Passion has no handicap for this wood working lover.

Feet are made for walking, and hands are made for holding. The addition of an opposable thumb on our hands offers human beings the ability to handle just about any object with ease. But that dexterity doesn’t exist in the foot.

That is, unless you’re Sentayehu Tishale. The 43-year-old woodworker who hales from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia lost his arms to polio during childhood. The limitations imposed upon him by debilitating illness propelled him into a life of begging on the streets of the Ethiopian capitol, until the love of a woman turned him around. According to the Huffington Post, Tishale’s spouse urged him to develop his mind and his artisanal skills. He taught himself to read and set out to develop his skills as a woodworker.

Today Tishale can be found building a variety of small projects for clients, including stools and even chests of drawers.

Passion has no handicap

Rare wood spotted

In woodworking hewing is the process of converting a log from its rounded natural form into lumber (timber) with more or less flat surfaces using primarily an axe. It is an ancient method still used occasionally to square up beams for timber framing.

Definitions

Hew is a general term meaning to strike or blow with a tool such as an axe or sword; to chop or gash, and is used in warfare, stone and wood cutting, and coal and salt mining in this sense. Hewing wood is to shape the wood with a sharp instrument such as an axe, specifically flattening one or more sides of a log.

 Methods

As an ancient method of timber conversion, different methods of each step in hewing have developed in history.

Prepare log

After a tree is selected and felled, hewing can take place where the log landed or be skidded or twitched out of the woods to a work site. The log is placed across two other smaller logs near the ground or up on trestles about waist height; stabilized either by notching the support logs, or using a "timber dog" (also called a log dog, a long bar of iron with a tooth on either end that jams into the logs and prevents movement). The hewer measures and locates the timber within the log on both ends and marks lines along the length of a log, usually with a chalk line.

Scoring

The next step is to chop notches every foot or two, almost as deep as the marked line using a chopping or scoring axe, called scoring.

At least three methods are used in scoring:

1) Standing on the log and swinging an axe to chop the score

2) In Germany a method of two carpenters standing on the ground with the log on trestles and swinging downward to slice the scores

3) A chainsaw is used to notch the log, the sections created by the notching are then split off using a felling axe.

Joggling or juggling

The pieces of wood between the notches are knocked off with an axe, this process called juggling or joggling. This results in a rough surface pared down just shy of the marked line. Scoring and juggling remove a fair amount of wood, make hewing easier and prevent long shreds of wood being torn off.

Hewing

Hewing is the last step in this whole process, which is also collectively referred to as hewing. Hewing is done on the logs sides with a broadaxe. Hewing occurs from the bottom of the stem upwards towards what was the top of the standing tree, reducing the tendency of the broken fibers to migrate inwards towards the eventual beam.

Further smoothing can then be done using a hand plane, drawknife, yariganna (an ancient Japanese cutting tool) or any other established or improvised means.

Modern uses

Although still used in niche modern building, salvaged hand-hewn beams are now commonly recycled as architectural details popular in new construction and renovation of homes. They are also popular as decor in commercial and restaurant spaces.

Even in Kaltimber we rarely come upon axe hewn Ulin (Kalimantan's ironwood) boards or lumber such as our picture above. It makes extra exclusive and high standing decking, flooring or architectural beams.

Source: Wikipedia – Kaltimber documentation

Equilibrium Moisture Content: who, why, when, how.

The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is the moisture content at which the wood is neither gaining nor losing moisture; this however, is a dynamic equilibrium and changes with relative humidity and temperature. Expressed as a percentage, the EMC describes what percentage of the material’s mass is made up by water. EMC is therefore determined by the inherent properties of the material and the temperature and relative humidity of the environment.

In many ways, it is more difficult to evaluate the impact of fluctuations in the environment's relative humidity than the environment's temperature because Moisture Equilibration is influenced by more variables than thermal equilibration. For example, enclosures or housing situations may act as moisture barriers and thus influence the how quickly (or how slowly) the objects are exposed to the new humidity conditions. The temperature will also influence the rate of moisture equilibration. Furthermore, there is more variation in the capacity of the individual objects or materials to control moisture equilibration than thermal equilibration.

