Place Of Engineers In Timber Industry

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31123, 28 July 1966, Page 18

Place Of Engineers In Timber Industry

The development of further innovations in the timber industry should be spearheaded by professional engineers with an awareness of the interdependence of technical innovations and economic feasibility, Mr D. L. Evans, consulting engineer to the Dominion Sawmillers’ Federation, Rotorua, said in an address to the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers last evening. He said there was evidence that both the timber industry and building and construction industries using timber, were shaking loose from the bonds of tradition as innovations were being accepted at an accelerating pace. "Old instincts, customs and traditions die hard, and we in the timber industry suffer from some inhibitions and conservative ideas that probably have little place in a ‘go-go’ society,” Mr Evans said. “We know that with some epoxy resins we can make permanent joints between timber and metals. Can we take this affinity a stage further and develop a rapid and efficient jointing system between large size timber components? “I recently learned that in Israel someone had developed a process for inducing molecular changes in the surface of wood,” Mr Evans said. “As a result, timber can be produced that is claimed to be non-combustible, and whose dimensional stability is completely independent of moisture changes." He said there were count less other innovations of which production planning, by computer marketing and research were but a few of the imminent ones whose fea sibility was proven, but whose translation was meeting with some reluctance. “Timber is not just one of our major resources in this country. Trees are an essen tial part of soil conservation and in protective forests trees in their standing form are thus performing an engineer ing function. “The establishment and maintenance of these forests i costs money. The economic

use of their end products will enable more and better soil conesrvation for the same financial investment,” Mr Evans said.

In his address, illustrated by slides and a film, Mr Evans described the uses of timber as a structural material from the earliest days of history. He said archaeologists had recently unearthed massive pine beams with tightly fitted joints in perfect condition which had remained sound for 2700 years. He dealt particularly with the use of New Zealand timbers, indigenous and exotic, timber preservation, glued lamination and fastening.