BASIC TECHNOLOGY

JSS3 THIRD TERM SCHEME OF WORK

WKS. TOPIC

1. RESUMPTION

Revision of the previous term’s work, Resumption Test, and Compound cleaning.

2. Processing of Materials: Timber

i. Growth and felling of trees

ii. Conversion of timber

iii. Wood seasoning

3. Processing of Materials: Timber(2)

i. Common timber defects

ii. Wood preservation

iii. Veneer

iv. Laminated/Manufactured boards

4. Processing of Metals

i. Metal processing methods: Smelting, Casting etc.

ii. Advantages and disadvantages of different processing methods

iii. Metal alloys: Examples, Properties and uses

5. Processing of Clay Ceramics and Glass.

i. Methods of processing (a) Clay ceramics and (b) Glass ceramics.

ii. Advantages and disadvantages of the different processing methods.

iii. Production and uses of clay ceramics and glass..

6. Revision of past Questions

7. Examination

WEEK2

BASIC TECHNOLOGY

Topic: PROCESSING OF WOOD

Specific objectives: By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

i. Name the major four processes involved in wood processing.

ii. Explain conversion of timber.

iii. Identify the two methods of seasoning wood.

iv. Give reasons while seasoning of wood is important.

v. Calculate moisture content of wood

INTRODUCTION:

The basic raw material for processing wood is tree. Before any wooden material is put into any
engineering use, it has to go through some processes aimed at refining the wooden material so that it
will be more stable and more durable. The processes involve in wood processing are:
(i) Felling of trees.

(ii) Conversion of timber

(iii) Wood seasoning.

(iv) Wood preservation.

1. FELLING OF TREES: The term “felling of trees” means cutting down trees. The felling of trees is done
using chain saw. The felled trees are cut into logs and taken to sawmill where they are converted into
planks.

Felling of trees is done in two areas namely (i) Government forest reserved areas and (ii) free areas.

i. Government Forest Reserved Areas: This is a piece of land set aside by government for the purpose of
growing trees. In these areas, the permit to cut down trees is usually given to big companies that deal on
timber. After the best trees have been cut in the reserves, the remaining ones are then given to local
contractors who might need them. The money paid to cut down trees in forest reserved is known as
OTV which means Out Turn Volume. This means that the contractors will pay for the volume of trees
felled and taken out.

ii. Free Areas: Free areas are places outside government forest reserved areas where trees are grown.
For a tree to be cut in this areas, a forest guard is called upon to inspect and confirm that the tree is
matured for cutting. After the inspection and confirmation, some money called “tariff” will be paid to
the government and a permit or authority to fell the tree(s) will be issued.

2. CONVERSION OF TIMBER: Conversion is a process of splitting a log of wood into desired sizes for
commercial and engineering use. There are three popular methods of converting timber. These are:

i. Plain sawing method.

ii. Quarter sawing method and

iii. Tangential sawing method.

(i) Plain sawing method: Plain sawing method is also known as flat sawing, slash sawing or through-
and-through sawing method. Here planks are cut parallel to the axis of the wood. This method is simple,
quick, and cheaper to use. However, planks of wood converted using this method are liable to warp or
split than those of other methods.

(ii) Quarter Sawing Method: In this method, the log is cut along the modularly rays but at right angles
to the growth rings, with the growth rings running through the thickness of the planks. The planks
produced here are more stable than those of the plain sawn and with better stripe figures. The planks
do not cup, check or split to the same extent like plain sawn method while seasoning.

(iii) Tangential Sawing Method: This is the method in which planks are cut with their wide edges
tangential to the growth rings. This method is adopted only if the annual rings are very distinct and
modularly rays well defined.

3. WOOD SEASONING: Wood seasoning is the gradual removal of water from freshly converted timber.
Naturally, all woods whether hard or soft contain certain amount of water called moisture or sap. This
moisture can cause a newly converted timber which is not seasoned to warp, shrink, and crack. Thus the
need for seasoning.

