This work was conducted with the purpose of investigating bending characteristics of the wood of
Platanus x acerifolia (Ait.) Willd.,
Luehea divaricata
Mart. et Zucc and
Carya illinoinensis
(Wangenh) K.
Koch. Such species were collected from non-managed forests located in Depressão Central and Encosta
Superior do Nordeste, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Five representative adult trees from each species per
studied area were cut down, corresponding to a total of thirty trees. From the trunk, a 2.5 m long log was
taken and, afterwards, transported to a sawmill for processing. A central 8 cm thick plank was sawn, from
which samples for bending were manufactured. The samples were conditioned in standard room to a
moisture content of approximately 14%. Then, the samples were placed in boiling water during 35 minutes
and bended in rays of 16 and 21cm. For the qualification of the bending defects, the methodology presented
by Vorreiter (1958) was used. Results showed that the wood of
Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh) K. Koch had
the best bending characteristics when compared to the other two species, independently of the ray bending
tested. It seems that the ring porosity, characteristic of the
Carya illinoinensis wood, contributed to the result.
On the other hand, the wood of
Platanus x acerifolia (Ait.) Willd. and
Luehea divaricata Mart. et Zucc, with
diffuse porosity and larger parenchyma proportion, presented more defective pieces.
