Three decades' of experiment with rubber wood- An evaluation (Record no. 48081)
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| 000 -LEADER | |
|---|---|
| fixed length control field | 03697nam a2200121Ia 4500 |
| 100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--AUTHOR NAME | |
| Personal name | Bhaskaran Nair C |
| 245 #0 - TITLE STATEMENT | |
| Title | Three decades' of experiment with rubber wood- An evaluation |
| 260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT) | |
| Name of publisher | In: Abstracts of Papers: First National Seminar on Rubber Wood, 12 December 1989, Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam, Kerala, India, pp. 34-35. |
| Year of publication | 1989 |
| 520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC. | |
| Summary, etc | South Indian Timber Industries was the first to start the use of rubber wood in India. This was pioneered by Shri. V K G Panicker, the founder in 1956. Replanting of rubber plantations had started momentum at that time. But nobody could find any worthwhile use for rubber wood. The planters were incurring Rs. 5 to Rs. 15 for removing rubber trees. Even as fire wood a peculiar odour emanated from the burning of rubber wood. This was discouraging the middle-class housewives. Naturally, only lower income households used rubber wood. Some samples of rubber wood were collected and tested for mechanical properties. Surprisingly it was found that the properties available in freshly cut rubber wood were adequate for almost all purposes. The only problem was the attack of pests immediately after felling the trees. The factory had some expertise in the making of packing cases using non-durable species with the application of preservative chemicals. This was mainly dip treatment for a duration of 18 hours and it was effective for an expected life of about an year. However, rubber wood packing cases created another problem, dimentonal instability. This was cured by artificial seasoning. After dip treatment the scantlings and planks were loaded into a smoke oven and dried for a few days. This worked well and the product was found to be acceptable by the consumers. Even though a plant for pressure impregnation was acquired in 1957 it was not used due to uneconomic cost. However in course of time the availability of other species decreased. In 1965 the factory installed a preservative impregnation plant and in 1966 some species of school furniture were made out of processed rubber wood and supplied to a local school. However, over a few years the improperly seasoned wood developed splits, warping and hence it was decided to instal a seasoning kiln in 1968. This came in handy for making a variety of products ranging from components for Bailey Bridge for defence purposes, doors, windows, furniture, etc. In 1970 the cost of pressure impregnation with chemical and kiln seasoning was Rs. 12 per cft. Therefore, there was no advantage of using processed rubber wood vis-a-vis other durable species. Due to this reason further serious work to adapt rubber wood for structural purposes was shelved for some time. Instead of that the factory concentrated on the use of rubber wood for making pallets for export cargo, shopfloor storage and movement of goods in factories. Towards the latter half of 70's timber prices registered a steep hike. Despite increases in chemical costs the lower price of rubber wood made it an attractive viable alternative. The company therefore launched fabrication using rubber wood in 1976. A consignment was sent to Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun for testing. The College of Engineering, Trivandrum also undertook studies on this topic. As a result of these studies a great interest has been generated in using modern processing method for adapting rubber wood for varied purposes. South Indian Timber Industries was the first to attempt to utilise rubber wood for making better value added products. The factory is now making doors, furniture, roof trusses and many other similar products. |
| 650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM | |
| Topical Term | Rubberwood |
| 942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA) | |
| Koha item type | Bibliography RLWO |
| Withdrawn status | Lost status | Damaged status | Not for loan | Home library | Current library | Date acquired | Koha item type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bibliography | RRII Library | RRII Library | 31/12/2021 | Bibliography RLWO |