Wood Finishing

wood Finishing 

Wood finishing starts with sanding either by hand, usually employing a sanding block or power smoother, scraping, or planing. Imperfections or nail holes on the surface could also be filled using wood putty or pores could also be filled using wood filler. Often, the wood's colour is modified by staining, bleaching, or any of variety of alternative techniques.

Once the wood surface is prepared and stained, the end is applied. it always consists of many coats of wax, shellac, drying oil, lacquer, varnish, or paint, and every coat is usually followed by sanding.

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Finally, the surface could also be polished or buffed using wire wool, pumice, rotten stone or alternative materials, counting on the shine desired. Often, a final coat of wax is applied over the finish to feature a degree of protection.

French polishing could be a finishing method of applying many thin coats of shellac employing a rubbing pad, yielding a very fine glossy finish.

Ammonia fuming could be a ancient method for darkening and enriching the colour of oak. Ammonia fumes react with the natural tannins in the wood and cause it to amendment colors. The ensuing product is glorious as "fumed oak".

Types of finishes

There are three major kinds of finish

1 ) Evaporative
2 ) Reactive
3 ) Coalescing

Wax is an physical change end as a result of it's dissolved in turpentine or crude oil distillates to create a soft paste. when these distillates evaporate, a wax residue is left over.

Reactive finishes could use solvents such as white spirits and dissolver as a base. Varnishes, linseed oil and tung oil are reactive finishes, which means they amendment with chemicals once they cure, not like physical change finishes. This natural action is usually a polymerisation, and therefore the resultant material is a smaller amount promptly dissolved in solvents .

Tung oil and flaxseed oil ar reactive finishes that cure by reacting with O, however don't kind a movie.

Water based mostly finishes typically represent the coalescing class.

Comparison of various clear finishes

Clear endes ar meant to create wood look smart and meet the strain to be placed on the finish. selecting a transparent end for wood involves trade-offs between look, protection, durability, safety, needs for cleansing, and easy application. the subsequent table compares the characteristics of various clear finishes. 'Rubbing qualities' indicates the benefit with which a finish will be manipulated to deliver the finish desired. Shellac ought to be thought of in 2 completely different ways in which. it's used as a end and as the simplest way to control the wood's ability to soak up alternative finishes by cutting it with ethyl alcohol. The alcohol evaporates soon to yield a end that's fully safe however shellac can attach itself to just about any surface, even glass, and just about the other end will be used over it.

Hangline approach

In the hangline approach, wood things being finished ar decorated by carriers or hangers that ar connected to a conveyor system that moves the things overhead or on top of the ground house. The conveyor itself will be ceiling mounted, wall mounted or supported by floor mounts. a straightforward overhead conveyor system will be designed to maneuver wood product through many wood finishing processes in an exceedingly continuous loop. The hangline approach to machine-controlled wood finishing conjointly permits the choice of moving things up to hotter air at the ceiling level to hurry up drying method.


In this towing line technique, mobile carts move giant article of furniture through varied finishing stages on a conveyor system.

Towline approach

The towing line approach to automating wood finishing uses mobile carts that ar propelled by conveyors mounted in or on the ground. This approach is helpful for moving giant, awkward formed wood product that ar tough or not possible to raise or droop overhead, like four-legged wood article of furniture. The mobile carts employed in the towing line approach will be designed with prime platens that rotate either manually or mechanically. The rotating prime platens enable the operator to possess quick access to all or any sides of the wood item throughout the varied wood finishing processes like sanding, painting and sealing.

Types of Wood for Woodworking

Sampling some softwoods

Softwoods aren't weaker than hardwoods. Softwoods come from coniferous trees such as cedar, fir, and pine and tend to be somewhat yellow or reddish. Because most coniferous trees grow fast and straight, softwoods are generally less expensive than hardwoods.

It's also relatively easy to find sustainably grown softwoods (woods grown on tree farms to ensure an endless supply of wood); this means you're not contributing to the deforestation of the world and will always have a supply of wood .

