What does bog oak mean? How to make bog oak at home

Humidity is determined using a special device - a moisture meter. There is another way. To determine the moisture content of wood, an alcohol solution of iodine is applied to a fresh chip of a flake from a workpiece with a brush. If the wood was harvested in winter (less damp), then the veins will acquire a dark purple hue, if in summer (more damp) - yellowish. If, when hitting the end of the workpiece with a hammer or the butt of an ax, a dull sound is obtained - the wood is damp; if it is ringing, it is dry. However, it is difficult to determine the moisture content of a knotted piece in this way, since the presence of knots will enhance the “sound” of the wood.
It is best to determine the moisture content of wood by the chips removed from the workpiece with a jointer. The wood will be damp if thin and long shavings can be tied into a knot, and dry if the shavings break.
The density of wood can be determined by the degree of saturation with moisture. So, to take away the oak board High Quality, identical-sized samples of several boards are placed in water for several hours, after which they are weighed. The heaviest sample will be the lowest quality because it has absorbed a lot of water, which means it has less dense wood than the others.
The juices that the tree feeds on during its growth contain many different salts. When the wood dries, they remain in the pores of the checkered structure of the tree, where, under certain conditions, moisture enters with the air. This promotes rotting of the workpiece material. To get rid of salts, the workpieces with a load are lowered onto a clean river bottom with their butts against the current. After a certain time (usually 7...8 months), water will wash all the salts from the wood. After drying, the wood becomes very durable, almost does not warp or crack. It should be remembered that not every tree can be freed from salts in this way, since many species rot in a humid environment. Therefore, only those species that are tolerant of staying in a humid environment are subject to leaching: oak, pine, alder, yew and some others.

Do-it-yourself artificial aging of wood

Bog oak is lumber obtained from oak, black in color with a violet tint (popularly nicknamed “blue wing” or “anthracite”) and barely noticeable silver veins. It was in a humid environment without access to oxygen, according to radiocarbon dating data from 800 years.

The material stained oak technology Its extraction is quite difficult and the processing of bog oak is associated with a number of difficulties. You should immediately take into account that bog oak, from the moment it gets into the water and until it rises, withstands a multi-thousand-year cycle of alternating physical and climatic loads. Imagine a mighty oak tree that has fallen into a river and has been firmly holding onto the high bank with its roots for many years. Meter by meter, for many years, the crown of the tree and the trunk itself are immersed in water.

There are three ways to extract bog oak. The first method is very labor-intensive and painstaking - this is the extraction of bog oak when carrying out dredging work by enterprises water transport. An equally labor-intensive method of extraction is during the development of peat bogs. The third extraction method is much more efficient and less expensive. It consists of the work of a specialized enterprise consisting of a number of divisions equipped with modern equipment and environmentally friendly technology.

Bog oak is usually huge in size, so it is possible to saw bog oak directly at the lifting site (the weight of 1 m3 of raised bog oak is from 1.5 tons), which can significantly reduce transport and storage costs. Lifted oak immediately after lifting is not difficult to clean from sand, and due to the increased moisture content it is much easier to saw.

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Deciduous trees and their use in construction

The greatest importance in carpentry is not coniferous, but deciduous. Of the variety of deciduous species, oak should be highlighted first.
Oak is different high strength, hardness, resistance to rotting, ability to bend, has a beautiful texture and color. In a tangential section, the pores are clearly visible, and in a radial section, large medullary rays are visible. The sapwood of an oak tree is clearly separated from the core by a light tone. Oak wood has sufficient viscosity and is well processed with cutting tools. After lying in the water for several decades, it acquires a silky dark purple color with a greenish tint (like a “raven’s wing”). Its hardness is higher than dry wood, but its fragility is also higher. Processing bog oak is difficult. Having a lot of tannins, oak wood pickles well. Young oak bark serves as a source of tannins. In a decoction of a mixture of crushed bark and oak trunk shavings, wood of other species is kept and thus saturated with tannins. Soaked in such a broth and saturated with tannins, the wood is well etched in solutions of metal salts, acquiring the necessary color. Oak wood is widely used for the manufacture of furniture, parquet, objects of decorative and applied art, as well as in cooperage. Oak veneer is used for veneering low-value species, plywood, particle boards etc. Oak is used in mosaic work and for large carvings; for small profiles it is inexpressive. Oak wood does not accept alcohol varnishes and polishes well, but it adheres well. Ash is similar in wood to oak, although it does not have pronounced core rays. When bleached, it acquires a grayish tint. Bends well after steaming. When dried, ash cracks little; Due to its high viscosity and strength, wood is difficult to process. Ash is easily damaged by a wormhole, so its wood is subjected to antiseptic treatment. The sapwood of an ash tree is clearly separated from the core. Its texture is beautiful, brownish-yellow in color. In unfavorable conditions (humidity, dampness), ash quickly rots. Flexible and durable, ash wood is recommended for the manufacture of home sports equipment - gymnastic walls, gymnastic boards, as well as railings, tool handles, etc. Due to its low frictional resistance, ash is not recommended for use in cutting tool blocks. Ash is poorly polished; requires, like oak, pore filling. For ash, decorative coating with nitro varnishes or waxing is recommended. Due to the frequent growths on the trunk and pronounced texture, ash wood is widely used in mosaic making.
Beech has a strong and hard wood; in strength it is not inferior to oak. In its pure form, beech does not have a pronounced texture, but in tangential and radial sections its wood is very beautiful and these decorative qualities are used when lining furniture with planed veneer. Beech is hygroscopic, so it is not used for products located in a humid environment. The wood dries quickly and does not crack. Beech is easy to split, saw and process with cutting tools; bends well when steamed; difficult to polish. The use of beech in carpentry is varied: from planing tool blocks to solid wood furniture. The wood is successfully used in carving, although it has high hardness, and also in mosaic work. It is well finished with nitro- and polyester varnishes, waxing, painted in various solutions and bleached.
Hornbeam is also called white beech. It has a hard, durable and dense wood with a whitish-gray color. The texture of hornbeam is not bright, like, for example, ash; Light dots are scattered on the evenly matte background of its wood. Often this species has a cross-layered wood structure, so the hornbeam is difficult to split. The sapwood does not have a large rature with slight deviations in tone; it is pinkish with redness or browning. Its wood is moderately hard and dense, is well finished, polished and processed with cutting tools, but is highly warped. In mosaic works it is used for sets of portraits, landscapes and geometric patterns. In carpentry it is used to make blocks for hand tools.
Chestnut has several varieties; Of these, the most famous are edible chestnut and horse chestnut. Due to its softness and uniform density, edible chestnut is used in carpentry and carving. In its structure, this species is somewhat similar to oak and ash, but in a radial section it does not have the luster of the core rays characteristic of oak. Horse chestnut is oblique and greyish in color, reminiscent of pine; It has durable wood and, thanks to tannins, is easily etched in solutions. It is used in carpentry and mosaic work in the form of sliced veneer.
Rowan has a hard, dense, finely layered wood, which is successfully used for making the handles of percussion carpentry tools and plane blocks. Only well-dried wood is used. The texture of rowan is weakly expressed. Elm is a hard, durable and dense rock that is well finished and polished. Thanks to its beautiful texture, its wood is used in mosaic work and carpentry, especially in the manufacture of elegant furniture. Tree trunks often develop burls, which are widely used as veneer in mosaic sets.
Sycamore and plane tree (eastern plane tree) grow, like elm, in the south of our country. Their kernel color is brownish-brown. A radial cut produces a beautiful pattern of wood fibers, which is successfully used in mosaic work. These rocks are moderately hard; processing them with a cutting tool due to cross-layering is difficult; The wood polishes well.
Fruit trees (plum, cherry, sweet cherry, apricot) and some shrubs (lilac, buckthorn, hawthorn, hazel, broom, cotoneaster, barberry, etc.) are used to make small carpentry products. As a rule, their wood is fine-grained, hard, of various color shades - from white-pink to purple in the core parts of the trunks. Wood fruit trees It is well polished, painted and etched in chemical solutions. Many of the shrubs (barberry, buckthorn, cotoneaster, broom, hawthorn, etc.) are used as coloring matter. For this purpose, their shavings, bark and sawdust are used.
Teak and rosewood are imported as sliced veneers for furniture cladding. Teak has a uniform texture of light brownish chocolate color, rosewood has a very beautiful texture with a purple-brown background, along which there are black and dark brown stripes. Their narrow sapwood is light yellow. Teak wood is easy to cut, but rosewood is very difficult. These breeds have a specific smell, similar to the smell of dried prunes. Polyester varnish does not adhere to them firmly, especially with rosewood, which gives off more than teak essential oils, accumulating in places with a black tint. Red, ebony (black), lemon wood and some other species are also imported into our country.

