TYPES OF WOOD Hardwood The term refers to all leaf-bearing trees rather than any degree of hardness. Those most often used in furniture construction include ash, birch, butternut, cherry, gum, mahogany, maple, oak, pecan, rosewood, teak, walnut and yellow poplar.

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Softwood
Trees with needles or foliage that remains green year round. These include cedar, fir, pine and spruce.

HOW THE WOOD IS USED

Woods for Frame Construction Ash, gum and yellow poplar are often used in frame construction and other interior areas for their strength, stability and shock absorption qualities. Woods for Exterior Surface Cabinet woods are those used on exterior surfaces and must be carefully worked, carved, finished and polished. Cabinet woods include birch, cherry, mahogany, maple, oak, pecan and walnut.

Wood Preparation
Wood contains natural moisture which accounts for as much as one-third of the total weight of lumber when it is first received. The curing of lumber requires tremendous care and expertise.

The wood is air dried three to six months, depending on the thickness of the wood. It is then placed in a dry kiln for two to eight weeks. A moisture content of six to eight percent assures the stability of the finished furniture, in either humid or desert climates.

After the lumber is properly dried, it is planed and cut to various widths and lengths and then matched for color. Even within the same tree, color varies greatly.

SOLID VS. VENEERED WOOD CONSTRUCTION The word "solid" as used in the furniture industry may be confusing because both types - solid and veneered - are of solid wood construction.

Solid Wood Furniture
Solid is used to describe furniture with drawer fronts, tops, panels and other like surfaces made of whole wood, or of one piece, without plies of veneer.

Solid wood surfaces are composed of narrow solid wood planks, bonded permanently together, side by side. These planks serve to prevent splitting and warping when temperatures change and when the wood naturally expands and contracts. They also provide decorative variation.

Veneered Wood Furniture
In veneer construction, layers of woods are permanently bonded to a center core on a solid wood frame. Veneering permits matching and repeating grain patterns that are impossible in solid lumber.

Veneering is used in about 80 percent of wood furniture, from the least to the most expensive, because of its strength and added versatility.