another wood question- for geeks only

[marc rosen]

(Please don't knock my glasses off or kick sawdust on me) Can anyone suggest a book about wood that is fairly scientific with regard to the terpenes, saps of hardwods, and any other chemistry or biological aspects of trees? How about genetic differences of trees? Pardon my science geekdom here, but I would be interested to find out such things as what the chemical structures are that make oak smell differently than walnut, or why conifer saps have differing qualities. Thanks in advance for all straight and corny responses. Marc (and no, I do not wear a pocket protector)

[squarei4dtoolguy]

Understanding Wood, a craftsman's guide towood technology, by R. Bruce Hoadley

It's available on Amazon.

Tom in KY, no pocket protectors here either!

[djs]

I would suggest you check out the forest products lab in Madison Wiscnosin:

. They might have what you are looking for. djs

[Andy]

How about a forest biology textbook? I went to a forestry school for my MS, though my program was more on the biology/genetics side than the forestry side. Any more specific questions about genetics of trees? Once you're really looking at DNA, it doesn't matter whether you're looking at DNA from a human, a tree, or a bacterium - it all works the same way, and a lot of the sequences are exactly the same, even in these widely divergent groups. If you mean tree genetics as in phylogeny and genetic relationships, I think evolutionary history of trees (or just about any other group of organisms) is pretty interesting, and I'd recommend a textbook for that too. Or just look at the evolution chapter in just about any college-level botany textbook. As far as the sap, smells, chemicals, etc., you'd probably want to look for something about forest biochemistry or tree physiology, but those are farther from my area of expertise. Hope this helps a little, Andy

[George]

That and more. Hoadley used to work there, so there's a remarkable overlap between the free Wood Handbook (PDF) and Understanding Wood.

For greater depth, visit a nearby university and check out the outdated texts they sell for a buck ninety five. Most all the information is current, it's just that the store couldn't make much money if the profs didn't specify the current edition.

Of course, it'll have to be a university where such classes are taught.

[B a r r y]

That book is _SO_ in-depth, it puts us non-geeks to sleep.

[squarei4dtoolguy]

Yep,

I keep it next to the bed. I read it in bed. I wake up and put it back on the table. Go back to sleep. Sweet dreams of microscoptic pictures of wood grain and physical characteristics of wood :-)

Tom in KY, Like the old boxer said,"When I stand, I stand tall. When I fight, I fight hard. When I eat, I eat a lot.,, but when I think,,, I go to sleep.

[Larry Jaques]

On 9 Jan 2006 18:27:33 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, "marc rosen" quickly quoth:

Hoadley's "Understanding Wood" does precisely that, marc.

"Be the change you want to see in the world." --Mahatma Gandhi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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[mac davis]

Very good! Love little twists like that....

I have a few interesting books, but the real info is here in the news group... some of the folks here have a lot of knowledge and experience and are willing to share it...

That's very important when you're doing a project and are not sure what the "next step" should be, or some other situation where you can ask a fairly specific question.. I've had help posted here within a few minutes of posting my question!

You will have some replys saying things like "read the FAQ' or "Google for it"... just browse past them and you'll find others willing to help..

I've never understood why folks that are subscribed to a news group to help people tell them to go find the information themselves...

What good would/wood the NG be if everyone said that? Maybe if we all did our own research, we could do away with news groups..

Ask questions, learn and have fun... you'll soon learn who to listen to and who to expect a "flame" from... and soon you'll find that you're answering a few, too..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Gary Dyrkacz]

I think if you really wanted to know about the chemistry of the terpenes and saps of tree, you may be stuck with finding a scientific library that has Chemical Abstracts and an abundance of chemstry relatedl journals. Many scientific monographs will contain bits and pieces reviewed, but you are still talking one heck of search. Provided you can understand the chemical literature you will probably want to be fairly selective fairly quickly. Gary Dyrkacz [e-mail] Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+

[marc rosen]

Hello Gary, and others, Thanks to all for the suggestions and also for the Hoadley book recommendation. Fortunately, I can understand the chemical literature and structures. In my line of work I also analyze drugs made from plant extracts. (No, not narcotics, but chemotherapeutics). I was curious to find out if there was a woodworking book that featured these topics. I'll be purchasing Hoadley this weekend. Thanks again to all for these and for the other responses to my varied questions.

Marc