Radial Timber – Using wood wisely

The process of radial sawing was specifically designed to maximise the recovery of sawn timber from smaller logs. As such, radial sawing has a range of both environmental and technical benefits. These range from helping to make indigenous hardwood plantations more viable to maximising the yield of high value timber products from a log. This is a summary of the main environmental and technical benefits that stem from radial sawing:

More timber out of a log

• Fewer trees are required to produce a given volume of timber.
• Potential for lower fuel usage, greenhouse emissions as well as negative impact on soil, water and native wildlife.
• Reduced reliance on manufactured building products that may actually have greater negative environmental impacts.
• Better planning for future timber requirements.

High value products from younger trees

• More of each log sawn can end up as high value, versatile products rather than being put to lower value uses.
• Less pressure on old growth forests as quality timber requirements can be met from plantation and regrowth forests.
• Processing younger trees makes plantation forestry more attractive economically and thus this resource becomes a realistic option for solving the worlds housing shortage.
• Plantations established for pulp/fibre may potentially be used for timber production.

Timber products with consistent growth ring orientation

• More stable products as growth stresses are released evenly in each timber section.
• Less energy required as some products are stable enough to be supplied “green” (ie. not dried before use).
• Less down stream wastage as some products are left “rough sawn” (ie. not re-processed or “dressed”).
• More appearance grade products that show off “back sawn” timber grains and feature.

Innovative, durable products

• Radial sawing is based on the natural principle of cutting logs into wedges and therefore many products feature bevelled edges or are sold as wedge profiles.
• Innovative products like “NEW DECK” have set new standards in decking design.
• Durable Victorian hardwoods such as Silvertop Ash or Sth Mahogany mean a wide range of external cladding, decking, screen boards and even flooring are available.
• Unique products mean that end users can also have unique structures.
• Radial timber products do not require chemical treatment