What You Should Know:
Wood Furniture and Cabinets
Understanding the nature of the wood used in your furniture
or cabinets will enable you to appreciate and enjoy each piece
to the fullest.
At Pride Furniture, we use solid wood and
hardwood plywood to construct quality furnishings and
cabinets that will last a lifetime, in fact several
lifetimes.
Things to Remember
- Wood is open grained and textured and is capable
of expansion and contraction due to temperature and humidity
changes.
- While we all appreciate the lasting beauty of wood,
consumers are often unaware of the nature and
characteristics of wood.
- Anyone who will not be satisfied
with slight movement or checking in their wood should never
buy such furniture.
- The lines and grains are what give
handcrafted wood furniture its uniqueness.
- Due to the
natural variations of the wood, appearance may vary from one
piece to the next. This is part of the beauty and splendor
of natural wood.
Solid Wood
Solid wood is dried slowly in kilns down to approximately
six-percent moisture content. Solid hardwoods are cut and
shaped into pieces that provide the structural integrity of
the furniture.
These pieces include the legs frame and posts
that support the weight of the table, chair or cabinet. The
proper method of connecting these frame pieces is by joining
them using a proper combination of wood adhesive and screws,
nails, or staples.
Hardwood Plywood
The use of plywood is probably the most maligned and
misunderstood aspect of furniture and cabinet construction.
As wood is porous by nature, solid wood has a tendency to
expand and contract as the humidity changes. In constructing
the large flat panels that make up the sides and/or tops of
various pieces of furniture or cabinets, solid wood does not
offer the necessary stability.
Plywood and products
manufactured of wood are significantly more stable and less
apt to warp or split. While there are some lower quality
pressboards on the market at reduced costs, at Pride
Furniture we select high quality plywood, which may be more
expensive than the solid wood, to improve the durability and
life of your furniture or cabinets.
It is the combination of solid wood and plywood, each having
its own function, similar to various ingredients in a
recipe.
At Pride Furniture, we do NOT use any engraved or
printed material to simulate a wood surface. Contrary to
using plywood, the only advantage to using engraved or
printed material is to reduce cost.
Due to the high cost of veneering, a method has been developed that reproduces the grain of wood photographically. This wood image is then applied over the flat panels to simulate a wood surface.
The drawbacks of engraved surfaces are that they are not repairable and the flat panels may not be durable enough for the function.
Another important ingredient of Pride furniture and cabinets
is quality hardware such as drawer slides, which are
carefully selected for the function.
It has been said that a piece of furniture looks only as
good as its finish. Here at Pride Furniture, our furniture
and cabinets go through a quality finishing process that
starts at the beginning.
Sanding is a critical and ongoing
part of the finishing process. Raw lumber is sanded prior
to cutting and shaping and pieces are sanded throughout the
assembly and finishing process. Proper sanding is not only
critical for a finish that is smooth to the touch, but
equally important in creating an even color when staining.
The stain is sprayed on and then each piece is hand-rubbed
to bring out the grain and natural beauty of the wood. A
base coat and topcoats are applied to seal, protect and
enhance the natural luster.
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