There are two common methods of seasoning wood. These are:

i. Natural Seasoning: This is a natural way of drying wood by stacking the planks in open air.
Therefore, the method is also known as air seasoning. A roof is usually provided over the stacked planks
to keep off rain. This method is most commonly used by small saw millers. Natural seasoning is cheap
but has a major disadvantage of taking long time to dry up wood.

ii. Artificial Seasoning: This is a manmade way of drying wood by the use of an oven (kiln) for a short
period of time. Artificial seasoning is also called kiln seasoning or scientific seasoning. This method is
very fast, taking only a few weeks at most to dry up wood but it is relatively expensive to operate when
compared to the natural method.

Reasons for Seasoning Wood:

a. Seasoning makes wood more stable.

b. It makes wood lighter in weight.

c. It makes wood more durable.

d. It makes wood easier to be painted or polished.

e. It makes wood resistant to decay.

f. It stops shrinkage of wood on drying.

g. It makes wood has better electrical resistance.

Calculation of Moisture Content in Wood

The formula for calculating moisture content is given as;

Moisture content (MC) = Wet weight (W) – Dry weight (Wo).

While that of percentage moisture content is given as:

Percentage Moisture Content =. Wet weight of wood sample – Dry weight of wood Sample x 100

Wet weight of wood sample 1

Using symbols, the formula is as follows:

%MC = W – Wo X 100

W 1

Examples:

Q1: Calculate the moisture content of a timber which weighs 867 grams before drying and 688 grams
after drying.

MC = W – Wo = 867g – 688g = 179 grams

Q2: If a sample of wood weighs 80kg before drying and 60kg after drying, calculate the percentage
moisture content of the wood.

Using, %MC = W – Wo X 100

 W 1

Where, W=80kg and Wo = 60kg

%MC = 80 – 60 x 100

80 1

% MC = 20 x 100 = 200 = 25%

80 8

Evaluation Questions: Answer the following questions:

1. What are the four processes involved in wood processing?

2. What is wood conversion?

3. Identify the two methods of seasoning wood

4. State four reasons while wood seasoning is necessary.

5. Calculate the moisture content of a timber whose weight is 8672 grams before drying and 5893 grams
after drying.

WEEK3

WOOD PROCESSING (2)

Specific objectives: By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

i. Differentiate natural timber defects from artificial defects.

ii. Explain wood preservation

iii. Name the three major types of wood preservatives with examples.
iv. State at least four properties of a good wood preservatives

v. Define Veneer.

vi. State at least three advantages of manufactured boards over wood plank.

COMMON TIMBER DEFECTS:

A defect is any feature that reduces the quality and market value of timber. Defects in timber are
grouped under two broad types.

Natural Defects: Natural defects are those defects which occur at the period of growth, some of the
natural defects are:

(a) Knot (b) hearth shake (c) star shake (d) ring shake (e) cup shake (f) cross-grain.

Artificial Defects: Artificial defects are those defects which occur during the conversion and seasoning of
timber. They are caused by carelessness in handling timber by man. Artificial defects include the
following: (a) Cup (b) bow (c) check (d) twist/warp (e) waney edge (f) insect attack.

4. WOOD PRESERVATION: Wood preservation is any process that is used to prolong the service life of
the wood. Wood preservation is usually carried out by the use of wood preservatives. Wood
preservative is the chemical that is used to poison the wood to make it last long.

Types of Wood Preservatives:

There are three main types of wood preservatives. These are;

a. Tar-oil preservatives e.g. solignum, coal-tar creosote etc.

b. Water soluble preservatives e.g. zinc, copper sodium etc.

c. Organic solvent preservatives e.g. sodium PCP, chlorinated phenols etc.

Properties of a Good Wood Preservatives:

Some of the good properties or qualities of a good wood preservative are;

i. It must be safe for human beings.

ii. It must be poisonous to all the wood destructive insects.

iii. It must be chemically stable for a long time.

iv. It must be permanent and should not evaporate easily.

v. It must be easy to apply.

vi. It must be odourless.

vii. It must be cheap and easily obtainable.