Features of oak wood and its application

DIY wood aging video

Oak density=700 kg/cub.m.
hardness=3.7-3.9

Istari is the most popular material in Russia for the manufacture of joinery and furniture products. It is widespread not only in Europe, but also in Asia, as well as in America. At the same time, not everyone knows that oak belongs to the beech family and includes about two hundred varieties, and its strong, durable and resistant to external influences wood can be from light to yellowish brown, but subsequently darkens somewhat, and therefore oak furniture acquires over the years, a characteristic noble appearance.
Oak does not tolerate accelerated drying (which can cause its wood to crack).
Several varieties grow in our country, but the most common is summer oak - pedunculate.
Oak wood is hard, heavy, characterized by high strength and resistance to decay, beautiful texture and color. Greenish-brown, with a powerful, rough pattern of fibers, and the light areas of the wood are particularly strong and have a kind of bone-like sheen.
Oak is easy to machine, can be easily finished and bent, and is used for carving and interior decoration. It is used in carpentry, furniture, cooperage and plywood production.
The furniture industry values stained oak, which has a dark gray color.
Naturally stained oak is obtained from oak trunks that have been in river water for a long time (hundreds of years).
Bog oak is characterized by increased hardness.

Wood color and shine - description and characteristics

The color palette of wood species has almost all shades of the spectrum, and variations of these shades include countless tonal relationships. One breed can have several dozen of them..
Wood color is one of the characteristics by which one type of wood differs from another. The wood of linden, pine, birch, maple, aspen is light, oak and ash are brown, walnut, teak are brownish, etc. If you compare the wood of pine and oak, you can say that pine is light yellow, oak - gray-brown. But in both cases, the color of the wood is given by the dyes and tannins found in its cells. More often there are breeds with warm shades of colors (ocher, brown, red-brown, yellow, orange), less often - with cold shades (green, blue, violet).
Under the influence of atmospheric conditions, the color of wood can change: within each climate zone Wood of one species has its own color shade. The color of wood is also affected by light and air: over time, the texture of the wood darkens. So, after a while, felled alder becomes reddish. To a certain extent, the color of the wood is changed by fungal infections, as well as mineral salts in the ground, the surroundings of the tree (darkening it from the sun), etc. The wood is darker towards the butt, and lighter towards the top. As all trees age, the wood also darkens. All this must be taken into account in carpentry and especially mosaic work, where texture and color act as a visual element in revealing a plot or image.
The color shades of various species can be classified into main groups, where one color of wood will be predominant:
yellow - birch, spruce, linden, aspen, hornbeam, maple, fir, ash (whitish-yellow with light shades pink and red), barberry (lemon yellow), mulberry (golden yellow), hawthorn, Karelian birch, bird cherry (reddish-brownish yellow), ailanthus (pinkish yellow);
brown - cedar, poplar, elm kernel (light brown), beech, larch, alder, pear, plum (reddish-pinkish-brown), chestnut, rowan (brown-brown), acacia (yellow-brown), Anatolian walnut ( greenish-brown);
brown - cherry (yellowish-brown), apple (yellowish-pinkish-light brown), apricot, Walnut(light (dark) brown);
red - yew, mahogany;
pink - cherry laurel (yellowish-pink), plane tree (dark pink);
orange - buckthorn;
purple - lilac, privet (kernel);
black - stained oak, ebony;
greenish - persimmon, pistachio.
The shine of wood is its ability to reflect light. Different breeds have different shine; To a large extent, this property is manifested in beech, maple, plane tree, and white acacia. Poplar, linden, aspen, and teak have a matte (satin) sheen; silky - willow, elm, ash, bird cherry; golden - cherry; silver - Siberian cedar; moire - birch, gray maple, cherry laurel.
The shine of the wood depends not only on the presence and size of the core rays, but also on the nature of their placement along the cuts: the larger the core rays (for example, in oak) and the denser the wood, i.e., the more crowded the core rays are (for example, in maple ), the greater the shine of the wood. The distribution of gloss over the surface is uneven and depends on the type of cut: in the radial plane it is stronger, in the transverse plane it is weaker.
The light and shadow tints in some species are clearly visible only in a longitudinal section of the trunk, in others - in all sections. They significantly affect the decorative qualities of wood, enhancing or weakening its expressive sound, so the shine of wood is taken into account when compiling mosaic sets.