I/ Who?

Only hygroscopic materials – organic materials that naturally contain water – are susceptible to moisture equilibration.

First, while it may seem too obvious to state, moisture equilibration is only relevant for organic materials that naturally contain water, or hygroscopic materials. Only hygroscopic materials will absorb or desorb water to equilibrate with the relative humidity of the environment. Non-hygroscopic materials – materials that do not inherently contain water - will not equilibrate with changes in the environment's moisture because they have no moisture to release, nor the nature to absorb any moisture. For example, organic, cellulosic materials such as paper or textiles will adjust to changes in the moisture of the environment (they will equilibrate) by absorbing or desorbing moisture, while inorganic materials like metal will not. Non-hygroscopic materials such as metal may be affected by the environment's moisture in other ways, (corrosion is an obvious example) but they will not equilibrate with the moisture content of the environment.

II/ Why?

Hygroscopic materials are constantly exchanging moisture with the air in the form of water vapor.

At any given moment, there is a dynamic exchange of moisture occurring between an object's core, its perimeter, and the air of the environment. The moisture is transferred in the form of water vapor by the process of diffusion. The moisture diffuses from the material into the air, then it diffuses back to the material and then back to the air. Roughly speaking, this diffusion is driven by differences in moisture content. So, when an area with more moisture comes in contact with an area less moisture, moisture is transferred from the area of higher concentration of moisture to the area of lower concentration of moisture. Because this exchange of moisture is continuous, eventually enough moisture is diffused from the air into the material (or the material into the air) that the material neither gains nor loses moisture in the exchange. At this point, the object has reached moisture equilibrium with the environment. This dynamic, continuous exchange is why hygroscopic materials equilibrate with the relative humidity of the environment.

III/ When?

When the moisture content of the material is not in equilibrium with the relative humidity of the environment, the material adjusts its moisture content to reach equilibrium.

When hygroscopic materials are moved from one humidity condition to another, (or when they are exposed to humidity fluctuations), the moisture content of the materials is no longer in equilibrium with the relative humidity of the air. Confronted with this difference in moisture content, the material will absorb or release (desorb) moisture until its moisture content reaches equilibrium with the new environmental condition. For example, if the relative humidity of the environment increases, the material will absorb moisture from the environment. In other words, if the moisture content of the air increases, the material reacts so that its moisture content will also increase. During absorption, the moisture travels from the outside of the object inward, affecting the edges and the top of the object before reaching the object's core. Similarly, if the relative humidity of the environment decreases, the material will release (or desorb) moisture into the environment. In other words, if the moisture content of the air decreases, the material will react so that its moisture content will also decrease. During desorption, the moisture travels from the inside of the object outward towards the surface.

The materials thus respond to the changes in the moisture content of the air. But, just as with temperature equilibration, the new moisture equilibrium is not attained instantly. It takes time for the material to respond to the new conditions, to absorb or desorb the appropriate amount of moisture. Only if the new humidity conditions persist long enough will the entire object –from its perimeter to its core - reach a moisture equilibrium with the relative humidity of the environment.
 

IV/ How much?
 

The amount of moisture organic materials contain is primarily determined by the relative humidity of the air.

Because hygroscopic materials equilibrate with the relative humidity of the environment, the relative humidity is the primary determinant of a material's moisture content. The amount of moisture a material contains when it has reached equilibrium with its environment is described as the Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC). Expressed as a percentage, the EMC describes how much of the material's mass is made up by water (For example, if an object is has an EMC of 8% at 60oF and 40% Relative Humidity, then there are 8 grams of water in every 100 grams of material when the material has reached equilibrium with that environment).

Not all materials contain the same amount of moisture.

V/ How fast?

The rate of moisture equilibration is influenced by each material's inherent capacity to control moisture diffusion.

