Author: NFTeam

Green woodworking, using unseasoned timber, benefits from using nature as the factory to a greater extent than ‘conventional’ carpentry. Branches are used rather then requiring whole trees to be felled, and with less or no machine processing energy, glues and finishes. The craft often occurs in woodland near to the trees from which wood is sourced, increasing sensitivity to effects on the ecosystem, and providing an enviable place to work.

Bodging is a traditional green woodworking occupation, where chair components were made in the woods and exported to workshops where the complete chairs were assembled by furniture makers (called cabinetmakers in the UK).

Green woodworking has seen a recent revival due to its increased media coverage and the renaissance of hand tool woodworking in general.

Uses

• Furniture is a good fit for the scale and strength properties enabled by green-woodworking: chairs, stools
• Gardening tools like rakes

• Household items like firewood carriers,  magazine-racks, shelves
• Carved spoons

Processes

Green timber is softer than seasoned timber so hand or small power tools can be used rather than industrial machines. It can also be cleaved (split) along the grain rather than requiring sawing into planks. Green woodworkers try to use the natural shape and flexibility of branches in their designs, so can use them whole or cleft (split). Cleaving follows the grain and can be far stronger than planks where the sawing cuts through grain fibres; “like spring-steel compared to cast iron“, so smaller members are required.

Joints can be made without adhesives by exploiting the shrinkage that occurs as the members dry. Drier timber is used for the tenon resulting in it shrinking less than the encapsulating mortise so that the joint tightens as they dry.

If wood cannot be used when freshly felled it can be preserved for green woodwork by storing it in a water-filled trough or pond to maintain moisture.

More Information

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodging
• https://goingwiththegrain.org/what-is-green-woodwork/

Bioplastics can be a ‘best of both worlds’ solution; the consistent properties of plastic but with naturally sourced raw materials and biodegradable at end of use.

Uses

• [Historical and contemporary]

Potential Uses

• [Research, Exploratory/student projects, Ideas…]

Processes

• [Overview; need not be detailed.]

More Information

• [Links to the most relevant projects, organisations, research, suppliers etc.]
• [e.g. ExampleOrg – Organisation which researches this material]

Charring is a natural means of creating a more durable wood surface through improved fire, rot and insect resistance. The charring process known as Shou Sugu Ban was developed in Japan and traditionally applied on japanese cedar. The technique has also been tested on other outdoor woods including western red cedar, southern cypress, black walnut, red and white oak and reclaimed hemlock.

Uses

The charred wood is typically used for outdoor purposes such as cladding, fences and shed walls. Contemporary designers are also applying the technique to create indoor furniture and decorative items. The beauty of charring is that you create not only a protective layer to the original wood but an interesting texture and emphasise the grain of the wood.

Potential Uses

We wonder whether charring could be used more frequently to improve outdoor furniture to extend their lifeline (and thereby avoid wastage) as well as avoid use of plastics or metal.

Processes

First the wood is burned with a blow torch (we wonder whether a solar concentrator could be used) for seconds to minutes depending on the thickness of the wood. This is followed by cleaning the charred wood with water and a brush to remove charcoal dust.  The wood is then left to dry. It can be used without a finish or an oil applied to it for additional protection and luster.

[1 to 3 Paragraphs: Overview (material / process, properties, inspiring uses, recent breakthroughs etc.)]

Uses

• [Historical and contemporary]

Potential Uses

• [Research, Exploratory/student projects, Ideas…]

Processes

• [Overview; need not be detailed.]

More Information

• [Links to the most relevant projects, organisations, research, suppliers etc.]
• [e.g. ExampleOrg – Organisation which researches this material]

Fungi obtained from tissues of mycelia and storing them in a jar. In three to seven days, the mixture expands and forms into clumps of material, which is then used to create products like handbags, purses, etc. According to co-founder Phil Ross, production of this material is similar to making ravioli from scratch, and the final product is more resilient than cementing.

[1 to 3 Paragraphs: Overview (material / process, properties, inspiring uses, recent breakthroughs etc.)]

Uses

• [Historical and contemporary]

Potential Uses

• [Research, Exploratory/student projects, Ideas…]

Processes

• [Overview; need not be detailed.]

More Information

• [Links to the most relevant projects, organisations, research, suppliers etc.]
• [e.g. ExampleOrg – Organisation which researches this material]

Mycelium is a mass of long, branching, thread-like hyphae which grow through voids, usually in the soil. Mycelium can be grown around a food source such as agricultural by-products in a mould, creating a durable material similar to polystyrene of the desired shape.