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Coniferous wood.

Pine is the most common coniferous tree. The color of its wood can be brown, reddish, yellowish and almost white with slight streaks of red. The best material is obtained from those trees that grow on hills, dry hills, and sandstones; their annual layers are located close to each other, and the wood has a dense structure. The structure of pine wood growing in damp places, more loose. When dry, pine is a light and pliable species for carpentry. It is planed along the fibers well, across it is difficult, but sawed across it is good, along it is bad. Pine wood glues well. Furniture is made from it (for this purpose, natural wood with a beautiful, pronounced texture is selected), carpentry frames and structures for cladding with planed veneer of valuable species. Pine is widely used for the manufacture of doors, windows, flooring, etc. The wood is well processed with dyes and varnishes after de-resining. Pine is also used for mosaic and carving work.
Spruce is softer than pine, but it has a large number of small and medium knots, which makes it difficult to use in critical carpentry structures. The texture of its wood is inexpressive. Spruce is less moisture resistant than pine and is more susceptible to rotting, but its wood is less susceptible to warping, which is a positive quality of this material. The spruce finishes poorly but sticks together better than pine. Widely used in mosaic sets due to its knotty texture. In carpentry it is used mainly for non-critical furniture designs that do not experience heavy loads during operation.
Larch occupies a special place among other conifers. Its wood has a reddish-brownish, sometimes brownish tint and is characterized by high strength (stronger than oak) and moisture resistance. Dry larch wood is processed well, although with prolonged processing of parts the sole of the tool becomes greasy. Larch is not very susceptible to warping, but during rapid drying, internal cracks may appear in the wood of the trunk. Nitrocellulose varnishes are mainly used for finishing larch. The breed is used in carpentry and mosaic work, and is used for making carved products.
Cedar has a whitish-yellow wood with different color shades depending on where it grows. Cedar wood is not distinguished by its high density and strength, is resistant to rotting, is little susceptible to wormholes, has a strong specific odor, and chips well. In carpentry it is used for products that are not subject to heavy loads. Polishing of cedar wood is rarely used; it is finished mainly with wax. Cedar wood, like larch, is well processed with cutting tools. Cedar is a good material for carving.
Juniper is a coniferous shrub, the diameter of whose trunks reaches 10 cm. Its strong, thin-layered wood is well processed and polished, and has a specific pleasant smell. Juniper is used in carpentry for the manufacture of small parts, for turning, for carving and mosaic work.
Cypress and thuja are similar in properties to juniper, but their wood is wider-grained and darker in tone. They are used for small carving work. Cypress does not crack or warp.
Yew has red-brown wood with dark and light veins. Its sapwood is light, almost white. Yew wood is strong and hard with a significant number of knots on the trunk. It is almost not affected by the wormhole and is little sensitive to atmospheric changes. Planes and polishes well; It paints well, especially black. In carpentry, yew wood has a variety of uses; it is a good material for carving; Yew veneer is valued in mosaic work.
Siberian fir is used on a par with spruce, although it has reduced physical and mechanical properties.

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Bog oak − unique material, the creation of which nature sometimes spent many thousands of years. What does this black material with silver-gray veins, which has absorbed the history of centuries and millennia, remember? You cannot find a more beautiful and elegant, strict wood texture than that of bog oak. Unfortunately, at present, for a number of reasons, there is an acute lack of educational and special information on the topic of the appearance, use and application of bog oak in nature.

Often, as if in passing, in the works of venerable writers or in historical documents, we receive information about exquisite, valuable and unique products or objects made of bog oak. Either we learn that Tsar Peter gives his wife Catherine a marvelously crafted box made of the unusual beauty of bog oak, or we learn that souvenirs made of bog oak, along with family jewelry, were passed down from generation to generation. And having paid closer attention to such information, we learn that products made from bog oak were decorations and a source of pride for the most exquisite European palaces. For example, in 1713, the English master Clausen made the Imperial throne for Peter I from bog oak and gilded silver, which today stands in the small Throne Hall of the Winter Palace. The son of Mary Stuart, James I, expressed a desire to possess a throne made of bog oak, “...so that its healing properties would contribute to righteous rule...”, and after the official coronation he received this valuable gift from the English Parliament. The Knights of King Arthur gathered together to make serious decisions. round table, made from bog oak.

In Russia, giving ebony gifts on special occasions has become a tradition. Cabinets, armchairs, and bureaus were given as gifts for anniversaries and official appointments. For weddings and angel's day, ladies were presented with boxes, caskets and small carved angels made of bog oak. These souvenirs, along with family jewelry, were passed down from generation to generation. The generals bequeathed cabinets made of bog oak to their grandchildren, and the elderly countess could give her great-granddaughter a little angel, which she had once inherited from her grandmother, for good luck. Currently, products made from bog oak are stored either in museums (for example, in the National Museum in Dublin, etc.), palaces, or in private collections.

What is bog oak? Why is there currently so little information about him? What is its price? And how can you get it? Bog oak is lumber obtained from oak, black in color with a violet tint (popularly nicknamed “blue wing” or “anthracite”) and barely noticeable silver veins. It was in a humid environment without access to oxygen, according to radiocarbon dating data from 800 years.

In ancient times, oak forests grew on the banks of rivers and lakes. Over the course of many centuries, rivers often have to change the direction of their movement. As a result, the water, changing direction, washed away the banks, and mighty centuries-old oak trees gradually found themselves in the river. As time passed, the sand washed away both the trunks and branches in a multi-meter layer. Any tree in such conditions is doomed to complete destruction, but the oak is just beginning its second life. Oak bark and wood contain a large amount of tannins - tannins, which are amorphous polymeric substances, the exact composition and structure of most of which have not yet been clarified. The tannin content is very significant. The oak core contains 6% - 11%, and the bark contains from 5% to 16%. Tannins are highly soluble in water and easily oxidize. It should be especially noted that when combined with iron salts contained in water, tannins give a dark blue color, as a result of which the wood of oak located in the river over the years acquires a black color with a dark blue tint and noble gray veins. In general, bog oak amazes the imagination with the history of its creation. Seeing a dried, centuries-old stained tree, you admire the path it had to go through. Particularly striking is the outer layer, consisting of rough plates of natural black coal. You can’t help but think about how much energy was boiling in this tree deep in the water or earth during its second life? How could the outer layer of wood turn into coal without being on fire? And why, already processed, even in the form of a simple polished part, does it radiate soft, gentle energy when touched? After all, it has long been noted that those who come into contact with bog oak are forever captivated by its deep power, beauty and uniqueness.