As stated earlier, materials don't respond instantaneously to changes in the environment. It takes time for the material to absorb or desorb the appropriate amount of moisture to adjust to the new humidity conditions. The length of time it takes an object to equilibrate, however, depends on many variables; the inherent properties of the object, the hygroscopic nature of the material, the dimensional characteristics, and the surface exposure to the environment all influence moisture equilibration. 

VI/ So what!?

What does this "slow" rate of moisture equilibration mean in respect to environmental fluctuations?

Just because the relative humidity of the environment suddenly increases 20% does not mean the moisture content of the object simultaneously increases. In fact, if the increase is temporary, the object may not "feel" the change at all.

Knowing that moisture equilibration is a slow process gives us an important perspective on the significance of environmental fluctuations.

References:

Bigourdan, J.-L., P. Z. Adelstein, and J. M. Reilly, "Moisture and Temperature Equilibration: Behavior and Practical Significance in Photographic Film Preservation," La Conservation: Une Science en Evolution, Bilans et Perspectives, Actes des Troisiemes Journées Internationales d'Etudes de l'ARSAG, Paris, 21 au 25 Avril 1997, (Paris: Association pour la recherche scientifique sur les arts graphiques, 1997) pp. 154-164. (Open PDF file)

Bigourdan, J.-L., and J. M. Reilly, "Effects of Fluctuating Environments on Library and Archives Materials," Final Report to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, IMLS Grant #LL-80088-98, Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, Februrary 15, 2003.

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Termites vs Ulin (Kalimantan-Borneo Ironwood)

Termites craving for wood but incapable of eating it reluctantly carve our concrete!

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Reclaim Recycle Recycle Reclaim….

Definitions

Reclaim: to recover (useful substances) from waste products

Recycle: To recondition and adapt to a new use or function

According to these definitions reclaiming is the action to recover material, such as solid hardwoods in our Kaltimber operations, while recycling is the process of transforming it into something else, in our case flooring, decking, furnitures, B2B objects and others.

Using reclaimed wood is one of the purest forms of recycling in the construction industry. Demolishing one structure carefully, and then using the parts to build new ones, can have many advantages. For one thing, new lumber isn't required, so new trees don't have to be cut. For another, reclaimed wood may not have to be shaped, only transported, which saves on time and labor costs.

Consider that; it’s not just wood, it’s a wooden slice of history.

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Reclaiming or not reclaiming

Indonesia is a treasure chest of biodiversity; it is home to between 10 and 15 per cent of all known species of plants, mammals and birds. Orang-utans, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, more than 1,500 species of birds and thousands of plant species are all a part of the country's natural legacy.

The mass destruction of Indonesia's rainforests and carbon-rich peat lands threatens this and is the main reason why Indonesia is one of the world's largest emitters of climate changing greenhouse gases.

The lives of millions of Indonesians who depend on the forests for food, shelter and livelihoods are also changing beyond recognition as the forest disappears.

This destruction also threatens our wider world; peatlands are perhaps the world's most critical carbon stores, and Indonesia's peatlands are vast, storing about 35 billion tones of carbon. When these peatlands are drained, burned and replaced by plantations, carbon dioxide is released and the conditions are set for devastating forest fires, which were responsible, for instance, for Singapore's "haze wave" in 2013.

In Kaltimber we aim to provide 100% reclaimed wood by knowing the origin of all our stock.

New owner

As per December 1st 2016 Kaltimber goes back in business!

On January 1st 2017, Kaltimber will resume its activities on decking, flooring, paneling, counter-top and other B2B oriented objects (in-house design or custom design).

• Our production team; still is the same so you will continue to find this unique quality Kaltimber has to offer.

• Our sourcing team; still is the same so you will continue to find quality reclaimed hardwood from ethical and legal sources.

• Our sales team; still is the same so you will continue to find precise and professional information, quick reply and this forever smile.

We are looking forward to meet all of you to discuss and assist you on your projects, no matter how big or small they are.