Methods of Applying Wood Preservatives:

Preservatives can be applied to wood using one of the following methods:

Brushing and spraying: This method is the simplest but least effective. It does not allow inner
penetration of the chemical into the wood and thus, only the outer part of the wood is protected.

Pressure treatment: This is the best method of applying wood preservatives. Here wood is placed inside
an enclosed metal cylinder and the chemical forced into it under higher pressure.

Hot and Cold Tank: In this method, wood is heated for some time in a tank containing preservative and
allowed it to cool. Chemical penetration takes place during the cooling process.

Dipping or steeping: In this method, wood is wholly or partially immersed in a container filled with cold
preservatives. Dipping takes up to 3 minutes or more to be completed. Whereas, steeping normally lasts
for hours or even weeks depending on the thickness of the wood.

VENEER:

Veneer is a thin sheet of wood of uniform thickness usually cut from a log of wood. It is used mostly for
covering other wood products and for the manufacturing of plywood and other composite boards.

Methods of Cutting Veneers:

The modern methods of cutting veneers include:

i. Peeling or Rotary Method: A steamed softened log of wood is mounted on a big wood lathe
machine and rotated about its longitudinal axis while a sharp cutting blade peels of a continuous sheet
of veneer.
2. Slicing Method: The already softened log of wood is held in a stationary position on the machine
bed while the sharp cutting knife is made to move back and forth slicing discontinuous sheets of
veneers.

MANUFACTURED/LAMINATED BOARDS:

These are man-made boards, made from built-up layers of solid timber having the two outer layers as
veneers. They are made using mechanical process of bonding together using adhesive or glue.

Advantages of Manufactured Boards:

1. They can be easily bent to form curves.

2. They have greater strength than a single sheet of wood of the same thickness or weight.

3. They can be manufactured in large flat sheet.

4. They can be worked upon easily.

5. They don’t split like ordinary wood.

6. Nails/screws can be driven in without any pilot hole.

Types of Manufactured Boards:

Based on the composition, the different types of manufactured boards are:

Plywood: This is a collection of three or more sheets of veneers, which are bonded together with a
strong water-resistant adhesive. The grains of each veneer are placed at right angles to the other.

Chip Board: This is a board made by bonding together of wood chips using synthetic resin. It is used for
flooring and decking.

Particle Board: This is made from wood particles such as sawdust and shavings, which are mixed with
appropriate glues and then compressed into shape. Particle boards are used for table tops, desk tops
etc.

Composite Board: This is similar to particle board, but subjected to much lower pressure and usually of
greater thickness.

Block Board: Block board resembles plywood. The difference is the core, which consists of wood strips, is
placed side by side. Block boards are not as flexible as plywood and cannot therefore be bent.
Evaluation Questions:

Answer the following questions:

i. Differentiate between natural timber defects and artificial defects.

ii. What is wood preservation?

iii. Name the three major types of wood preservatives with two examples each.

iv. State any four properties of a good wood preservatives.

v. Define Veneer.

vi. State at least three advantages of manufactured boards over a single piece of wood of the same
thickness.

WEEK 4

PROCESSING OF METALS:

Specific Objectives: By the end of this lesson the students should be able to:

i. Briefly explain the smelting of iron in a blast furnace.

ii. Name the different classifications of iron.

iii. State the major difference between iron and steel.

iv. Differentiate plain carbon steels from alloyed steels.

v. Name different furnaces used in making metals.

The basic raw material needed for the production of metals is their metallic ores. Thus, the basic raw
material for production of iron and steels is the iron ore. The iron ore is a solid mineral usually dug out
from the ground. It contains some unwanted elements (impurities) such as silicon, phosphorus,
manganese, sulphur, etc which must be separated before the next grade of iron which is pig iron can be
produced. This is done in a blast furnace through a process called smelting. Iron, the most common of all
metals is found in large quantities in Itakpe and Ajaokuta areas in Kogi State of Nigeria.

