All chapters of the Forest Products Laboratory’s 2021 Wood Handbook are available online. You can choose specific chapters from the handbook to view here.
Wood handbook: Wood as an engineering material
Chapter 1 Wood as a renewable and sustainable resource Brashaw, Brian; Bergman, Richard
Keywords: wood; forestry; forest certification; carbon; LCA; stocks; sustainability; healthy forests; construction; buildings
File size: 2 MB
Chapter 2 Characteristics and availability of commercially important woods Wiemann, Michael
Keywords: Wood anatomy; wood identification; species descriptions; species uses
File size: 25.6 MB
Chapter 3 Structure and function of wood Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Eberhardt, Thomas
Keywords: wood biology; wood chemistry; wood anatomy; wood identification
File size: 8 MB
Chapter 4 Moisture relations and physical properties of wood Glass, Samuel; Zelinka, Samuel
Keywords: wood; moisture; water; water vapor; sorption; adsorption; absorption; moisture content; fiber saturation point; physical properties; density; specific gravity; dimensional stability; shrinkage; swelling; thermal properties; thermal conductivity; heat capacity; electrical properties
File size: 2 MB
Chapter 5 Mechanical properties of wood Senalik, Christopher Adam; Farber, Benjamin
Keywords: mechanical properties; wood; tension; compression; shear; bending; hardness; moisture; hardwoods; softwoods
File size: 5 MB
Chapter 6 Commercial lumber, round timbers, and ties Senalik, Christopher Adam; Farber, Benjamin
Keywords: lumber; grades; dimensions; grading agencies; poles; piles; ties; finished market products
File size: 2 MB
Chapter 7 Stress grades and design properties for lumber, round timber, and ties Senalik, Christopher Adam; Farber, Benjamin
Keywords: lumber grading; size adjustment; moisture adjustment
File size: 1 MB
Chapter 8 Fastenings Rammer, Douglas
Keywords: fastenings; nails; spikes; staples; bolts; screws; withdrawal resistance; metal plate connectors
File size: 4 MB
Chapter 9 Structural analysis equations Lo Ricco, Marco; Amini, Mohamed Omar; Rammer, Douglas
Keywords: structural analysis; wood beams; columns; built-up sections
File size: 3 MB
Chapter 10 Wood adhesives: bond formation and performance Frihart, Charles; Hunt, Christopher
Keywords: wood bonding; wood adhesives
File size: 2 MB
Chapter 11 Wood-based composite materials: panel products, glued laminated timber, structural composite lumber, and wood–nonwood composites Stark, Nicole; Cai, Zhiyong
Keywords: wood composites; cellulose nanocomposites; composite lumber; manufacturing; identification
File size: 5 MB
Chapter 12 Mechanical properties of wood-based composite materials Cai, Zhiyong; Senalik, Christopher Adam; Ross, Robert
Keywords: Wood-based; composite; mechanical properties; structural panel; industrial panel; structural lumber
File size: 423 KB
Chapter 13 Drying and control of moisture content and dimensional changes Bergman, Richard
Keywords: wood drying; wood stain; drying methods; moisture control; determination; wood defects; shrinkage; humidity; EMC; equilibrium moisture content
File size: 3 MB
Chapter 14 Biodeterioration of wood Arango, Rachel; Lebow, Stan; Glaeser, Jessie A.
Keywords: Fungi; insects; mold; bacteria; marine borers
File size: 6 MB
Chapter 15 Wood preservatives Kirker, Grant T.; Lebow, Stan
Keywords: Wood preservation; pressure treatment; disposal; usage guidelines
File size: 2 MB
Chapter 16 Finishing wood Hunt, Christopher
Keywords: finishes; wood; coatings
File size: 14 MB
Chapter 17 Use of wood in buildings and bridges Wacker, James
Keywords: wood; bridge; building; structural; thermal; moisture; sound
File size: 4 MB
Chapter 18 Fire safety of wood construction Dietenberger, Mark; Hasburgh, Laura, E..; Yedinak, Kara
Keywords: Fire performance; wood; char; ignition; flame spread; wildland urban interface; home ignition zone; flammability
File size: 1 MB
Chapter 19 Specialty treatments Ibach, Rebecca
Keywords: Plasticizing wood; wood modification; laminates
File size: 744 KB
Chapter 20 Heat sterilization of wood Wang, Xiping
Keywords: heat treatment; heating times; invasive species; pest; lumber; timber; treatment schedule
File size: 1 MB