We know exactly where each piece of wood comes from

Finish your wood with flair and care part 1.

Finishing wood in an appropriate way is exceedingly important if you want to get the best out of your wood. In this two-part series, we survey different types of wood finishes and look at what is right for you.

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Before and after... teak chair finished with Woca oil

I have touched on this topic before, but really it deserves a book’s worth of attention. Little information is available to Indonesian consumers about wood finishes, and what is out there is by no means comprehensive, clear, or particularly accessible. For those of you with experience in this area, you may have noticed there are limited choices available on the local market. Your average local builder will tend to offer the standard polyurethane-based finished that they know, interchangeably called “plitur” or “Mowilex” (a brand-name). Sometimes a varnish traditionally made from resins called “sirlac” (Shellac) but nowadays made from pulmerised petro-based oils is used for finishing teak. Another product we can pick up in large Indonesian supermarkets is ‘fake’ teak oil, made from to petroleum distillates such as kerosene. The good stuff is usually made with a linseed oil base.

The sheer number of timber finishes available on today’s market can sometimes be a tad overwhelming! In Indonesia we are a way behind some of the European, Australian and American advances in timber finishes, however in recent years more options have become available. I will look at these products in the upcoming issues, but first, let’s look at some basics.

There are four different ways to treat or finish wood: oil, wax, varnish or pigment (paint or stain). The first three don’t add any colour to the wood, whereas pigment does. Let’s look at some pros and cons of the various types.

1. OIL

Permeates timber cells and simultaneously seals and protects. Oils are not affected by moisture content fluctuation of wood (they are elastic). Many wood oils are plant-based and hence environmentally sounder. Types include: Unblended Wood Oils (tung, linseed, soy, candlenut, castor), Polymerised Wood Oils (specially processed oils that have been heated to help them dry faster which create a harder surface film and a more durable glossy luster) and Pigment Oil-Based Stains (contain oil which enables the stain to penetrate the wood)

2. Wax

Fills all of the cavities in the wood to achieve an even finish that is polished. Wax doesn not achieve a film on the surface, as oils do. It creates a flat surface which allows you to polish the wood. Many oil finishes benefit from a light liquid wax coating , especially floors.

3. Varnish

Creates a transparent film coating over the entire wood surface. There are penetrating varnishes and non-penetrating varnishes. There are approximately 60-70 different types of varnish out there. In Indonesia there are probably around 10 different kinds, but many different brand names. Types include: Polyurethane Coatings (generally petro chemical-based which are thinned with petroleum distillates to enable easy application. They create a glossy finish and are easy to apply, however have potential health risks as, depending on the brand, they contain a high level of solvents/ chemicals. They can crack and darken over time, and provide a surface coating only, similar to a plastic film). Resin based varnishes made from tree sap.

4. Pigment

There are two kinds of pigment: paint, which puts a non-transparent film over the wood surface, and stain, which colours the wood but leaves the grain exposed. Pigmented Paint will protect wood indefinitely; however it will cover the wood so characteristics are not displayed. Also, some paints in Indonesia contain lead. Environmentally speaking, paints are one of the worst pollutants in the world. The best solution is using timbers appropriately, i.e exterior grade timbers outside, and softer interior grade timbers inside and accept that timbers grey with age as do we.

The type of coating that you use should be determined by timber type, use, desired gloss level or appearance, and your own personal preferences. Of these, there are more ‘natural’ choices and more ‘sythetic’ solutions.  Decide on final look first, and then move on to available options.

Stay tuned for the next issue, where I will review wood finishing products available on the Indonesian market. Till next time!

Finish your wood with flair and care – part 2

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The patina and character of naturally eroded reclaimed ulin boards weather by the sun and rain over many years

Let me just go on the record by saying that it is tricky trying to work out what to finish timber with, and this is particularly so for the novice and environmentally conscious. The more I look into it and think I understand, the wider the field expands! Wood finishing is a highly complicated and somewhat scientific field. What works for one species is not necessarily the best product for another. Sometimes the best decision is NOT to finish the wood, like this naturally eroded Ulin board on the left which has a beautiful patina on the surface from years of being walked on. It has been finished by body oils seeping out through the soles of people’s feet and into the wood.

