Wider Use Of Radiata For Joinery Suggested

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30576, 20 October 1964, Page 24

Wider Use Of Radiata For Joinery Suggested

The South Island might follow the lead of the North Island in using radiata pine more widely as a joinery wood instead of regretting the dwindling supplies of rimu, said the Director-Gen-

eral of Forests (Mr A. L. Poole) in Christchurch last evening. He was addressing the annual conference of the New Zealand Joinery Manufacturers’ Federation.

“Radiata has great potential in joinery uses,” said Mr Poole.

The New Zealand joinery industry, he said, would be well advised to analyse what progress had been made so far, what problems it faced in using radiata, and whether research was still needed to help joiners solve these problems.

Mr Poole said that, in the course of time, more and more clear grades of radiata would come on to the market.

Another pine that joiners should be looking closely at, he said, was Corsican pine, which was somewhat denser than radiata pine. “It will be coming on to the market in greater quantities because it has always been one of the main species planted by the Forest Service." said Mr Poole. It would probably be used for much the same purposes as radiata pine, but should also have some special uses. “Supplies of New Zealandgrown Douglas fir will also be increasing,” he said.

Mr Poole said the department got a surprise the other day when it attempted to pee! some very wide-ringed Douglas fir logs.

“They peeled remarkably well and the promise is that locally grown Douglas fir could be one of our main peeling timbers in the future,” he said.

Mr Poole said that New Zealand beeches must come more and more into the joinery scene, though on a limited scale. They constituted the bulk of the remaining native forests and offered prospects of management for permanent supplies. One of the main deterrents to their use in

the past had been the lack of continuous supplies of properly seasoned and graded “parcels" of timber. ‘There is no doubt that beech timbers, as a group, offer material for a wide range of uses,” said Mr Poole.

New Zealand, he said, had the prospect of growing one or two Cupressus species which produced very highquality timber. “But should we be successful, it will be many years yet before supplies of timber will be available," said Mr Poole. Mr Poole said there was no doubt that the New Zealand joinery industry was in some difficulties, and would continue to be, over supplies, especially of the highest grades of wood. New Zealand was going through a period of rapidly increasing demand in requirements, of joinery. At the same time it was coming towards |he close of major supplies of indigenous timber.