Wood in Australia
Types,
Properties and Uses
by Keith R Bootle
(Australian Publication)
New Updated Edition
(2005)
Softcover
140 x 220mm
452pp
Published by McGraw-Hill Book Company Australia, Roseville NSW Australia
R.R.P.$75.00
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 124
Keith R Bootle's Wood in Australia has been revised and updated.
First published in 1983 it has been reprinted many times but never revised (after a working life with NSW Forestry, K R Bootle died in 1992). The book's continuing popularity is attributed to its wealth of information about Australian species, their properties and uses. It also contains information on many imported timbers.
In this revised Second Edition the text and layout of the original book have been kept for the most part intact. Amendments have only been made where the information has been updated to reflect changes in forestry practices, timber supply, durability rating (under the Australian Standard) and end use.
A number of organisations and individuals were involved in the review of the book, but the corrections have been written in the same style as the original, so that it remains essentially the work of Mr Bootle.
The text is laid out in the same manner as the first edition with some concession to a more modern layout.
The previous black & white photographs related to wood properties, features and defects. These have been replaced with new colour photographs grouped in a section towards the middle of the book. There are no colour photographs of timber species nor does there appear to be any additional species included in the revision.
With the release of the new edition Wood in Australia is likely to remain essential reading for anyone interested in Australian timbers for many years to come.
This book does not have pictures of timber samples, but in conjunction with The Australian Timber Buyer's Guide, it makes an invaluable resource for anyone working Australian Timbers.
Photos: Colour section
Units of Measurement: Metric
Contents
About
the Author
Introduction
Wood:
Characteristics and applications
The nature of wood
Colour changes
in wood
Mechanical properties of timber
Other properties of timber
Corrosion aspects of wood use
Drying of wood
The joining of timber components
Plywood and laminated veneer timber
Reconstituted wood products
Pulp and paper
Bending of wood
Bleaching and stain removal
Coatings
Destroyers of timber
Preservation methods
Use of wood residues
Wood as fuel
Health problems in wood processing
Some wood utilisation
aspects of tree breeding
Timber
use and performance in fire
Australian Standards for the timber industry
Colour plates section
Properties
of species and notes on uses
Species descriptions
Notes on some
uses for wood
Appendix
1 Common metric terms and conversion factors
Appendix 2 Moisture meter correction
figures
Appendix 3 Some mechanical properties
Index