Stalking lranian Hardwoods

I NSIDE IRAN. For years the I media has scrutinized the puzzling country from almost every angle. Its leaders, its people, its tactics, its motives have all been examined. Now it's time to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the hardwoods of Iran.

Iran's keyaki (Zelkova carpinifolia) features a lustrous, light golden brown heartwood, resembling elm with its coarse texture. Its varying grain runs from straight to quite irregular and wavy.

The wood is hard, strong, tough and resilient, especially for its moderate weight. It also has good steam bending properties and dries quickly and well, if extra care is given. It works well and nails, screws and glues adequately. An especially durable wood, it is very resistant to insect and fungus attack.

Story at a Glance

Strengths and weaknesses of lranian hardwoods. woods are usually light in color, not large in size, moderately durable though susceptible to attack, and strong especially for their weight.

Keyaki also grows in China and Japan and recently was introduced to the United Kingdom. It is mostly devoted to decorative work, including carvings, cabinetry, inlay work, structural work and light construction.

European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), another Iranian species, is a medium-sized tree, similar to beech in appearance though usually not as large and often with a somewhat poorly formed stem. Its cold, dull, white wood slightly streaked with grey has a fine texture and near featureless look. Its grain may be irregular with undulating growth rings, especially if the stem is badly mis-shapen.

Hornbeam is one of the denser temperate hardwoods, a bit heavier than beech. Technically, in fact, it is like a dense beech, drying readily and well, although it may be unstable under changing humidity conditions. It is comparable in strength to beech, with good bending and high resistance to splitting. Yet it is harder to work, since it is heavier. And while it is not resistant to fungus attack, it can be treated with preservatives for outdoor use.

Since the only commercial stands are in parts of Iran, Turkey and Europe, hornbeam's limited supply has resulted in its use as a specialpurpose wood. It has produced items requiring hard-wearing, splinterfree qualities, such as billiard cues, drumsticks, cogs, tool handles, clubs, and piano parts.

The eastern plane (Platanus orientalis) is sycamore's sister in Iran. It has a light reddish-brown heartwood with a straight grain and a fine to medium texture.

Plane dries readily, with a tendency to distort. Its mechanical properties include the moderate strength of mahogany and low stiffness, resulting in a good steam bending wood. It works well despite minor proneness to blunt cutters and to bind on saws. It stains and polishes to an excellent finish. The trees are also perishable.

Its uses have centered on employing quarter-sawn veneers for paneling, and also for furniture and cabinets. It can be used for handles on brushes and other non-striking tools.

A compact timber, pale yellow in color, European boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) features a slightly varying grain with an intricately fine, even texture. Boxwood is an extremely heavy, dense wood, also equipped with high stiffness, steam bending, crushing strength and shock resistance properties.

The hardwood does dry slowly, often prone to surface checks and liable to severe end splitting if dried in the round. Its high resistance to cutting makes it a hard wood with which to work. But it is a durable one, despite its heartwood's susceptibility to attack by the common furniture beetle.

A terrific carving and turnery wood, boxwood has been used for textile rollers, pulley blocks, tool handles, rulers, bandings and stringings.

Commercially, the local product is known as Iranian boxwood. and is similarly called Persian boxwood, Turkish boxwood, etc., according to its country of origin.

Cabinet Manufacturer Expands

Cascade Cabinets, Woodinville, Wa., is undergoing a major expansion which will increase production by 300/o and improve manufacturing of popular European style cabinets.

The expansion includes the addition of 8,000 sq. ft. to the plant, expansion of the shipping/receiving area, additional machining equipment, and increased parking area.

The manufacturers of Homemark cabinets expect the construction to take 2-l/2 to 3 months and the enlarged facility to require an additional 20 employees.