Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the effect of board thickness and ring angle on the characteristics including internal check. ring failure, surface check, end check, collapse, thickness shrinkage and width shrinkage of press-drying. The exprimental materials of 6mm-. 9mm- and 12mm-thick board were taken from heartwood and sapwood of oak (Quercus acutissima Carr.) respectively. And boards were numbered according to position in the log(No. 1 to No. 4 for heartwood :md No. 9 for sapwood). Press-drying was at $145^{\circ}C$ platen temperature and 3.5kg/$Cm^2$ platen pressure. The results of this study were summarized as follows. 1. Drying rates for sapwood materials were greater than those for heartwood materials. And drying rates for thinner materials were greater than those for thicker materials. 2. The thinner boards were. the severer surface checking developed in the heartwood materials, and surface checking for heartwood materials had no tendency in board position for the same thickness. Sapwood materials were completely free from surface checking. 3. End checking for heartwood materials had no tendency in board position. The greater deviation of ring angle from perfectly edge-grained was, the severer and checking developed in the sapwood materials. But end checking did not occur in 6mm-thick sapwood materials. 4. The greater deviation of ring angle from perfectly edge-grained was, the severer end checking developed for heartwood and sapwood materials. As board thickness increased, maternal checking developed more severely for heartwood and sapweed materials. 5. For heartwood materials, ring failure, reduced with increasing deviation of ring angle from perfectly edge-grained except 12mm-thick material and showed no significant difference attributable to board thickness. Sapwood materials were completely free from ring failure. 6. For heartwood and sapwood materials, collapse was slight and showed no significant differences attributable to both board thickness and board position. 7. As deviation of ring angle from perfectly edge-grained increased, shrinkage of board thickness decreased for heartwood and sapwood materials. 8. Shrinkage of board width showed no significant differences attributable to both board thickness and board position for heartwood and sapweed materials.