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Cedar

The most common type of cedar is the western red variety. Western red cedar, as its name implies, has a reddish color to it. This type of wood is relatively soft (1 on a scale of 1 to 4), has a straight grain, and has a slightly aromatic smell.

Fir

Often referred to as Douglas Fir, this wood has a straight, pronounced grain, and has a reddish brown tint to it. Fir is most often used for building; however, it's inexpensive and can be used for some furniture-making as well. It doesn't have the most interesting grain pattern and doesn't take stain very well, so it's best to use it only when you intend to paint the finished product. Douglas fir is moderately strong and hard for a softwood, rating 4 on a scale of 1 to 4.

Pine

Pine comes in several varieties, including Ponderosa, Sugar, White, and Yellow, and all of them make great furniture. In some areas of the country (especially southwest United States), pine is the wood to use. Pine is very easy to work with and, because most varieties are relatively soft, it lends itself to carving.

Redwood

Like cedar, redwood is used mostly for outdoor projects because of its resistance to moisture. Redwood (California redwood) is fairly soft and has a straight grain. As its name suggests, it has a reddish tint to it. Redwood is easy to work with, is relatively soft (2 on a scale of 1 to 4), and is moderately priced. You can find redwood at your local home center.

Homing in on hardwoods

Most woodworkers love to work with hardwoods. The variety of colors, textures, and grain patterns makes for some beautiful and interesting-looking furniture. The downside to hardwoods is their price.

Ash

Ash is a white to pale brown wood with a straight grain. It's pretty easy to work with (hardness of 4 on a scale of 1 to 5) and takes stain quite nicely, but ash is getting harder and harder to find. You won't find ash at your local home center — it's only available from larger lumberyards. Ash is a good substitute for white oak.

 Birch

Birch comes in two varieties: yellow and white. Yellow birch is a pale yellow-to-white wood with reddish-brown heartwood, whereas white birch has a whiter color that resembles maple. Both types of birch have a hardness of 4 on a scale of 1 to 5.

Beech: 

Beech is another hardwood that bends easily, but it isn't as attractive as ash. Beech is often used with more expensive woods, primarily in inconspicuous places -- chair and table legs, drawer bottoms, sides and backs of cabinets. Beech takes a stain well, and is often stained to look like mahogany, maple, or cherry. Beech is both hard and heavy,and is difficult to work with hand tools. It is inexpensive.

Butternut

Hardwood Manufacturers Yellow Birch

Birch (yellow birch):

 Birch, a common hardwood, is used in all aspects of furniture construction. The wood is light yellowish brown, very similar in color and in grain to maple. The grain is quite pleasing. Birch is close-grained. It is moderately expensive.

Butternut: 

This hardwood, often called white walnut, is similar in many ways to walnut. The wood is light brown, with occasional dark or reddish streaks. The grain is pronounced and leafy. Butternut is coarse-textured, with visibly open pores; it is usually filled.  Butternut stains well, and is often stained to look like dark walnut. The wood is light, and is easy to work with hand tools. It is moderately expensive.

Oak (red oak, white oak): 

This abundant hardwood has always been valued for its strength and its attractive grain; It is used extensively for solid furniture and, in modern furniture, for veneers. White oak is a rich grayish brown color; red oak is similar, but with a pronounced reddish cast. Both types of oak are distinctively grained, with prominent rays or streaks. The wood is open-grained. It is moderately expensive; red oak is usually less expensive than white.

Pecan: 

This southern hardwood is quite strong, and is used extensively in dining and office furniture; pecan veneers are also common. The wood varies from pale brown to reddish brown, with some dark streaks; the grain is quite pronounced. The wood is difficult to work with hand tools; the price is moderate.

Other woods:  

Although most furniture is made from the woods listed above, many other woods are used in furniture construction.

 Some of the other woods used for furniture are alder, apple, aspen, chestnut, cottonwood, cypress, fir, hackberry, hemlock, holly, koa, laurel, locust, magnolia, pear-wood, spruce, tupelo, and willow. Treat all wood according to its apparent traits.