.

DURABILITY:
A carpenter must consider the use of his or her final product when selecting the appropriate wood. Wood floors must be very durable, as they experience foot traffic over many years, whereas the construction of theater sets, which are typically temporary, needn’t be made of the most durable material. For theater sets, the least expensive and lightest woods are often the ideal candidates. The most durable woods are typically more expensive; therefore, the final use and budget of the product will determine how much a carpenter must pay for raw materials.

EXPENSE:
Woods are harvested in specific areas. Some trees grow at high altitudes on mountaintops; some thrive in low-lying areas or plains; others are only found in rain forests and jungles. The cost of purchasing wood will vary depending on how difficult it is to raise and harvest particular trees, how heavy the wood is for shipment, how far it must travel to be purchased, and what types of treatments it must go through to pass through borders of different countries. Some trees are endangered, or extremely rare, and are therefore very expensive to acquire. Examples of expensive woods are Koa, which only grows at high elevations in Hawaii, and Rosewood, of which two varieties are already extinct and the rest endangered. Inexpensive woods are grown in many locations and are easy to cultivate. Pine is one of the least expensive of the commercial woods available.

FINISH:
Once a carpenter completes a piece’s construction, he or she will often apply a varnish. This will give the product smoother textures and appearances and can also protect wood surfaces from wear and tear. Some wood products do best unfinished. Cedar is a good example of a wood usually left unfinished, as it loses its coveted aroma when covered by a varnish. Deciding how to finish and if to finish are very important steps in the completion of any carpenter’s work.

GRAIN:
The grain is the pattern, direction or arrangement of the fibers in wood. Many woods are named for their grain. One example is Bird’s Eye Maple, a wood in which the fibers create a pattern that looks like hundreds of bird’s eyes in a square foot of raw material. Zebrawood’s grain is reminiscent of zebra stripes. The most interesting grains can make a wood very coveted, expensive and in some cases, even endangered. Carpenters sometimes use woods with special grains as decorative elements in their projects.

POROUSNESS:
Woods range from very dense to very porous, depending upon how tightly the wood fibers are bound together. Density or porousness can determine whether a particular wood is suitable for a given job. Porous woods are best for light projects, such as the construction of lamps, kites and toys. Porous woods do not hold varnishes as well as dense woods. Porous woods also tend to attract pests such as termites and red ants if exposed to the outdoors, and therefore do not make good material for the construction of homes and buildings.

WEIGHT:
The weight of wood can determine whether or not it is suited for the construction of particular products. Balsa wood is the lightest commercial hardwood available, which makes it ideal for the construction of boats, floating toys, model airplanes, and theater production sets; it floats, flies and is carried easily. The South African Black Ironwood is the heaviest commercial hardwood available and is used to create the sturdiest pieces. It is tough on tools and expensive to ship; therefore, it is often used to create small durable pieces such as knives and canes. Due to its density, it does not float and would not be the right choice for building a canoe!

Hit the Nail on the Head

• Hammer away! With adult supervision, try your hand at building something. Start small: a birdhouse or mailbox. Build model airplanes or boats. Make small wooden structures out of toothpicks or popsicle sticks and see how they handle weather, water and wear.
• Put two and two together. Pay attention in your math and science classes, especially arithmetic, geometry and physics.
• Be a tool. Familiarize yourself with different types of wood and tools. Try to determine why certain constructions in your environment have visible fasteners and others do not. Visit your local library and use the Internet to learn about how carpenters work. Go to a hardware or home store and talk with a sales associate about the tools and materials they sell.
• Chop-chop. Get involved with carpentry classes. If your school has a woodshop class, sign up! You can also search on the Internet to find local groups involved in carpentry, such as Habitat for Humanity, which accepts volunteer carpenters to build homes for families. They supply everything, so it doesn’t cost you anything and gives volunteers a great sense of contribution and accomplishment, along with a chance to learn about carpentry.
• Search the Internet with keywords CARPENTRY FOR KIDS, VOLUNTEER CONSTRUCTION, ARCHITECTURE FOR KIDS, CARPENTRY CONTESTS and CONSTRUCTION MODELS.
• Building and bonding. Find someone to work with. Even if you’re both learning from scratch, building something can be a great way to spend time with a parent or friend.
• Master help. Professional carpenters often take on apprentices who volunteer their assistance in order to learn the trade. Apprentices will assist by prepping wood, sanding, finishing, measuring, etc. Have your parent or guardian help you search your local area by phone book or Internet for a master carpenter who may be willing to take you on as his or her apprentice.