Uses

• Packaging – Since 2007, a company called Ecovative Design has been developing alternatives to polystyrene and plastic packaging using this technique. Depending on the strain of mycelium used, they make many different varieties of the material including water absorbent, flame retardant, and dielectric.
• Lampshades –  Ecovative offer a ‘Grow-it-yourself’ kit allowing people to create mushroom materials themselves, used to create products including lamp shades.
• Building Construction

Potential Uses

• Insulation – Trials of ‘Greensulate’, a former Ecovative product, were conducted in Vermont in 2009, but the product was later dropped when the company switched focus to the manufacture of protective packaging.
• Acoustic panels – Ecovative research
• Core of composite panel -Ecovative Research and see Kadagaya.org 
• Aquatic products

Processes

Summarised from instructions available at giy.ecovativedesign.com:

• Use gloves, and sanitise gloves, working area and mold with rubbing alcohol, to avoid competing organisms such as common mold species
• Mix mycelium with food source such as agricultural waste
• Place into mold for 3–5 days
• Remove from mold and deactivate the fungus to stop further growth by drying at 93 degrees C, checking planter every 30 mins until the weight is about 35% of the original weight.

More Information

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycelium
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecovative_Design
• http://www.kadagaya.org/index.php/en/technology/technical-materials
• https://shop.ecovativedesign.com/collections/grow-it-yourself
• MycoMedica – a leading independent EU producer and supplier of (mainly medicinal) mushrooms and food supplements

Toxicodendron vernicifluum (commonly known as Chinese lacquer tree, Japanese lacquer tree, Japanese sumac, or varnish tree) is tapped for its sap which is used as a durable lacquer and sometimes an adhesive.

The trees grow up to 20 m tall and are native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of China, Korea and Japan.

The sap contains the toxic, allergenic compound urushiol (from the Japanese name for the tree Urushi, which is also used in English as a collective term for all kinds of Asian lacquerware, as opposed to European “lacquer” or Japanning made from other materials. Urushiol is the oil found in poison ivy that causes a rash.

Natural lacquers have been used for centuries to produce beautiful, durable finishes to materials, typically woodwork.

There are many different processes for creating lacquer, each unique to their region and source. For instance, China perfected a technique using dried resin from the Toxicodendron vernicifluum (also known as Chinese lacquer) whilst in India an insect lac is used. Lacquer trees in South East Asia such as Thailand, Vietnam, Burma are different to the Chinese lacquer tree and produce a softer lacquer.

Uses

• Decorative and protective finish on furniture, accessories (e.g. leather bags) and other decorative items
• Shellac,

Potential Uses

None as yet identified. Your ideas welcome!

Processes

tapped from the trunk of the Chinese lacquer tree to produce lacquer. This is done , and then collecting the greyish yellow sap that exudes. The sap is then filtered, heat-treated, or coloured before applying onto a base material that is to be lacquered. Curing the applied sap requires “drying” it in a warm, humid chamber or closet for 12 to 24 hours where the urushiol polymerizes to form a clear, hard, and waterproof surface. In its liquid state, urushiol can cause extreme rashes, even from vapours. Once hardened, reactions are possible but less common.

• ‘Tap’ the yellowish sap from trunk by cutting 5 to 10 horizontal lines on the trunk of a 10 plus-year-old tree.
• Filter for impurities
• Treat with low heat to render it hypoallergenic [details of process such as temperature /time unknown – please comment below if you do]
• Apply colouring as required: traditional in China and Japan is mixing in powdered iron (black pigment) or powdered rust or cinnabar (red pigment).
• Rub or brush on to substrate (e.g. wood or steel) [if anyone knows which materials the lacquer adheres particularly well or poorly to please comment below]
• Cure in warm, humid chamber for for 12-24 hours
• Continue to apply several layers [if anyone knows ow many, or how to tell when it’s enough etc. please comment below]
• Be warned that certain saps, in particular from the Chinese lacquer, contain toxic elements when in liquid or vaporised form. Any skin contact will cause rashes and can even damage to the respiratory system if inhaled! A lot of care must be taken when undertaken this delicate process.

More Information

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacquer
  
• Institute of the History of Natural Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences, ed. (1983). Ancient China’s technology and science. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-8351-1001
  
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac
  
• https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/34480/Derry-Master.pdf
  
• http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/shellac.html
  
• http://www.industryofallnations.com/home.aspx