Joints You Might Find On Solid Wood Furniture
Solid wood furniture can be bought in many different outlets - it is a popular type of furniture. The type of joints used by furniture makers changes with personal preference and design and manufacturing constraints and there are a few you should know about. The more you find out about how furniture is made, the better a position you are in to choose the best pieces for your home.
Traditional furniture makers will use the wood itself to form the joint. High tech methods are at the opposite end of the scale and they need expensive machinery and glues. Factories lend themselves to the high tech joints because they can achieve mass production this way. Individual joiners are more likely to use traditional methods because they are strong, reliable and have been used for thousands of years..
Butt joints are probably the simplest type of joint because they just require two bits of wood to be butted up against each other and then fixed with nails, dowels, screws or glue. This is also the weakest type of joint though so should be avoided for anything that needs to withstand any significant load.
The most simple joint that requires cutting is the miter. It is really an angled butt joint with the two bits of wood that come together being cut at 45 degrees to create a 90 degree angle. It is fixed with glue.
Dovetail joints are perhaps the most well known of any joint. It is used by many cabinet makers. You will recognise it because it resembles the tail of a dove and it is often found where two pieces of wood come together at right angles. The join requires no glue because the joiner must cut two perfectly locking shapes that will hold together and give strength to the furniture.
The mortise and tenon joint dates back thousands of years and is used by woodworkers all around the world. It has a lot of surface area that can be used for applying glue and it can be used almost invisibly if desired. The mortise part of the joint is the square or rectangular hole and the tenon is the wood projection that fits the hole. Usually it will have shoulders that sit flush to the edges of the mortise when the tenon fully enters the mortise hole.
Tongue and groove joints are common in wood panelling, for example on wardrobe fronts. It is also commonly used on florring because it is easy to fit together. The two bits of wood are cut so that they slide together. The tongue is the projection of wood that slots into the thin, deep ridge cut to take it (known as the groove).
Now that you know a bit more about joints, you will be able to recognise the basic different types whenever you are in furniture stores.
Buying Wood Furniture
Wood furniture looks wonderful and if looked after will stay that way for many years. It is a natural product and it suits any home. If you select the right piece you can end up with a family heirloom that will be treasured for generations to come.
Choosing good furniture is not that difficult if you know what to look for. At the lower end of the market you will find flat pack furniture which is made to sell at the lowest price point. This type of wooden furniture is OK if you want a temporary fix or if your budget will not stretch any further but you are not going to get a family heirloom here!
Wood veneered furniture is a mixed bag. Some of it is low quality - a thin veneer of wood over weak chipboard, but some of the best furniture available is veneered so remember this when shopping.
Solid wood furniture is built to last. It is durable and strong. It is an excellent choice.
Depending on what colours and patterns you like you will be drawn to woods. If dark colours are your thing you may like mahogany and if pale is more up your street you may like maple. There is a big difference in the price of woods though - more exotic and rare they are the more expensive. You should also be aware of the ethics involved with wood - it’s not all grown and harvested in environmentally friendly ways so you would do well to stick to FSA approved sources.
It is also worth noting that different woods have different natural strength. Oak is well known for strength and oak furniture is a great choice.
If you are purchasing drawers, a mark of good furniture is a dust layer to stop dust from an upper drawer falling into a lower one. Another good sign is the presence of dovetail joints because these are strong. The interlocking joints are what make dove tail so good.
You should also look at the finish of the wood. If it is sealed with a paint or varnish it will take more wear and tear than something with a light wax. Remember to look after it accordingly so find out what you need to do to keep your wood in good condition before you make a purchase.
Obviously when purchasing any furniture you will need to make sure that you can get it into your house once it is out of the shop so make sure you measure correctly…
Wood furniture is superb, so why not start check out your local furniture stores and get shopping today…
Terms You May Come Across When Shopping For Solid Oak Furniture
When you are choosing oak furniture you may come across a few terms that you’re not sure about. The purpose of this article is to explain some of them so that you can make an informed choice on the best oak furniture for your purposes.
Some of the terms are specific to oak, others to certain groups of wood and some are more general wood terms.
Quercus: This is the Latin name for oak. Quercus is also a subgenus of the genus Quercus.
White oak: The common name for Quercus Alba. The bark of the tree is most commonly grey, despite the name. White oak is also a group of Quercus trees, including Quercus Alba. The pores on the growth rings are blocked.
Red oak: The common name for Quercus Rubra. Red oak is also the name of a group of Quercus trees, including Quercus Rubra. The pores on the growth rings are open and therfore allow water in.
Hardwood: All oaks are hardwoods. A hardwood is simply the wood from a deciduous tree. It doesn’t mean that the wood is physically hard, although oak actually is.
Medullary rays: Ribbons extending vertically through the wood, perpendicularly to the growth rings. Not all woods show these but oak does. Plane trees also show them well. They show up on the wood as flecks.
Quarter sawn: Wood has been cut at right angles to the growth rings. The grain will be in straight lines. This sort of cut is the one used to show the medullary rays. It is structurally more sound than wood sawn in other ways but more difficult to cut and therefore more expensive.
Plain sawn: The wood has the growth rings of the tree parallel to the board’s broad face. It is also known as ‘slabbed lumber’.
Grain: The texture produced by wood fibres. You can get interesting grain patterns with red oak.
Unfinished: The furniture will not be coloured with any stains and it will not have any sort of top coat. It is cheaper to buy unfinished oak but it will then need some sort of finishing to be applied to it.
French polish: Lots of very thin layers of shellac are rubbed onto the furniture to produce a very high shine surface with a deep colour.
Shellac: A resin created by the female lac bug which is processed and dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make a liquid to glaze the wood.
Seasoned: Seasoned wood has had the moisture content reduced to make it stronger and more reliable. It can be air dried or kiln dried.
Buying oak furniture can be good fun but in order to get the right piece for you it helps if you understand the terminology you may come across.
