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Nat's Guide to Trees and Wood!

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Lady Airlea
Mar Member 2011

Lady Airlea

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Contents

Wood for Weaponry
- Spears
- Javelins
- Polearms
- Bows
- Crossbows

Wood for Mobile Structures
- Warships
- Catapults and Siege Engines

Building Constructions

Trees and Food
- Citrus
- Palm
- Berries
- Syrup
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The One True Nat
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27-Nov-2016 09:20:55 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2016 09:24:41 by Lady Airlea

Lady Airlea
Mar Member 2011

Lady Airlea

Posts: 5,379 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Wooden Weaponry is a staple to any army worth it's salt. Wood is a flexible, sturdy, lightweight material nessacery for most weapons to function.

The most basic wooden weapon is the spear. The best wood for spears is a sturdy, hardwood. Ash is often viewed as best, followed by oak, hickory, willow, and maple. Certain species of acacia, a rainforest tree, also make wonderful spear material.

Spears need to be able to bend, but not so much they break. This applies to the thicker polearms used as stabbing weaponry.

The spear has evolved with many variations since then, with throwing versions doing better with thinner shafts for aerodynamic purposes.

A staff is made for combat similar to a spear, and a wooden staff is, in the real world, a medieval staple among English soldiers. Sturdy weapons for bashing and smashing, most soldiers were trained with quarterstaff experience.

To create a spear shaft, a large tree was cut into quarters, producing four quarter logs. These were then spun on a lathe, to create a round or oval shaft. Oval shaped shafts are vital for polearms for the sake of edge alignment.
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The One True Nat
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27-Nov-2016 09:20:57 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2016 09:41:16 by Lady Airlea

Lady Airlea
Mar Member 2011

Lady Airlea

Posts: 5,379 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Bows and Crossbows

Bows are one of the oldest weapons made by humans. Carefully bent in steamy rooms, a bowstring is fastened to the bow weapon. A delicate weapon, a bow has draw power relative to the flexibility of its material. In the real world, Yew is a staple wood for this job, having a great capacity to bend and not break. The worst woods for bows, are evergreen woods which break easily.

A good, structurally sound bow is made by cutting the tree into quarters, with the outer side making the front of the bow with its sturdier, harder edge to bounce back to shape, and the softer, flexible inside making the side facing the bowstring. In Gielinor and RP, Elder and Magic logs may also be functional, though there is a distinct lack of real world example to draw to.

Crossbows are much easier in comparison. A crossbow stock is made to not move, and hold together the pieces to load and launch a bolt. This means the best wood for the job is sturdy, hardwood such as oak or mahogany once more.
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The One True Nat
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27-Nov-2016 09:20:58 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2016 09:52:26 by Lady Airlea

Lady Airlea
Mar Member 2011

Lady Airlea

Posts: 5,379 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Boats are a marvel of engineering, and are tricky to make even today. The best wood for boats is variable, as teak is less prone to rot but very rare in Gielinor, even on Karamja and Eceteria where it grows, oak is sturdy for a strong hall and common, and most other wood tends to fall short for hulls. On a warship, using a sturdy hardwod hull is even more important!

Most common rainforest and swamp trees are not suited for ship-making, requiring heavy layers of epoxy and resins to waterproof and strengthen them.

However, as decks tend to be less vital to a ship's integrity, softer woods are well suited for them.

Siege engines, from cannons to catapults require hardwood. Anything less will see the wood quickly break from firing the weaponry, as the sheer weight of the mechanical parts or recoil from gunpowder forces it to crack. Cannonwood is best treated with wax and boiled linseed oil, which repels pests and strengthens the wood.

This makes it hard for northern-tenperate, tropical, and high altitude regions to make effective soege engines and cannon, as these places are where hardwood best suited for these works becomes rarer and less accessible due to rocky terrain, cold weather, or moist ground.
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The One True Nat
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27-Nov-2016 09:20:59 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2016 10:07:44 by Lady Airlea

Lady Airlea
Mar Member 2011

Lady Airlea

Posts: 5,379 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Hardwood and Softwood

Hardwoods are identified as trees which take a longer period to grow, produce flowers, and tend to have wider, broader leaves. Common hardwoods include maple, apple, cherry, oak, mahogany, teak, and walnut. Hardwoods aee most easily identified by pores, or vessels, which increase structural integrity.

These wood species are best suited to durable tasks, such as use as furniture, weapons, tools, and heavy-duty structures and supports. There are exceptions, as Balsa is a soft hardwood.

Softwood is essentially everything else, your evergreens, Yews, Firs, and Pines. However, some hard softwoods exist, such as Yew and some pine species that are harder mechanically than many hardwood species.
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27-Nov-2016 09:20:59 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2016 10:16:29 by Lady Airlea

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