SMELTING OF IRON USING A BLAST FURNACE

Smelting: Is the process of converting a metallic ore (in this case, iron ore) to its metal by heating with
coke or carbon in the blast furnace to remove impurities. Pig iron is the material got after removing the
impurities present in iron ore. It is produced from the iron ore using the device called blast furnace. The
charge which include iron ore, coke and limestone are fed into the blast furnace through the hopper,
and heated at the bottom. Air is pumped into the furnace to help burn the coke to produce heat which
melt iron ore. As a result carbon monoxide is formed to react with iron ore to produce pig iron. On
melting, the non-metallic part of the ore are combined with limestone which act as flux to form slag-
which float to the top of the molten iron. The slag is drawn off the furnace before the molten iron is
then cast into moulds and allowed to solidify into ingots.

Note the following:

Casting: Is the process of melting a metal and pouring it into a mould to take the shape of the mould
when it cools down and becomes solid. While,

Slag: Is the impurity gotten from a molten metal (e.g. molten iron).

FORMS/CLASSIFICATIONS OF IRON:
Based on the varying percentages of carbon, iron is broadly classified into the following:

I. Pig iron:- This is the first grade of iron gotten after the smelting of iron ore in a blast furnace. It
contains up to 5% carbon. This carbon content is quite high and it makes the pig iron (hard and brittle,
and thus difficult to work with. Consequently, pig iron is not very useful in technology for fabrication
purposes. However, pig iron serves as a raw material for the production of other forms of iron such as
cast iron, wrought iron, steels etc.

II. Wrought Iron: It is an alloy of iron with a very low carbon (0.1% to 0.25%) content. It has slag
inclusions of up to 2% by weight which gives it a “grain”, resembling wood that is visible when it is
etched or bent to the point of failure. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile and easily welded.

III. Wrought iron is directly made from iron ore using charcoal by the bloomery process or by simply
reprocessing of cast iron or pig iron in a finery forge or reverberatory furnace (puddling furnace) by a
process termed “puddling”. Puddling process involved reheating cast iron or pig iron in a puddling
furnace and manually mixing air in the molten mass by stirring with a rod which decarburerizes the iron.
The material produced this way can resist corrosion and had reasonably high tensile strength and it’s
much more ductile and malleable than cast iron.

Note, before mild steel become widely available, many items that are now made of mild steel were
produced from wrought iron. These include rivets, nails, chains, gates, bolts, nuts, wires, rails, railway
couplings, roof trusses, garden furniture etc. However, wrought iron is no longer produced on a
commercial scale. So many products described as wrought iron today are actually made of mild steel.

IV. Cast Iron: Is a hard, brittle, and non-malleable iron-carbon alloy that contains 2% to 4.5% carbon,
along with varying amounts of silicon and manganese and traces of impurities such as sulfur and
phosphorus.

Unlike wrought iron, cast iron because of its brittleness cannot be worked either hot or cold but must be
shaped by casting. Due to its high carbon content which makes it very brittle, cast iron can break easily if
struck with a hammer.
Cast iron is thus made by remelting pig iron along with scraps and alloying elements in cupola furnaces,
whilst blowing air into the molten mass until the carbon content is reduced to between 2% and 4.5%
and then recasting into already made moulds for producing a variety of products.

