AU2007219333A1 - Timber components - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2 0,

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

(ORIGINAL)

Name of Applicant: MARSHALL GHIOTTI Actual Inventor(s): MARSHALL GHIOTTI JACK ANDREW GHIO Address for Service: SANDERCOCK COV 180B SLADEN STREET CRANBOURNE VICT( Invention Title: TIMBER COMPONEN1 Details of Associated Provisional Application(s): No(s): Australian Provisional Application No. 2007900693

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ORIA 3977 rS Filed: 1" February, 2007 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 FcSeptembcr 27. 2D07.HA\Fiing\ghioti ile wpd. I la- 0 tq tcq TITLE: TIMBER COMPONENTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention concerns timber products which are manufactured by finger jointing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Renovators and carpenters are able to buy softwood strips and narrow boards for interior construction which are finger jointed. These may be offered in smaller lengths, for 2007-09-27,H \Speficationsghiotb cspwwpd r example 0.9 to 2.7m. They assist the timber industry in that they utilise the sawn timber Smore profitably by converting stock too small for popular size stock. They assist users in that the product is knot free and planed all round.

00oO Despite the mechanical adequacy of such composite products, there is prejudice against Cc them in that the trade may welcome them as a substitute for natural stock with defects, Cc but customers assume the substitution subtracts from the specification. In particular, Sthere is resistance to the appearance of the product. The grain changes in the finished work are evident because the jointing cannot hide the multiple side by side boundaries 10 of the fingers. Thus table tops, seats, desks, stools, cabinets and other occasional furniture exhibit finger jointing but are not as desirable as pieces made from a single board or two joined boards. Side grain and end grain is much less noticeable than the stripes in the grain of the face of the piece.

A further problem arises in the construction industry where floors and decks are fastened to bearers usually at 450mm centres. Much natural timber is wasted when the supplied lengths, usually in the 3m range, will not span the bearers and off-cuts accumulate. It is possible to supply longer lengths if finger jointed product is used, but the dislike of the striped appearance remains.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The product aspect of the invention provides a fingerjointed timber component, wherein at least one face of the product is veneered.

The veneer is preferably of the same timber as the component.

For furniture where the top face is wider than the available veneer sheet, the veneer is butted or overlapped and slit in known manner.

For decking, the width of the component may be 65-140mm and veneering in an unbroken width presents no difficulty.

2007.09-27,H :Specirtcationshtti.cp wpd,2 -3- O For decking, longer lengths tend to be more economically utilised than shorter lengths.

Lengths of 4.2-5.7m are preferred. For such lengths where the available veneer sheet may be shorter than the component, it may be necessary to endjoint the veneer. For such 0 end jointing, the veneer strip ends may be scarfed.

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Mcr The method aspect of the invention provides a method of making a veneered finger MC) jointed timber component by preparing the face of the component to accept veneer and adhering a timber veneer to the face.

10 Clearly the veneer may be substituted by other sheet materials. Plastic sheet such as pvc printed with timber grain, paper/polymer laminates as used for bench tops, and fibreboard surface finishes and equivalents in that they are applied by the same adhesive step with the result that the finger jointing appearance is rendered invisible.

The sides and the remaining face may be additionally veneered at the same time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective of part of a prior art table top laminated across the width.

Figure 2 is a perspective of the same component with a face veneer.

Figure 3 is a perspective of a fragment of a finger jointed billet.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a decking strip sawn from the billet and planed on one face while being ribbed on the opposite face.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the component of Figure 4 after veneering over the obverse face.

2007-0927.HSpecications\g hio capwpd.3 -4- DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH RESPECT TO THE DRAWINGS Referring now to Figure 1 and 2 of the drawings, the table top 2 is made of mountain ash 00 finger stock. The glue lines 4 separating the individual fingers 6 across the width are not (-i noticeable in themselves, but the grain of the individual fingers draws attention to Cc structure of the piece betraying that it is laminated across the width.

SWhen three side by side sheets of ash veneer 8 are adhered to the obverse face of the table top, the colour match is perfect and the grain direction is hardly noticed.

Figure 3 shows a portion of a billet 10, 5.7m long and 90mm wide. It is made of multiple layers of kwila fingers 6. The fingers are 2 00-300mm long but vary in length according to the waste wood availability. Seven side by side fingers sit across the billet width. The fingers are at least 19mm deep along axis A of Figure 3 so that when the billet is bandsawn into 90 x 19mm strips, the strips finish at 19mm. The strip is passed through a thicknesser which planes the obverse face 14 and cuts ribs into the reverse face 16 in known manner in order to dissipate moisture when laid on bearers.

The obverse face is coated with a waterproof adhesive and a sheet of kwila veneer 0.6mm thick 18 is applied to the face to produce the product shown in Figure 5. If the available flitch is less than 5.7m, the veneer is scarfjointed. The adhesives and veneer application are described in the literature. The veneer 18 is subject to a fine sanding.

The end grain 20 is visible only on the exposed ends of the deck. No grain stripes are evident because the face veneer covers the individual fingers. The same method is used to make a decking strip 130 x 19mm.

It is to be understood that the word "comprising" as used throughout the specification is to be interpreted in its inclusive form, ie. use of the word "comprising" does not exclude the addition of other elements.

It is to be understood that various modifications of and/or additions to the invention can be made without departing from the basic nature of the invention. These modifications 2DD7-D9-27,H \Specifications\ghitti cap wpd,4 and/or additions are therefore considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

00 2007-09-27,H \Spec~ffcafioas\ghiotti cap

Claims (13)

1. A method of making a veneered finger jointed timber component comprising 00 preparing a face of the component to accept veneer and adhering a veneer to the face. r

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, including adhering a veneer strip to at least one side of the component.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the components are 4 .2-5.7m in length.

4. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1-3, including end jointing the veneer strip in order to cover the length of the component face or side.

A method as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the joined veneer strips are scarfed.

6. A fingerjointed component, wherein at least one face of the product is veneered.

7. A finger jointed component as claimed in Claim 6, wherein one or more sides of the component are veneered.

8. A finger jointed component as claimed in Claim 6 or 7, wherein the veneer is the same timber as the fingers.

9. A finger jointed component as claimed in any one of Claims 6-8, wherein the fingers are 300-400mm long.

A finger jointed component as claimed in any one of Claims 6-9, wherein the component is a decking strip.

11. A finger jointed component as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the component is

2007-09-27,H \Specificabons\ 8 hotti capwpd,6 4.2-5.7m long.

12. A method of making a finger jointed timber component substantially as herein 00 described. (N

13. A finger jointed timber component substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 4and 5or Figure 2. 2007-09.27,H:Specificaiors\ghiori. cap .14d7