A flooded tree is greatly influenced by the flow of water and sand. The oak bark leaves the tree, and the cleaned trunk is covered with a unique pattern created by water and sand. With a subsequent change in the river bed, the trees covered with sand and silt find themselves at a considerable distance from the flowering oak forests. After many years, as a result of another change in the movement of the river, the water washes away the sand, and the oak appears again on the surface. And so from year to year, from century to century, from millennium to millennium. Lakes also go their way from birth to old age, turning into swamps and then into peat bogs, hiding fallen trees for many years. This process is also very long.

For example, during excavations of peat bogs in Ireland (1960), oak trees were discovered, the age of which, according to radiocarbon dating, ranges from 4000 to 7000 years.

In 1973, S.I. Ivachenko, under a 6-meter layer of river sediment near the village of Shchuchye on the banks of the Don, discovered an oak boat that had lain for 4,000 years and was perfectly preserved. Currently, the canoe is on display at the Historical Museum in Moscow. Since ancient times, bog oak has been mined from great depths in rivers. Then they dried it for many years, and the methods for drying bog oak were a closely guarded secret. And since the quantity of bog oak was very limited, the manufacture of products from it was trusted only to recognized, experienced craftsmen, the so-called cabinetmakers. From the second half XII centuries to the XV-XVI centuries best houses In England, Germany, Bohemia (Czech Republic) furniture and interiors made of bog oak and decorated with beautiful, masterly flat-relief and openwork carving. Later, with the appearance in Europe large quantity mahogany from America and Africa (1720) and due to the lack of bog oak in sufficient quantities, cabinetmakers began to be called cabinetmakers. The reserves of bog oak in Europe, and subsequently in America, were exhausted by the beginning of the last century. Currently, the discovery of bog oak in European countries is an event. And those few specialists who know the true value of bog oak treat it very carefully.

In our country, for a number of reasons, bog oak was crossed out for a long time from the list of materials that could be widely mined and used. On the one hand, it was considered a valuable material, the extraction of which was officially prohibited, and on the other hand, until recently, bog oak was quite difficult for technical extraction and processing.

As a result, in the USSR - a huge, rich country Over the past 70 years, bog oak has been equally used both as unique lumber and as basic firewood. There are known cases of delivery of bog oak for the production of a special order by helicopter. But, for example, when carrying out dredging work, the extracted bog oak, due to its small volumes and difficulties in processing, was easier to burn than to officially register and give it a new life. Currently, due to new economic relations, bog oak reserves will be in demand very soon. However, the supply of bog oak in the Republic of Belarus is limited and you can be sure that it will be exhausted in a matter of years.

Like gold and platinum from metals, diamond from minerals, bog oak is the most valuable and hardest to obtain of all. wood material created by nature over many centuries and millennia. Its reserves are limited and irreplaceable. Each bog oak has gone through its own individual, centuries-old path. Therefore, each copy is unique and unrepeatable. Taking into account the irreplaceability of bog oak reserves, the true cost of bog oak lumber should be an order of magnitude higher than any of the most expensive lumber created by nature.

The extraction and processing of bog oak is associated with a number of difficulties. You should immediately take into account that bog oak, from the moment it gets into the water and until it rises, withstands a multi-thousand-year cycle of alternating physical and climatic loads. Imagine a mighty oak tree that has fallen into a river and has been firmly holding onto the high bank with its roots for many years. Meter by meter, for many years, the crown of the tree and the trunk itself are immersed in water. For a long time, before it is completely immersed in water, it is helpless against the effects of water, wind, frost and heat, which in itself is already detrimental to wood. In addition, it is of no small importance what kind of soil the tree is subsequently immersed in. Either it will be washed away with clay or sand, which in turn also affects the properties of wood differently. The thickness of the layer under which the tree is located also matters, and the magnitude of which determines the pressure exerted on the tree.

The type of oak also matters, since it is known that there are 600 types of oak in the world, each of which has its own individual differences, ranging from density to texture features. Currently, only pedunculate oak is widespread in our Republic, and in the territory of the former Soviet Union there were only 19 species, and it is possible that in the times of thousands of years ago the species composition of oak was more extensive. It should be noted that for bog oak it is quite difficult to determine its botanical name. The age of the oak also affects the condition of the wood. Of great importance is the health of the tree, the presence or absence of diseases, wormholes and other damage. Constantly being in a humid environment, bog oak, like no other wood, is susceptible to swelling. The swelling of bog oak is due to the colloidal nature of the wood substance, which belongs to the class of limited swelling gels. It depends on many factors, among which the most important are the amount of absorbed bound water and the density of wood, its anatomical structure and morphology of cell walls, temperature, moisture stress and others. Swelling is complicated by the fact that individual chemical components of wood are localized in different morphological elements of the cell wall and have unequal ability to swell. At the same time, the humidity of the wood being lifted depends on the length of time the wood remains in the water, which ranges from 110% to 200%. Moreover, it has been established that with an increased moisture content (over 115%), the physical and mechanical properties of bog oak wood change for the worse and correspond to the properties of such types of wood as alder and aspen. This is due to the fact that with a very long stay in a humid environment, wood is destroyed at the cellular level, compacted and filled with moisture. Accordingly, drying the extracted material at a humidity of 110%, while the humidity of freshly cut oak varies within 65%, is not an easy task.

Due to the lack of technology for industrial extraction and processing of bog oak, poor technical equipment of enterprises, the extraction of bog oak until now, with very, very rare exceptions, has not brought positive results and led to huge unforeseen financial costs and irretrievable loss of excellent raw materials.

There are three ways to extract bog oak. The first method is very labor-intensive and painstaking - this is the extraction of bog oak when performing dredging work by water transport enterprises. An equally labor-intensive method of extraction is during the development of peat bogs.

