Hardwood - The Link Between Craftsmen and Exquisite Office Furniture
by adminHardwood - The Link Between Craftsmen and Exquisite Office Furniture
By Garnet Bailey
Quality furniture is inevitably created from one or more types of natural, warm wood. All the primary types of woods used in the manufacture of this furniture normally fall under the category of hardwood. Although we often hear the terms hardwood and softwood, most people do not realize that these terms do not refer to the hardness or softness of the materials. Instead, the terms refer to the families of trees the woods come from.
Coniferous trees, sometimes generally called “ever-greens”, keep their foliage year round. These include the species spruce, pine, fir and cedar Deciduous trees on the other hand, are those that shed their foliage on an annual basis and are all generically labeled hardwoods. These include Maple, Red Oak, Black Walnut and Mahogany.
The unique nature of the grain patterns of hardwoods have traditionally dictated the use of hardwood in the manufacture of furnishings and household items. By contrast, most softwoods tend to be generally devoid of interesting grain patterns. Softwoods due to their more prolific growth tend to be used for larger products including the housing markets.
All woods are of course natural materials and as such are affected by environmental changes including temperature and humidity. These factors can cause woods to expand, contract, twist and bend unless specific steps are taken to minimize the effects.
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. To accomplish the required shapes and forms, the materials must be reformed with one or more of a number of joining techniques. Each of these techniques has been developed to achieve specific style, strength, shaping and environmental adaptation objectives, such as warpage and shrinkage, needed by the end product. These techniques also make use of various fasteners and special glues.
It is often the case that the raw material is not well suited for a particular product part. In these cases, various collections of materials can be combined to outperform other solutions. Ply construction is a common example of this technique, which combines many thin layers of wood arranged in differing directions to maximize strength and minimize eventual deformation of the final product.
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. To protect and even enhance the natural beauty, a number of finishing alternatives have been developed over the years. These range from oils and protective waxes to paints and lacquers and can be opaque or color modified to enhance the natural wood grain colors. Most common for high end wood pieces is a lacquer based finish that provides an overall enrichment of the wood grain and also provides protection to the wood itself, preventing contaminants such as moisture, dirt and oils from damaging the overall appearance of the wood grain surfaces.
The final product, after all the processing, machining and combining is completed, takes full advantage of the warmth and beauty of the natural grains and patterns.
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