Etude de la stabilité dimensionnelle des bois pour l'amélioration de la qualité des mobiliers des menuiseries artisanales dans la région du Littoral au Cameroun.

Abstract

The best understanding of the species that keep their stabilities after drying has been achieved done through a study on the dimensional stability of wood for the improvement of the quality of furniture of artisanal carpentries in the coastal region of Cameroon. Said study was carried during a period of two months from August to September 2020. The objective of this study was to contribute to the verification of the dimensional stability of wood after drying for the improvement of the quality of furniture. The data for the study was collected from the literature review, measurements of samples after each stage of drying and questionnaires developed and conducted with 31 carpenters in the different districts where the studies were conducted. Concerning the verification of dimensional variations of the samples, the measurements were made after two days of preheating, followed by two weekly descents before the balancing period. Direct observations in the field confirmed what the carpenters said, while photographs using the android phone illustrated the results. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were done using the pivot table tool in Excel 2013 spreadsheet and SPSS 17.0 software. The species most commonly found in artisanal woodwork were Iroko (35.48%), Mouvingui (29%) and Bilinga (25%). To a lesser extent, Beté, Fraké, Kosipo, Moabi, Wengué, Macoré (3.2% respectively) were identified. The least expensive species on the market in the two districts studied are Ayous with an average price of 4729 ± 374 francs, followed by Mouvingui with an average price of 5233 ± 727 francs, and the most expensive species is Wengue with a stable average price of 9000 francs. 97% of the carpenters, as opposed to 3%, do not dry their wood for the main reason of lack of financial means (34%), followed by lack of adequate equipment (6%), lower cost, and pressure from customers (6% respectively). In order of importance, 25% of the carpenters base their choice of wood on the selling price of the species and on what the customer asks for. After conducting the drying operations, 40% of the samples of the species tested have undergone splitting. The various calculations made on the shrinkability have noted that the species that keep their stability after drying are notably Ayous, Iroko and Sapelli. Concerning the samples with variable stability, the shrinkage is more pronounced in the tangential direction, followed by the radial direction and the longitudinal direction.