In the first and second cases, serious equipment and maintenance personnel are involved, which has a very significant impact on the cost of extracted bog oak, since according to the estimate for the extraction of bog oak by the BELVODPUT enterprise, the cost of extracting 1 m 3 of bog wood is 220 US dollars. However, it should be noted that the volumes of bog oak production in these cases are difficult to predict and cannot serve as the basis for the industrial production of bog oak.

The third extraction method is much more efficient and less expensive. It consists of the work of a specialized enterprise consisting of a number of divisions equipped with modern equipment and environmentally friendly technology.

The main condition for the effective extraction of bog oak is the creation of a specialized enterprise for the extraction and processing of bog oak, equipped with special equipment that allows all work to be carried out efficiently and in the shortest possible time. Scientific and technological progress makes it possible to use the latest achievements in carrying out lifting operations, prospecting work and drying lumber. Moreover, when operating a specialized enterprise, you will have to use means and equipment unusual for logging, for example, such as floating. means, electronic search equipment, scuba divers. A specialized enterprise, equipped with modern equipment, is able to effectively and fully use the navigation period, which allows it to avoid the more costly extraction of bog oak in the winter. A specialized enterprise is able, which is especially valued in the business world, to fulfill an order of any complexity and guarantee the supply of this valuable, quality material in the required quantities at any time and in the most short time. And, of course, such an enterprise has the opportunity to create a stock of bog oak and lead the market for its trade. At the same time, it should be noted that all bog oak, when creating a specialized enterprise and carrying out planned work in all special areas, receives the status of a valuable raw material, with a predicted volume of its production. The created enterprise will have the opportunity to constantly monitor the situation on the bog oak market and conduct a wide advertising campaign in order to conduct effective trading activities.

The specialized technical equipment of the enterprise allows, in the shortest possible time, to carry out seasonal exploration of bog oak reserves with location fixation, and to ensure prompt lifting and processing of bog oak. And modern advanced drying methods make it possible to minimize the loss of lumber. As a result, guaranteed industrial supplies of high-quality, most expensive lumber that meet the most stringent global requirements are possible. Moreover, it is especially important that a specialized enterprise is able to provide supply of bog oak both in the form of lumber and in the form of round timber (which is especially important for the production of highly artistic, three-dimensional compositions) all year round. It should be noted that a specialized enterprise for the extraction of bog oak can successfully operate in the CIS countries, Poland, and the Baltic countries, where, along with its main activities, it can effectively carry out work on the environmental cleanup of rivers and reservoirs. And what is important, such an enterprise is 70% equipped with mechanisms and equipment made in Belarus. Those who have encountered the problem of extracting bog oak know that extracting bog oak is not the main thing, the main thing is

carry out high-quality drying of the extracted material. When saturated with water, bog oak wood retains its plasticity, but after drying it becomes much harder and more brittle compared to its natural state. The shrinkage of bog oak is 1.5 times greater than usual, which is explained by the wrinkling (collapse) of cells with reduced wall thickness, which is why bog oak wood cracks when dried more than usual. And, of course, this task becomes more complicated by several orders of magnitude when the issue of industrial (from 1000 m 3) extraction and processing of bog oak is resolved. But in order to carry out high-quality drying of round bog oak wood at the initial stage, in contrast to simple wood, appropriate conditions are also required, and first of all, a specially equipped warehouse, adapted for working with large, heavy objects, in which the necessary humidity and temperature parameters. Storing raised bog oak on outdoors even under a well-equipped canopy does not guarantee its high-quality drying, since it requires constant, labor-intensive maintenance of each specimen, and this is a difficult task on the scale of industrial production. When storing bog oak in specially equipped warehouses, the amount of work is significantly reduced. Without special expenses, it is possible to bring the external and internal humidity in the logs to the range of 30−60%.

Currently on site former USSR bog oak in any form, from round timber to lumber, can be offered all year round by only one enterprise - GODO "TRANS-CENTER", Republic of Belarus, Gomel.

To accomplish this task, the company has developed and tested a technology for storing bog oak. Specially equipped underground warehouses(5600 m2) with constant temperature and humidity conditions.

It is possible to saw bog oak directly at the lifting site (the weight of 1 m 3 of raised bog oak is from 1.5 tons), which can significantly reduce transport and storage costs. Lifted oak immediately after lifting is not difficult to clean from sand, and due to the increased moisture content it is much easier to saw. Bog oak, oversaturated with moisture, loses significant weight in the first days after sawing under appropriate conditions. This creates the opportunity to reject substandard, damaged material. Quality material is sorted and preliminary preparation to drying.

At the same time, agreements were concluded with woodworking enterprises for the processing of bog oak from sawing and drying to the manufacture of lumber, furniture, and parquet. The results of practical cooperation with enterprises at all stages of the technological process were obtained.

Processing was carried out both at state enterprises and at private ones, equipped with advanced equipment.

Currently, the main activity of the TRANS-CENTER GODO is to finalize the technology for industrial extraction and processing of bog oak. The cycle from exploration, production and processing to manufacturing has been fully developed finished product− lumber, parquet, furniture. A technology has been developed for an effective, relatively inexpensive search for bog oak reserves. For example, the Russian enterprise RUSEXPORT, to carry out exploration work at the first stage, uses aircraft to conduct aerial photography of about 300 km of the river and obtain photographs, with the help of which the most probable deposits of bog oak are analyzed, and then the results of underwater exploration are used. At the first stage, specialists from the State Educational Organization "TRANS-CENTER" analyze the distribution of floodplain oak forests in the proposed work area (from 1000 or more years ago) based on data from the Belarusian Scientific Research Institute of Forestry. And after that, using special equipment, short terms Bog oak reserves are being explored. Submariners are used only to ascertain the presence of bog oak and conduct preparatory work by lifting the discovered wood. As a result of the use of technology developed by the TRANS-CENTER GODO, one search group is able to thoroughly explore 2,170 kilometers of rivers within one month. In other words, all navigable rivers of the Republic of Belarus, the length of which is 2,700 km, can actually be examined for the presence of bog oak in one to a maximum of two months.

Having reliable, verified data on the accumulation of bog oak, you can effectively use the capabilities of water transport enterprises of our Republic, which, due to various circumstances, are currently not fully used. At the same time, using equipment produced in our Republic, it is possible to effectively extract bog oak in non-navigable rivers, the length of which is 39,000 km.

