Timber: A Sustainable Material for Engineering and Other Uses

Malaysian timber species are well known worldwide and are normally used for buildings, furniture and bridges besides other uses such as paper, carving, pencil and handicraft. Timber for construction has been limited to roof trusses, traditional buildings and formworks for concrete, even though our timbers have more utility values. The prospects for timber as a popular material are even getting better since metals are not inexhaustible while timber is renewable. Timber is versatile since it features in many aspects of life, from art to engineering, and from paper to glued-laminated timber. It is easily recognisable in its native form with its grains and colours in many products but several products derived from it, devoid of the woody appearance, are not so. Timber characteristics can be altered by means of new technologies. Timber is easy to work with, and not much energy is needed to transform a tree to timber in various forms. This book is produced with the aim of portraying the several possibilities that timber can be put to use.