But generally speaking, for outdoor applications in particular, finishing wood is a good idea. It helps provide protection against the sun’s harmful rays and the rain. Let’s start with a little guidance. Last time we looked at the different types of wood finishes available. Pretty much all types of wood finishes fit into 4 broad classes: oil, wax, varnish and pigments. This issue surveys some higher-quality products available in Indonesia that you won’t find in your local building supplies shop.

Beeswax Food Grade Wood Polish

Manufacturer: Bio Colours
Made in: Indonesia (Yogyakarta)
Made from: Beeswax
More Info: www.bio-industries.com
Description: Food-grade wax suitable for finishing wood products that will come into contact with food.

Bio Polish Linseed Oil–Beeswax Polish

Manufacturer: Bio Colours
Made in: Indonesia (Yogyakarta)
Made from: Linseed oil & beeswax
More Info: www.bio-industries.com
Description: A natural product free from solvents. Made from linseed oil and beeswax. Apply directly on wood surface.

Bona Oil 45 (dry solids 45%)
Technical data

Manufacturer: Bona
Made in: Germany, Sweden, North America and China.
Made from: Esterified pine oil
Supplier: Little Tree Green Building Centre, Jl Sunset 1232, Bali
Description: For untreated wooden floors exposed to normal or heavy wear. Matt surface finish with lustre, longer drying time.
Made from: Pine oil base

Bona Oil 90 (dry solids 90%)
Technical data

Manufacturer: Bona
Made in: Germany, Sweden, North America and China.
Made from: Pine oil base
Supplier: Little Tree Green Building Centre, Jl Sunset 1232, Bali
Description: For untreated wooden floors exposed to normal or heavy wear. Finish is a matt surface with a lustre.

Deck Oil
Technical data

Manufacturer: Bona
Made in: Germany, Sweden, North America and China.
Made from: Esterified pine and linseed oil
Supplier: Little Tree Green Building Centre, Jl Sunset 1232
Description: Bona Deck oil is a hardening & penetrating oil designed for protection of exterior wooden deckings. It is based on pine and linseed oil and contains additives that reduce the effects of UV-radiation on the wood.

Linseed Oil

Manufacturer: Repackaged by Little Tree
Made in: Imported product
Made from: Oil extracted from flaxseed
Description: Linseed oil is a natural finish oil which polymerizes into a solid form, dries quickly, and is used to produce linoleum flooring and paints, and for waterproofing wooden surfboards.

Tung Oil

Manufacturer: Repackaged by Little Tree
Made in: Imported product
Made from: 100% pure cold pressed tung nut oil
Description: Tung oil is an extract from the seeds of the tung tree which when applied to paints and coatings polymerizes into a waterproof coating.

 

Exterior Decking Oil

Manufacturer: WOCA
Made in: Denmark
Made from: vegetable oil components
More info: Bima Radji, PT. Bhakti Artika Lestari balbali@indosat.net.id
Description: For new and newly cleaned wooden decks. Protects against UV-rays and ensures a hard-wearing and water-resistant surface.

 

Outdoor Wood Oil

Manufacturer: WOCA
Made in: Made in: Denmark
Made from: vegetable oil components
More info: Bima Radji, PT. Bhakti Artika Lestari balbali@indosat.net.id
Transparent primer for outdoor wood. Protects against UV-rays and ensures a hard-wearing and water-resistant surface.

Exterior Furniture Oil (Natural)

Manufacturer: WOCA
Made in: Denmark
Made from: vegetable oil components
More info: Bima Radji, PT. Bhakti Artika Lestari balbali@indosat.net.id
For new and newly cleaned exterior furniture. Protects against UV-rays and ensures a hard-wearing and water-repellent surface.