It should be noted that in parallel, it is possible to implement a program for cleaning the rivers of our Republic, based on a fundamentally new approach that involves the development of eco-business, which will have a positive impact on the ecological condition of rivers. The drift wood accumulated in the rivers made them unsuitable for recreation. It also affects the process of changing river beds. According to the latest data from scientists, wood in water is a source of phenols. As you know, this chemical is a strong poison for humans, and especially for children. The process of decreasing biological and landscape diversity in floodplains is increasing every year. This problem can be solved by a local environmental program, which should be implemented local authorities authorities. But in the current situation, local district budgets do not have enough funds for this. Today's complex environmental situation can only be resolved by a program that combines business and ecology. Attempts to solve environmental problems in conditions of economic instability of society, in the absence of a self-financing mechanism and mutual interests of government bodies and business circles, are doomed to failure.

Specialists of GODO "TRANS-CENTER" carried out marketing research regarding the demand and possibility of selling bog oak both in the CIS countries and abroad. An analysis was made of the capabilities of enterprises, to one degree or another involved in the extraction of bog oak, to ensure uninterrupted supplies of high-quality bog oak lumber. The real price of its quality material has been determined as this moment, and the estimated price for bog oak in the coming decades. Important factors influencing the demand, supply and price parameters of bog oak have been identified. A thorough analysis has been carried out legal requirements in the field of extraction, processing and sale of bog oak both in our Republic and in countries near and far abroad.

Artificially stained oak

Nowadays, you can often find offers for the supply of artificially stained bog oak, which in its physical and mechanical properties is superior to natural bog oak. Sellers guarantee impeccable color parameters of lumber. The price of such oak is slightly more expensive than processed natural oak. It is assumed that such material completely replaces natural bog oak, which is very expensive to extract and process and which requires a serious, qualified attitude. In reality, artificially stained oak only vaguely resembles natural oak (just as artificial honey resembles natural honey) and has a number of disadvantages. There are cases when sellers, passing off wood of an unknown color as artificial stained oak, cannot accurately and intelligibly answer the question of what color natural stained oak is.

There are major differences between artificial stained oak and natural stained oak.

Bog oak is a fossil material; it is fundamentally different from freshly cut oak, because long time being in a humid, airless environment, completely different processes take place in it associated with the transformation of internal energy.
Natural bog oak grew at one time in ecologically absolutely healthy, pre-industrial conditions, which makes it possible to produce environmentally friendly products from it, which are in great demand and attention at the present time.
Reserves of natural bog oak are limited and irreplaceable.
The vast majority of famous bog oak products are of cultural and historical value.
Currently, dozens of methods are known for staining wood of oak, birch (including Karelian), etc. Basically, chemical substances and elements are used for staining wood, the use of which in the future can have Negative influence per consumer. The quality of processing of such wood is also questionable. And definitely - a specialist, based on external and internal characteristics, will always distinguish natural stained oak from artificial stained oak.
Currently, mainly 50-100 year old oak wood is processed, that is, wood that has been fully exposed to technogenic factors at the cellular level.

A special line should be noted on the absolute absurdity of the production and use of veneer from natural bog oak, since one of the main advantages of bog oak, as we noted earlier, is its irreplaceability in nature, and for covering lumber made with the use of synthetic resins, as well as plastics, it is quite You can successfully use veneer from any lumber treated with paints and varnishes, including stained oak.

Current situation with the extraction, processing and sale of bog oak

With the advent of new market relations in the countries of the former USSR, attempts were made everywhere to extract bog oak. Everything seemed very simple. There are a lot of logs in all rivers, labor is cheap - take a tractor, a truck, take the first log you find in the river to the sawmill, or you can bypass the sawmill and immediately send it to the West. And in the first years, there were indeed frequent cases of lifting and storing large volumes of wood on the shore, which by the end of summer lost all of its unique properties. There were cases of sending large volumes of so-called bog oak to the West. In those days, it was necessary to observe the loading of logs for shipment abroad, several days ago raised from the water onto railway platforms, which were wet from the water flowing from them. Or sawing logs at a collective farm sawmill, when, despite the fact that water oozes from the boards in a stream, they are stacked under open air. But things didn’t go any further, since the issue of raising and processing bog oak on an industrial scale turned out to be many orders of magnitude more difficult than expected. The driftwood, whose humidity ranges from 110%, was lifted from the river and unloaded onto the shore. Under the influence of sunlight and summer heat, the wood became completely unusable after a few weeks. The wood that was sent by unprepared transport also became unusable. Due to the lack of technology for industrial extraction and, most importantly, processing of bog oak, and the presence of only superficial knowledge of the properties of bog wood, including bog oak, absolutely all enterprising people engaged in this type of activity suffered significant financial losses, which discouraged them from running this business for a long time. At the same time, the Western partners, instead of the promised high-quality material of the vaunted bog oak, received substandard, destroyed material, which also discouraged them from working in bog oak for a long time. Thus, over the course of 3-5 years, large-scale anti-advertising work was carried out on the vast territory of the former Soviet Union with the involvement of Western potential investors and huge amount responsible employees of water transport enterprises and enterprising people.

The result of this company was the complete discrediting of bog oak as a unique, most expensive in the price range, environmentally friendly, irreplaceable lumber.

After 10 years, the situation has changed radically. In 1996−1997, MarSTU scientists, based on the standard methodology of TsNIILesosplava, MLTI and BTI, developed a program and methodology for studying the composition of sunken wood in water bodies Republic of Mari El. Planned studies of the volumes of sunken timber in the Republic have begun with the aim of organizing industrial production. In September 2002, at a session of the Regional Coordination Council for Wood Science, held at the Bryansk State Academy of Engineering and Technology, which was attended by about 90 representatives of educational, research, expert and other organizations, for the first time since 1947, the terms “flashwood” were discussed in detail " and "bog oak", agreed upon editions of their definitions have been developed. Professor E.M. Runova (Bratsk State Technical University) reported on the properties of driftwood. New advanced technologies and equipment for wood processing have appeared, and the range of effective search tools has expanded. In the countries of the former USSR, a real market has emerged, which lives and develops according to well-known market laws. More and more free financial resources and fewer unoccupied economic spheres are being discovered. And accordingly, such a resource as bog oak will soon be in demand.

Bog oak supplies are limited and irreplaceable. The use of valuable bog oak as firewood in the age of scientific and technological progress is an unaffordable, criminal luxury, bordering on an anti-state attitude towards the country’s natural resources.

