Carpinus betulus
Karpinu
Pale, ruthlessly dense, and famously hard. The wood old joiners reached for when they needed plane bodies, mallet heads, and water-mill cogs that would not give up.
- This species is recorded as commercially grown in Europe. This does not establish where an individual piece was harvested; check its origin details.
- Grupp botaniku. L-injam artab ġej mill-koniferi; l-injam iebes minn siġar bil-weraq wiesa’.
- Il-familja botanika li tappartjeni għaliha l-ispeċi.
Irċievi avviż meta tasalSpeċi ta’ referenza. Bħalissa ebda biċċa fl-istokk.
Huwa tajjeb għall-proġett tiegħek?
Tajjeb ħafna għal
- Plane bodies and mallet heads
- Tool handles and chisel handles
- Turned work, bowls, finials, pepper mills, fine spindles
- Joinery accents, wedges, splines, drawbore pins, dovetail keys
- High-wear surfaces, chopping boards, butcher blocks, jig faces
- Gear teeth, cogs, and replacement parts in restored mills
Ebda Karpinu fil-ħarġa attwali
Speċijiet simili fl-istokk
Bħalissa m’hemmx Karpinu. Dawn l-ispeċijiet jgħoddu għall-istess proġetti u għandhom biċċiet disponibbli.
Irċievi avviż dwar Karpinu
Nibagħtulek email meta jaslu fallakki friski ta’ Karpinu għand KORENA. Kull biċċa hija unika, għalhekk avviż bikri jgħin.
Dehra tal-injam
Kif jidher
Creamy white to pale straw, sometimes drifting to light grey-brown with age. Grain is irregular and often interlocked; texture is fine and even. Almost no figure, no drama, its character is in the surface itself, which polishes to a hard, near-ceramic feel that softer pale woods cannot match.
- Creamy white to pale straw when fresh
- Drifts to light grey-brown with age and UV
- Occasional grey streaking on slower-grown stock
- Almost figureless, reads as a clean, even pale ground
- Polishes to a hard, near-ceramic surface sheen
- Fibra irregolari, b’nisġa fina u uniformi.
Kif taħdem bih
Kif taħdmu
A specialist wood. Density and interlocked grain blunt edges fast. Expect to sharpen often and feed slowly. Planing tears out unless irons are keen and the cut is light; a scraper or sander often finishes better than a plane. Drilling and routing demand sharp carbide. The reward is on the lathe, where it turns to a fine, crisp surface and holds detail other woods crush. Glues and screws well once pre-bored. Steam-bends reasonably for such a dense species.
Finitura
Sands to a glassy surface if you stay patient and step through the grits. Takes hard waxes, oils, and lacquers cleanly. Stains can blotch on the interlocked patches. Test first. Burnishes beautifully on the lathe; many turners leave it bare or oil-only.
Tnixxif
Dries slowly and moves a lot, tangential shrinkage of 11 to 13 percent puts it among the most mobile European hardwoods. Prone to distortion, surface checks, and case-hardening if rushed. Air-dry under weight, then finish in a kiln on a gentle schedule. Acclimatise in the workshop for several weeks before machining, and design for movement in any wider piece.
Kemm se jiċċaqlaq?
L-injam jintefaħ u jiċkien tul il-wisa’ hekk kif l-arja ssir aktar jew inqas umda. Stima l-moviment staġjonali ta’ wiċċ ta’ Karpinu qabel tiddisinja t-twaħħil.
Moviment staġjonali mistenni
madwar 13.7 mm
Kbir. Uża buttuni jew brackets b’fetħiet, ħalli spazju fit-truf ta’ kull breadboard u ħalli l-fallakka takklimatizza qabel l-immuntar.
Mudell ta’ tnaqqis lineari: wisa’ × (tnaqqis ÷ 28 % saturazzjoni tal-fibra) × bidla staġjonali fl-umdità. Juża tnaqqis tanġenzjali ta’ 12 % għal Karpinu. Stima għall-ippjanar, mhux garanzija.
Kemm jiswa
Sigurtà u provvista
- This species is recorded as commercially grown in Europe. This does not establish where an individual piece was harvested; check its origin details.
