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