A. A. DUPANOV

GODO "TRANS-CENTER",
247001, st. Rechnaya 8a, Chonki village,
Gomel, Republic of Belarus.
t/f (375 232) 96 13 89, 55 90 82, 55 93 77.

Stained wood is wood that has lain in water for many years, resulting in incredible beauty and strength.

Everyone knows that there are valuable tree species, and there are more affordable ones, such as pine or spruce. But there is a completely special category of wood - stained. This is a tree that, after lying in water for tens, hundreds, thousands of years, acquires incredible beauty and strength. Let's talk about stained wood.

Stained wood - incredible beauty and strength

Tree trunks and fragments lying under water are usually called driftwood. A logical name, considering that the tree actually ends up drowned and has been at the bottom of the sea, lake, river, or swamp for decades. It is noteworthy that some trunks turn into dust, rot and, of course, cannot be used. But other trees, on the contrary, acquire truly stone strength.

The most valuable stained wood is oak. This royal tree is already valued for its strength and beautiful texture. After lying under water for at least 300 years, oak acquires delicate fawn shades. If the tree is black, then it has lain in the reservoir for about 1000 years!

In the pre-industrial era, “black gold” was not called oil at all, but bog oak. Products made from it are practically eternal and are not subject to rotting, mildew or mildew. They do not need protective covering, and stained wood also looks extraordinarily beautiful.

Besides oak, larch is considered the most valuable stained wood. No wonder. It is these tree species that, due to their high density, sink and sink to the bottom, where a transformation process occurs under a layer of silt or sand. Even in fresh water there are salts that interact with the tannins of wood and help it acquire special hardness and strength.

According to experts, for a tree to really become stained, it must lie under water for at least 40 years. In general, the longer the better, experts say. Ideal places For obtaining bog wood, stagnant waters of swamps or lakes are used. But a tree that has lain in sea water, soaked in salt, will also be no less durable.

You can make literally anything from stained wood: furniture, parquet, various crafts, figurines and figurines, boxes, billiard cues, pipes, other interior items and even jewelry. This material has no disadvantages, but it is not accessible to everyone. Stained wood, especially oak and larch, is very expensive! There are several good reasons for this:

Firstly, this is a rare material. Although, as calculated by the Central Research Institute of Lesoslava, during the transportation of tree trunks, approximately 1% of the total floated volume drowns, and about 9 million m3 of driftwood has accumulated in the Volga basin. That's a lot, you say. But finding sunken trunks is not easy. In addition, only 50% of all sunken wood can be classified as commercial, that is, suitable for further use. And there is no more than 5% oak among the driftwood. In Europe, the search for and lifting of flooded trees has been carried out for a long time and purposefully, so it is already very difficult to find driftwood in European countries. Russia still has reserves of this material;
Secondly, lifting a tree to the surface is technically difficult. Special equipment is needed, usually requiring the help of scuba divers. The wood becomes heavy; you cannot get a whole trunk by hand;
Thirdly, it’s not enough to get some driftwood. It also needs to be dried before use. This takes about a year, and in no case should you speed up the process; drying should occur naturally;
Fourthly, processing what has become very durable wood difficult, requires special skills and tools. Not all carpenters undertake to work with bog oak.

Therefore, for three kilograms of bog black oak on the Internet they often ask for about 2 thousand rubles! Or 200 rubles for one small piece, literally a cube, suitable only for cutting out, for example, a knife handle. A finished bog oak comb, such as shown in the photo above, will cost more than 12 thousand rubles.

You can imagine how much a parquet made of such material or a kitchen set will cost. Experts compare the cost of a good stained oak log with the price of a car. Cheaper are stained birch, pine, and aspen - they charge from 1.5 to 20 thousand rubles per cubic meter, depending on the condition and quality of the wood.

With such prices for stained wood, it is not surprising that manufacturers of furniture and interior items achieve similarity with the help of stains and special impregnations. Yes, this is an imitation; in terms of strength and hardness, such wood is no different from ordinary wood, but the color becomes darker, more noble, and the structure is emphasized.

Stained wood is an elite material. Only for expensive interiors, decoration of yachts, interiors of exclusive cars, furniture that stands in the offices of presidents and executives of large companies.published

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In the modern world, it is important to use not only aesthetic materials, but also natural ones. Bog oak is just such a product. Combining aesthetics and naturalness, it has become widely popular. Of course, this raw material is expensive, but for those who cannot afford this material, but really want it, there are options. There are a number of different stylizations for this shade.

In many European countries, the discovery of such wood in nature is an event. And in Russia to this day large reserves of valuable wood have been preserved.

What is bog oak

Bog oak is obtained through the process of long-term soaking of wood in a liquid with mineral salts, as a result of which the wood acquires new properties and original color. This process is called mineralization, which is carried out in natural natural environment. The extraction of such wood is carried out in places where oak groves grew thousands of years ago - often these are swamps. Changes in river beds carried them under water, where the trunks and branches remained intact and acquired incredible strength.

Under the influence of chemicals, the shade of the wood changed - it became darker and more saturated. And the outer layer usually consists of black plates of coal, although the oak was not in fire, but, on the contrary, under water for many centuries.

Application area

Previously it was often used for interior decoration palaces and castles.

Nowadays, this type of oak is used for the manufacture of furniture and interior decoration elements (parquet, wall slabs, mosaics).

Souvenirs and jewelry made from this raw material are also exclusive and very interesting. However, finding them is quite difficult, because the manufacture of such products is carried out by a narrow circle of specialists.

Benefits of use

Strength, durability, unique and unusual shade- this is not all the benefits of wood.

The distinctive properties of the material also include:

This high-quality natural product has been valued and in demand at all times, but, unfortunately, oak supplies are limited and cannot be replenished. Although there were attempts at the beginning of the last century.

Bog oak in the interior

This wood, despite its rarity, is used quite often in a variety of fields. The rarity and value of the material requires fine manual processing.

The most popular area of application is interior.

This wood is used to make:

pieces of furniture;
souvenirs;
floor finishing materials;
wall coverings;
stairs;
window;
doors.

Interior items made from this type of wood are characterized by a long service life, and decorative elements are doomed to turn into antique objects.

This material will be an appropriate solution when creating a room design in a Scandinavian style. Furniture made from this wood in the interior is a sign of the prosperity and excellent taste of the owner of the house.

Furniture

Due to its high cost, furniture made of bog oak belongs to the elite category. The high cost is due not only to the limited natural reserves, but also to the complexity of extracting and processing wood - only a fairly experienced craftsman can handle work of this nature. The quality and originality of the product, as a rule, is documented by the seller.

