'checking" - definition

[kiwibarb]

Help - newbie here and while I understand cracking as relating to drying wood, what the #@$#%### is checking? thanks - Barbara

[pallin]

My understanding of checking is similar to cracking of wood, just smaller. On the other hand, "checking" as applied to my bank account is very different.

[kiwibarb]

For me - my checking is very small - account , that is.


and, thanks for the reply Barbara

[pallin]

Kiwibarb, Are you a "kiwi" as in N.Z? I spent a month on the south island a few years ago, but not carving. Mostly kayaking and hiking.

[cats pa]

Cracking in wood can result from several things - impact, internal stresses, wind or freezing damage among others. Checking is cracking that is caused by the surface of a piece of wood drying (and shrinking) faster than the inside. Most common in end grain, which absorbs and releases moisture 10 times more quickly than side grain in some species.

When you see logs or milled planks that are waxed or varnished on the ends, chances are someone is trying to prevent checking by slowing the drying of the end grain.

Log houses frequently show checking the long dimension of the logs. Especially in summer-cut wood with high moisture content, the surface of the log dries out and shrinks while the inside is still wet, pulling the surface fibers apart at their weakest point. This is called radial checking. By itself it is usually not a structural concern, but if not filled the checks can be a pathway for insects or moisture to enter the log and cause further problems.

Many woodworkers who harvest and mill their own wood will split or saw logs into quarters to reduce checking.

HTH, Parker

[mdallensr]

Internal cracks or checks can results from excessive bending and shaking of the tree during storms. The Europeans refer to "shakes", or those sneaky internal cracks that open up after you've done most of a carving. Mike

[Wade Nichols]

A check may occur when a high quality piece of quarter-sawn wood dries.

Quarter-sawn wood is cut that way to emphasize the grain, partly longitudinally, but also horizontally (so a quarter, or 45 degrees, between the two). This cutting pattern results in wood that has beautiful long loops in the grain as opposed to horizontal lines you would get from a parallel cut to the grain or circular rings you get from a cross-section.

During the drying process one end of one of those loops of grain may separate from other layers of the wood, creating a "check". In quarter-sawn wood it sometimes looks like a check mark one would write on paper to say an item on a list has been done.

The term "check" comes from an ancient Middle Eastern term in the game of chess (which also gave rise to the modern term "check mate"), but has since been adapted to many modern words including a check mark and a check in fine wood.

[sashadoc]

To me, checking happens to any wood that goes from green to dry. Not all wood "checks" the same, if at all. It happens no matter the shape. Logs check, milled wood checks, and sticks used for canes/walking sticks check (boy,do I know that one). If you are cutting wood for canes/sticks don't cut them to the finished length but longer to allow for whatever checking may occur.
To simplify an answer to your question, checking is merely cracks/splits in the wood.
Have fun and keep carving.
Tim

[AlArchie]

Mike, you brought up an interesting point. But "shakes" or "wind shook timber" isn't just a European term. Most of the mills in our area are gone now, but a few years back when there were several operating, shakes were generally unrecognizable untill they were sawn, then they showed up and a good piece of lumber became firewood. "culls"

Shakes are caused when a tree is flexed far enough to cause the annular rings to slip against each other. Could be from high winds or even from dropping a tree on very uneven ground, although this is less common.

Now that most of our timber is cut for pulp or biofuel, the terms shake, shook or shaken are fast fading out of the vocabulary. Along with "millwright", "straw boss", "sawyer"," filer", "working the chain", "the hog", "swamper", "bull of the woods" and a few other more colorful terms.
I miss some of those men who worked the woods and mills.....good friends, hard working, some hard drinking and a few fighters, but all interesting members of the logging industry that seem fast to becoming part of the past. Not many folks left who remember "gypo crews".
I feel fortunate to have lived in an erra where logging and mining were honorable professions, and got to know and interact with these colorful characters.

Al.

[Claude]

Although all the answers above are correct, if you want "printed proof", look at http://www.wvu.edu/~exten/infores/pu...er/wooddr2.pdf Or here (fifth one down)
Alder Lumber

Claude