Measure for Measure
Most carpentry projects first require drafts – drawings with measurements and weight requirement information – from which a carpenter can plan construction. Because the final product is three dimensional, the drawing must include measurements for height, width and depth for each piece of wood used. Fasteners such as nails, screws and support brackets must be listed and oriented as well. In this activity, you are going to produce drafts from carefully observing finished constructions.

First, choose an item in your home that is made of wood. It will be easiest to begin with something moveable so that you can view it from every side. This can be a bookshelf, bed frame, chair, toy box – whatever.

On each of six pieces of paper, draw six sketches of the item, each showing the item from a single side or perspective. One sketch will show a view of the item from the left, one from the right, one from the back, one from the front, one from the top and the other from the bottom.

Begin each drawing with the overall picture view or facade, then add the details. Be sure to mark the joints carefully – where the pieces come together and how. Do they meet at an angle? Which piece sits below the other? Where the pieces overlap, draw the edge of the under-piece as a dotted line and the edge of the over-piece as a solid line. When you put your drawings together, every side and piece of wood should be accounted for.

Next come measurements. Using a ruler, take measurements and note the results on each of your six drawings. For each piece of wood, mark its three dimensions: length x width x depth (e.g., 4” x 9” x 13”). Then mark each fastener and its type: nail, screw, track, tack, glue – whatever you find. Indicate the placement of the fastener by drawing the over-side fasteners as solid shapes (colored-in) and the underside fasteners as hollow outlines.

For each drawing, label the wood pieces with sequential letters (A, B, C) and the fasteners with ascending numbers (1, 2, 3). Make sure that each piece is labeled consistently from drawing to drawing, so that wood piece A is the same piece on every drawing.

Indicate for yourself whether there appear to be different types of wood used in a single construction. If so, label one type of wood with capital letters and another with lowercase letters.

Next, on a separate sheet of paper make a list of all of your pieces and fasteners. This should be easy now as your elements should be alphabetical and numeric. Then add any other type of material used, such as wood glue or paint.

Lastly, ask yourself important finishing questions to help you understand your overall project:

• Is one piece required to hold more weight than another?
• Is one piece more visible than another, and therefore more decorative?
• Has one part of the construction worn away more quickly than another? Why or why not?
• Has the piece been carved?
• Is it finished with a lacquer?
• Does it have an aromatic quality?
• Is the color of the wood natural or is it stained or painted?
• What other observations can you make about the construction?

You should now have an accurate account of your piece from which a duplicate could be modeled. If you have the materials, tools and a willing and capable guardian, you may want to try a twin construction. But whether or not you can make a duplicate piece, completing your drafts has certainly afforded you a thorough understanding of how a carpentry project is planned and executed.

Q. What was your most challenging job? What was so challenging about it, and how did you address the difficulties it posed?

Brian B., who has been doing carpentry in the New York area since 1998, says:

One of my biggest challenges as a carpenter was putting an addition on a client’s deck. It was particularly difficult because the ground where the addition was going was sloped. I had to either fill the area with dirt and secure the new earth from erosion by creating a frame made of a more sturdy material such as concrete, or make really long support beams and attach them to the existing deck with heavy duty fasteners and brackets.

If I chose the option of long support beams, I would need twice as much lumber and expensive brackets. I decided that leveling the ground would be a less costly and more reliable option. It would also be safer, since it would not require a drop off at the edge of the deck. The most difficult aspect of this part of the job was making sure the new deck would be level when finished. I also had the challenge of matching the wood to the existing deck. I cut a small sample of the existing deck and took that with me when I selected the new wood for the addition. Because the addition would be exposed to weather, I could depend on the wood settling and changing more quickly than it would if it were used indoors, so I found an almost perfect match and was fairly certain that after staining, the difference in woods would be almost invisible.

The deck addition turned out great and nobody can tell where the new section was added. After the owners did a bit of landscaping along the edge, it now looks like the deck was always as large as it is now.