Hints for the stabilization of sapwood and/or timber
in bad condition

A frequent problem, especially with coniferous timbers, is that sapwood is in such a bad condition that it is almost impossible to get a fully intact sample. Particularly in the case of coniferous timbers it is important to get a sample containing sapwood and wane, because without wane only a “terminus post quem” may be determined. The customer has to cope with only the “earliest possible year of felling”, which indeed is quite unsatisfying for building research. If sapwood did not survive sampling in the case of a pinewood sample for instance, an amount of 60-80, in an extreme case even up to 120 annual rings may be missing. The procedure described below may help to stabilize sapwood and generally timber in bad condition, if executed carefully. Thus an entire sample may be made even from bad material. Experience with series of samplings has shown that the achievement ratio is about 50%. Often a single sample in a collective, remaining completely intact, may be sufficient.