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Details Of Innovation
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It is essential that timber used for making furniture and for other building purposes is stored and treated in the best possible manner to get the highest quality wood. Sometimes valuable furniture made from costly timber develops cracks if the wood is not treated well at the storing stage. Laxmanbhai Pethani from Rajkot district of Gujarat uses an interesting method to enhance the quality of wood. Once the timber is cut from the tree, he covers it with dry leaves and other farm waste and burns these material in such a way that the wood does not catch fire, at the same time it is slowly baked from all the sides. Then he pares the surfaces of the the timber and buries it in a fresh dung-heap for 20 - 25 days. After this period, he pulls out the timber and stores it under the trees or in a shed, i.e., away from sunlight. The timber thus treated is believed to be of the best quality and good for furniture making. It becomes moisture and weather-resistant and does not develop cracks for years. (According to Dr D M Korat, this treatment removes excess moisture from the wood. Its property of expanding and contracting with the changes of weather becomes limited or arrested completely. When the wood is used for large scale furniture production, the hot air stream treatment gives the same effect. According to Dr P P Udhreja, the treatment removes organisms present in the wood).
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