An interesting solution would be in the living room coffee table. You can put a small table for tea ceremonies in the dining room, and a table for accessories and cosmetics in the bathroom.

In commercial and administrative premises, tables made from this noble raw material are almost universally used. They become a bright and noticeable detail in the director's office or in the conference room.

Advantages and disadvantages

Furniture made from this natural product has a number of advantages:

attractive and respectable appearance;
environmental friendliness and safety;
strength and durability;
a wide variety of options;
the ability to assemble and disassemble furniture several times.

Products made from this material are truly reliable and strong.

However, they also have a number of disadvantages:

high price;
the products are quite heavy;
difficulty of handling in case of damage.

Experts advise trusting the work of professionals in the manufacture and assembly of furniture, since without some experience it will be quite problematic to “tame” the wood. The talented work of the master will turn tables and other furniture into works of art. Wood that is resistant to any external influences predicts a long life for products made from it. They can serve their owners for many decades, or even hundreds, passing from generation to generation.

Window

Oak treated by nature is a reliable material for creating wooden windows with rich texture, excellent thermal and sound insulation, strength and durability. Do not forget that this natural material does not require additional care and is perfectly protected from aggressive influences environment. In addition, such windows will look organic in almost any interior.

An analogue of windows made of bog oak can be plastic windows in high-quality laminated film. There are quite a few differences from windows made of natural material: they are based on plastic, and the price range varies. Nevertheless, such windows are perfect for wooden country houses, and for city apartments, offices, and for loggias, balconies, and terraces.

Regardless of whether the material is natural or not, stained oak colored windows are the optimal solution for interiors based on a calm, neutral palette. They will instantly turn into the most stylish element of the interior, but at the same time they will not attract too much attention to themselves. A noble and sophisticated atmosphere is guaranteed in the living room and bedroom. Also, windows will effectively combine with cream or light beige walls. Rustic and wenge styles will be in harmony with windows made of this material.

In order for the windows to look most organically in the interior, it is necessary to supplement them stylish accessories. The window sill must match the tone of the frame and opening. When choosing fittings, you should pay attention to matte parts with a silver coating, and choose curtains or blinds in a brown shade.

Staining oak at home

Modern technologies make it possible to imitate the color of wood. Scientists have achieved that they can recreate the color while maintaining the aesthetics and moisture resistance of the material. The option of making it at home is accessible and simple. Ultimately, you can get a unique oak material with silver veins inside.

In order to obtain such material, a special mixture is needed that imitates the shade of natural moraine wood - stain.

The product is applied in two steps: the first layer must be applied to the surface of the wood at a slight angle, applying strokes across the grain, the second - along. To work, you should use a flute - a flat, wide brush specially designed for applying stain and creating natural, imperceptible transitional shades of tone. The soft and resilient bristles of the brush make this tool the best of its kind. Most often, stain is used to treat laminate flooring.

Composition of stain

The composition of the product is simple. Wood impregnation is divided into types based on the base material.

The most popular include:

Water. The most extensive and popular group of impregnations. It is produced in finished form or in powder form. The advantages include: non-toxicity, wide range of shades, ease of application, low consumption, affordable price. Disadvantages: the ability to lift wood fibers, opening access to moisture, long drying process. If during the work, due to impregnation, the wood fibers are damaged and the hairs of the fibers stand up, then you should wait for complete drying and treat the surface with sandpaper, and then cover it again with a layer of impregnation. Excessive wetting can be prevented by coating the dry surface with varnish.
Alcohol. Like water, it is sold dry or ready-made. Dries quickly. On the one hand, this property saves time, on the other hand, to get a uniform tone, experts recommend using a spray gun. When applied manually, alcohol impregnation often creates greasy spots. To work with such a stain, you must have protective tools: special gloves and masks. Otherwise, there is a chance of getting a chemical burn or poisoning.
Oily. Pigments dissolved in oil allow you to tint a wooden surface in all possible shades. At home, this product is quite convenient: oil stain fits perfectly on the surface and does not require special tools for application, penetrates evenly without disturbing the wood texture, and forms a protective film.
Acrylic and wax. Stain made from these substances is a new generation of materials for processing and protecting wooden surfaces. The main advantages of the material are considered to be: the formation of an insulating film, a wider range of colors in comparison with other impregnations (from natural shades to exotic ones). The effect of a bright colored coating based on natural wood structure is called stain. Modern designers quite often use stain to transform interior elements. The main disadvantage of the material is its high cost.
Alkyd. This product helps to obtain wood in the natural desired shade, increases the resistance of the material to external negative factors acting on the material. The product after such impregnation does not require varnishing, only for shine.

The eye of a professional will, of course, always distinguish between raw materials made at home and natural ones. Based on this, artificial material is often used in rooms with high humidity: baths, saunas, swimming pools to make it less noticeable.

Video about color

This video shows how to make stained oak with your own hands.

The rarest wood in the world, which is a kind of precious material, is bog oak. Cubic meter This wood costs an average of $2,000. The bog oak has two lives, one of which it lives on land, and the second under water.

This second life began many centuries ago, when, subject to intergalactic laws, rivers changed their course. Time eroded the shores, and trees from coastal oak forests ended up under water, where they remained until an inquisitive person discovered them.

Only in the post-Soviet space are such huge reserves of bog oak preserved. For example, in European countries for 100 years the discovery of a single specimen of bog oak has been an event. And such finds are reported in the media.

For 100 years, many enterprising people in all corners of Russia have been harvesting bog oak. Bog oak, as part of other firewood, was mainly used as fuel.

One day, having pulled the trunk to the surface and tried to process it, he was amazed at the beauty and strength of the resulting wood. While admiring, the man asked himself the question: what unknown force turned the familiar oak into a mysterious one, covered on the surface with torn pieces of coal, and inside hiding a strong, smoky, living, unique texture of the material? And he began to look for answers to his questions, working with bog oak and giving it a third life...

In Rus', they were created from bog oak furniture sets and souvenirs that now occupy pride of place in fine arts museums and antique salons around the world.

Not a single foreign furniture company can offer for public viewing products adequately made from natural bog oak. This is the prerogative of only Russian masters. Since from the beginning of the millennium to the present day, relict oak forests throughout the world have been completely destroyed, reserves of bog oak remain only in Russia.