HARD MATERIALS
TECHNOLOGY
ACHIEVEMENT STARDARD 91049
Demonstrate understanding of how materials enable technological products to function
PASIFIQUE IRENGE
NSN: 136880810
LISTON COLLAGE
NCEA LEVEL 1 TECHNOLOGY 2015
Intro
The report I am writing is based on the Cape Cod Chair I have made in class, the chair that I am making is for the school and also if I wish I could purchase it and take home. The performance properties I need for my Cape Code chair are:
To sit on
To comfort me, my family and friends
To be pleasing to look at
To be respected and be treated well (so it can last for a long period of time)
I also need chair to be easy to take care of so don’t have to worry about it being damaged I want it to at least last 2 years without any damages on it, I also like it to get an old looking texture so it can be pleasing to look at.
I was given the material to create my Cape Cod chair, and this was Macrocarpa wood, it is one of the most beautiful timber for outdoor and indoor furniture, its durable, chemical free (good for people with medical conditions) and eco-friendly. Macrocarpa is a softwood, honey brown in colour with a natural lustre and has a natural resistance which is a big win if you are a lazy person and don’t want to be spending too much time looking after your Macrocarpa outdoor/inside furniture against insects or fungi attacks with special chemicals.
Definition of Macrocarpa
Macrocarpa is an exotic tree that is grown in forest plantations or farm shelterbelts. They were over 1000 hectares of Macrocarpa in the 1950’s in plantations, in forests and private plantations. In 2006 they were estimated to be around 7000 hectaresof Macrocarpa in plantations. Cypress timber are the third most common exotic timber in New Zealand, with over 200,00 m3 is cut annually. Timbers are graded into clear dressing.
Macrocarpa Performance Durability
Macrocarpa heartwood is naturally durable, but sapwood requires treatment.
Cannot be pressure treated with copper, but sapwood can be treated with boron to resist insects.
It can last about 20 to 30 years and if kept away from the weather and the sun and rain, it will last for about 40 to 60 years.
The heartwood and sapwood of Macrocarpa are both borer resistant. All these features help my cape code chair be more functional as the wood is natural giving my chair more value and making it look pleasing to the human eye.
Manipulation of Macrocarpa
MACHINING
TURNING
BORING
Turns well at higher speeds.
Good, tendency for sides of holes to be torn if a twist drill is used.
SAWING
Saws very good at normal speed if the wood is placed in the woodworking vice.
CHISELLING
Difficulty with lower density wood, sort’s wood usually compresses rather than cut. I recommend the use of sharp chisels.
SANDING
Sands well, lots of care required while sanding lower density wood.
MOULDING/PLANING
Good finish even in areas.
BENDING
Poor steam bending.
FASTENING
Pre drill and counter sink to avoid wood from splitting.
OILING
Works very well with oils, and the results are outstanding.
I carried out an experiment to test Macrocarpa abilities.
Lower density wood was used during the experiment
Structure of a Tree
This is a structure of a tree it shows the different layers that make up a tree, as u can see there are a lot of layers that build up a tree, and they have their own unique names, colours, and function. I would be naming the names and explaining the function of these particular parts down below
NAME
FUNCTION
Heartwood
The main fuction of the hearttwood is to support the tree
Sapwood
To conduct water and disolve materials
Cambium layer
Produce secondary growth of bark and other tissues.
Bark
Insulate tree against temperature extremes and keeps sapwood and phloem from dying out.
Cork cambium
Helps the tree to maintian proper flow of water and nutrients throgh the plants body
Outer cork
Protects the living tissues cork, camium etc.
