Customer Accounts

Order Form

Contact Us

Customer Feedback

Store Policies

Terms of Use

Privacy statement

Link to Us!

Turning Wood Into Fine Furniture - Article

The craft of woodworking has traditionally categorized their raw materials into two primary groupings, hardwoods and softwoods. Although everyone is well familiar with the terms, most do not realize the terms do not refer to the physical hardness or softness of the material. Instead, the terms refer to the families of trees the woods are derived from, being the coniferous family and the deciduous family.

Softwoods are harvested from coniferous trees, which are characterized by retaining their green foliage year round. These include the various varieties of such trees as fir, spruce, cedar and many others. These are all generically called softwoods. Deciduous trees on the other hand, are those that shed their foliage on an annual basis with the seasons and are all generically labeled hardwoods. These include such varieties as Maple, Red Oak, Black Walnut, Birch and Mahogany.

The unique and interesting nature of the grain patterns found in hardwoods have traditionally dictated the use of hardwood in the manufacture of furniture. By varying the method the trees are cut and processed, interesting and accentuated grain patterns can be exposed, adding to the beauty of the final product. By contrast, most softwoods do not have a pronounced wood grain and so tend to be devoid of interesting grain patterns. Many varieties of softwoods do have a more useful quality though, related to their highly prolific growth. This makes them suited well for larger products including the construction and housing markets.

All woods, being natural materials, are affected by environmental changes including temperature and humidity. Unless specific steps are taken to minimize these factors, they can cause woods to expand, contract, twist, bend and have other ill effects that are undesirable in the finished products they are used to construct.

Further, the products and surfaces we are trying to manufacture are often not naturally suited to the size and shapes that the woods naturally grow in. This causes us to reshape and reform the woods into larger or compound shapes by a number of joining and bonding techniques. Each of these techniques has been developed and employed by craftsmen over the years to accomplish certain specific results needed by the end product. Requirements such as style, shaping, strength and counter-acting the otherwise inevitable effects such as warpage and shrinkage all must be deal with to create a viable and useful product, while making the best use of the appearance and natural beauty of the materials.

Often it is found that a single piece of a given type of wood will not perform the intended function as well as a number of pieces formed together. Larger expanses of area, especially if required to be relatively thin, can be a tremendous challenge for most woods. Ply construction was invented to counter this problem, which combines multiple thin layers of raw material oriented in perpendicular directions to improve overall strength and prevent eventual failure of the final product. Plywood and laminated beams are common example of this in everyday use.

Even though most hardwoods are reasonably tough and strong, they are very vulnerable to damage, staining and marring if not protected once the fabrication stages are completed. Several protective alternatives have been used over the years to seal and augment wooden surfaces and their wood grains. These range from oil based solutions and sealing waxes to paints and lacquers and can be opaque or tinted to modify the natural wood colors. Commonly, for most wooden furniture products is a lacquer coating that provides a uniform enhancement to the wood grain and also protects the wood surface, diverting moisture, dirt and other contaminates that can spoil the overall appearance of the wood grain surfaces.

No matter how the basic materials are combined, formed, sculpted and machined, the end result will be a product that displays all the beautiful characteristics of the natural woods and grains. And, with careful and sophisticated bonding and allowance for the natural changes of woods, the final product will be maintenance free and reliable and retain its beauty and usefulness for decades!