- Stat fil-Lista l-Ħamra tal-IUCN: il-valutazzjoni globali tal-konservazzjoni għal din l-ispeċi.
Food-contact safe once finished, which is why it has a long history in kitchen tools and chopping blocks. The dust is a known skin irritant and can sensitise on repeated exposure. Wear long sleeves, run good extraction, and mask up when sanding.
Aqra l-gwida sħiħaNoti dettaljati dwar id-disinn tal-vina, il-bidla fil-kulur, ix-xogħol u l-istabbiltà.
What Hornbeam actually is#
Carpinus betulus is the wear wood. At 735 kg per cubic metre and 7,260 N Janka it is the second hardest measured species in this catalogue, behind only robinia, and it has a fine even texture with no strong grain direction.
That combination, hardness without a pronounced grain to split along, is what made it the traditional wood for things that get hit, rubbed and worn: plane soles, mallet heads, gear teeth in windmill and watermill machinery, butchers blocks, and cogs.
It is not a decorative wood and it was never used as one.
Reading a hornbeam slab#
Colour is pale, near white to light cream, sometimes with grey streaking. Figure is minimal. The texture is fine and even and the surface has a slight natural lustre.
The characteristic feature of the tree is fluting: the trunk grows with pronounced longitudinal ridges rather than round, which is why hornbeam logs look twisted and why converting them to wide clean boards is awkward. Expect irregular widths and a good deal of waste.
Grain is frequently interlocked, following the fluting.
The movement problem#
Mistoqsijiet tax-xerrejja
Mistoqsijiet tax-xerrejja
Why is Hornbeam used for tool parts and machinery?
It is exceptionally hard at 7,260 N, second only to robinia among measured species here, with a fine even texture and no pronounced grain direction. That combination resists wear without splitting, which is why it was the traditional wood for plane soles, mallet heads, gear teeth in mill machinery, and butchers blocks.
How much does it move?
A great deal. Volumetric shrinkage of 17.0 percent ties with beech for the highest in this catalogue, and tangential shrinkage of 11.0 percent against 5.5 percent radial is a very wide differential. Hornbeam is not a wood for wide solid tops in a variable environment. It is a wood for small dense components.
Is it hard to work?
Yes. The density and interlocked grain blunt tooling quickly and cause tear-out, and it is heavy going by hand. The fine texture that makes it wear so well is the same thing that makes it resist cutting. Sharp carbide tooling and light cuts are the practical answer.
Can it be used outdoors?
No. Despite its hardness it is rated decay class 5, perishable, and it will rot readily if exposed. Hardness and durability are unrelated properties. For exterior work use robinia, oak or sweet chestnut.
Proprjetajiet mekkaniċi
Data teknika
Valuri ta’ referenza ppubblikati. Fejn is-sorsi ma jaqblux tintwera l-firxa, bil-valur tipiku użat għall-iskali ta’ hawn fuq.
| Densità (kg/m³)Massa għal kull metru kubu b’madwar 12 % kontenut ta’ umdità. Injam itqal normalment ikun aktar iebes u b’saħħtu. | 700–820 kg/m³tipiku 735 kg/m³ |
|---|---|
| Ebusija Janka (N)Il-forza meħtieġa biex tagħfas ballun tal-azzar sa nofsu fl-injam. Il-kejl standard tar-reżistenza għat-tgħaffiġ. | 6,900–7,700 Ntipiku 7,260 N |
| MOR: modulu tal-ksur (MPa)Saħħa fil-liwi: it-tagħbija li fiha travu jinkiser. | 110–130 MPa |
| MOE: modulu tal-elastiċità (GPa)Ebusija fil-liwi: kemm jinżel xkaffa jew wiċċ taħt tagħbija. | 12.0–14.0 GPa |
| Tnaqqis radjaliTnaqqis tul iċ-ċrieki tat-tkabbir, minn aħdar sa mnixxef fil-forn. Tavli quartersawn jiċċaqalqu hekk. | 5.5–7.0 % |
| Tnaqqis tanġenzjaliTnaqqis tul iċ-ċrieki tat-tkabbir. Tavli flatsawn u l-biċċa l-kbira tal-fallakki jiċċaqalqu hekk. |