There are two main types of cast iron namely; (a) grey cast iron (b) white cast iron but four types of cast
iron exist in general.

a. Grey Cast Iron: Grey cast iron is produced by heating pig iron to a liquid state and allowing it to cool
gradually. Grey cast iron has 3% silicon and 2% carbon. This silicon causes the carbon in the grey cast
iron to change into graphite causing the iron to have a dark grey or almost black colour, because of the
graphite microstructure of grey cast iron, it has a good machinability and good resistances to wear and
galling.

b. White Cast Iron: White cast iron is produced by heating pig iron with less silicon than in grey cast iron
to a molten state and allowing it to cool rapidly. With less silicon, the carbon in the white cast iron
changes to cementite or iron carbide. This causes white fracture to form on the surface and thus gives
the iron the name white cast iron, due to the carbides prevalence, white cast iron exhibit high
compressive strength, hardness and good resistance to wear.

c. Ductile Cast Iron: This is produced by adding small amounts of magnesium and cesium to the molten
grey cast iron which help nodulates the graphite (make the graphite forms spherical shapes instead of
the usual flakes), thereby resulting in high strength and high ductility than grey cast iron.

d. Malleable Cast Iron: This type of cast iron is produced by a prolonged heat treatment of white cast
iron to improve higher ductility.

V. STEEL: Steel is the product obtained when the carbon content of pig iron is reduced to 1.5% or
less. Steels are made using the Bessemer converter or the Open-hearth furnace depending on the type
of raw material being used. In Bessemer converter, steel is produced from a molten pig iron, while an
open-hearth furnace, solid pig iron is mixed with steel scraps and melted together and then molten pig
iron is later added to the mixture to produced steel.
Note that steel and pig iron are made up of iron and carbon but the main difference between two of
them is their carbon content. Whereas pig iron contains 3% to 5% of carbon, steel contains less than 2%.
Thus, to make steel from pig iron, this excess carbon in the pig iron is reduced by a process known as
oxidation and other impurities burnt out. This means that carbon is made to combine with oxygen and is
blown off as slag. Then the amount of carbon needed for a particular grade of steel is now added, and
the steel is produced.

Based on the carbon content of steel, there are three types of steel, they are:

1. Low or mild carbon steel- this type contains 0.05% to 0.3% carbon.

2. Medium carbon steel- this contains 0.3% to 0.6% carbon.

3. High carbon steel- this contains 0.6% to 1.5% carbon.

Note that all the three types of carbon steels listed here above are generally referred to as plain carbon
steels since they are solely made up of carbon and iron only.

Alloy Steels:

Generally speaking all steels are alloys since they contain both iron and carbon. But technically, alloy
steel is a combination of plain carbon steel and one or more other element. That is to say that alloy steel
contain at least one other element in addition to iron and carbon. Alloy steels and other special purpose
steels are produced in an electric arc furnace.

Some common examples of allow steels are:

Stainless steel- Stainless steel is essentially comprised of iron, carbon and nickel or chromium. Stainless
steels are resistant to corrosion and for that reason; they are used where staining is likely to occur if
other steels are used.
High-speed steels- They are made up of iron, carbon, tungsten and chromium. Some may contain cobalt
and vanadium.

High speed steels are hard and highly resistant to wear, and as such maintain the same degree of
sharpness of their cutting edges even when hot. For this reason they are used as cutting edges in
machines (e.g. as milling cutters, twist drills, taps, metal saws etc) where due to continuous cutting,
friction is likely to produce excessive heat.

High Tensile Steels- High tensile steels or known as nickel- chrome alloys are essentially comprised of
iron, carbon, nickel and chromium.

They are special constructional steels developed for making machine parts, which require high tensile
strength as well as excellent toughness. For example, they are used for shafts, discs, rotors, connecting
rods for aircrafts, and for automotive and mechanical engineering applications.

FURNACES USED IN MAKING METALS:

Blast Furnace- This furnace is used to convert iron ore to pig iron through a process called smelting.

Open-Hearth Furnace- This is used to produce steel from pig iron and steel scraps. In this furnace, a
mixture of solid pig iron and steel scraps is melted and then molten pig iron is later added to the mixture
to produce steel.

Bessemer Converter- Bessemer converter is used in converting molten pig iron to low carbon steel.

Cupola Furnace- Cupola furnace is used for producing cast iron. The cast iron is made by remelting pig
iron along with scraps and alloying elements in the furnace and air blown into the molten metal to help
reduced the carbon content.
Electric Arc Furnace- This furnace is generally used to produce special purpose steels such as stainless
steels and other alloyed steels. This furnace generates its heat from electric arc within the furnace.

Crucible Furnace- This is the simplest and the oldest type of furnace. It is used in the production of non-
ferrous metals or metals with low melting point.

Reverberatory Furnace- Reverberatory furnace is an industrial smelting and refining furnace used for the
production (smelting) of non-ferrous metals (copper, tin and nickel) from their ores and for the refining
of copper, antimony, tin, and lead. It is also used for glassmaking and melting of ferrous metals in the
foundry industry.

Reverberatory furnaces use bituminous (mineral) coal as fuel which has proven to be the best choice
than white coal or charcoal. Unlike the blast furnace, in reverberatory furnace the fuel is not in direct
contact with the ore or the material being processed. However, heat is transferred to the material by
radiation.

Evaluation Questions: Answer the following questions:

1. Briefly explain how to make pig iron from iron ore in a blast furnace.

2. Name any three classes of iron you know.

3. State the major difference between iron and steel.

4. What is the difference between plain carbon steels and alloyed steels?

5. Name any five furnaces used in making metals.

 WEEK 5

TOPIC: PROCESSING OF CLAY CERAMICS AND GLASS.

Specific Objectives: By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

i. Name the raw material for making clay ceramics

ii. Name the raw material for glass making

iii. Explain the stages involved in making clay ceramics.

iv. Identify the two methods of making clay ceramics products.

CLAY CERAMICS

The basic raw material needed for making of ceramics is clay. Clay is a natural product of the earth
which can be moulded, pounded, rolled, flattened, coiled, cut or extruded. The clay must be prepared
and any trace of sand, stones, metal scraps, plant materials, and all other impurities must be removed
before using it for ceramics production. The clay is then mixed with water and thoroughly pounded to
remove air bubbles and made the clay smooth and more plastic, because when plastic clay will be easy
to mould. The sand and air bubbles are removed to prevent the moulded articles from cracking during
the period of heating. After this, the freshly prepared clay is then used to mould different articles such as
pots, cups, flower vase etc. This art and skill of using clay to mould articles is known as Pottery.

There are three processes/stages involved in making clay ceramics. These are:
1. Shaping- Shaping involves using the already prepared clay to mould into shapes the desired articles. It
can be done manually or with the help of a potter’s wheel.

2. Firing/baking- This process involves heating the moulded articles to harden them. Firing is done after
shaping and drying the articles. There are two ways of baking moulded articles. These are (a) by using
firewood and (b) by using a kiln. A kiln is an oven or furnace for baking finished articles.

3. Decorating – The process of decoration is carried out on moulded ceramic articles to give them
attractive appearance. Some techniques of decorating ceramic articles are carving, stamping, polishing,
piercing, painting and glazing etc.

METHODS OF MAKING CLAY CERAMIC PRODUCTS:

There are two popular methods of using clay to mould articles. These are:

i. Pinch-pot method- This involves using ordinary hands without the use of apparatus to mould
objects. Pinch-pot method is the simplest way to make a pot.

ii. Potter’s wheel method – This is a device with a rotating horizontal disc upon which clay is
moulded by a potter. Most pottery articles are made by using the potter’s wheel.

GLASS MAKING:

Glass is made from liquid sand. It is made by heating ordinary sand until it melts and turns into a liquid.
When the molten sand is allowed to cool, it does not return back to its gritty yellow state that you began
with. The heating causes it to undergo a complete chemical transformation. The melting temperature
that the sand needs is very high, around 1700oc.
Evaluation Questions: Answer the following questions.

i. Name the raw material for making clay ceramics

ii. What is the raw material for making glass?

iii. Explain the stages involved in making clay ceramics.

iv. What are the two methods of making clay ceramic products.

END OF TERM