wisno furniture finishing

Color room for furniture factory.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:55:00 +0000

Color room or color box is a special room that is specially design to see and check the color. Color room is required in the factory or industry that is dealing with color and finishing. Many furniture companies that does the finishing process for the products also provide the color room. In the furniture factories the color room is used to help to check and view the color to be more accurate. The furniture factories are always need to check and view the color when he start developing and matching color panels that is going to be used for reference in the production.

When the furniture factory get a color panel form its buyer, then he need to make color panel and finishing system to match the panel. The process of making color panel is tough work; the different substrate, the different finishing material and the different facilities could make the matching color to be difficult to do. Especially when we dealing with the wood that has the variation in the character and properties.

When we look at the color theory we will find the the color of the object is highly depend to the light that shone the object. Color theory says that the color that is visible by an object comes from the wavelengths that are reflected by the object, whereas the other wavelengths are absorbed by the object. Then actually we need a standard light to check the color to get the consistence result.

In the furniture finishing industry usually we use the daylight as the light source when we check the color, but in fact the daylight is not the same every time. The sun's rays can be changed according to the climate and weather, the sunlight even can vary between morning, afternoon and evening. The situation could be problem in the matching color process, especially when we use the different substrate and finishing material. When we compared two color panels ( the panel standard and the counter panel) we could get difference result every time. For example when we check the counter color panel with the standard, sometime we get good matched in the morning, but when we do check the same panels at the afternoon, then they could be looked difference. The variation can also happened when we change the location where we check the color panels.
The color room is the facility to handle this color problem. With the color room as a standard room to do checking and viewing color then we can minimize the environment factors in the color judgment . In the color room we use the same light and we would have the same light every time times; the light in the room will not influenced by the day and the environment condition .
Color room is particularly needed when we develop color panel (to be used as production standard) to match with a color panel standard (from the furniture buyer). The matching color could be difficult since usually we use different substrates and different finishing material. In this condition, the variation in the light that hit the object could affect the color result. The color room as the standard room to check the color help the color viewing to be more consistence and accurate.

The color room is also help to check the product samples that will be used as reference in the production. with many light that is lightened to the object we can view the sample accurately. We can see and fine the defect and problem at the sample accurately.

color room in the furniture finishing

How to make the color room.
Color room can be made with simple way. We can build a room that is need to equipped with series of lights arranged and directed to the center of the room that is used for checking color. The light used must be the natural light, (the light with wavelength same as the day light). The light bulbs there and fluorescence lamp are booth needed to complete the light at the color room. The adjustable switch are needed to set and adjust the light intensity.

Sengon for plywood.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sun, 12 May 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Sengon (Albizia chinensis) is very fast grow tree. In the proper climate and soil, the sengon tree can grow and harvested with much shorter age then other wood tree. Normally the tree can be harvested at 5 year to 7 year age. The sengon plantation can be managed easier than the other wood. Sengon plantations can be made in a small area with less capital and effort but give the certainty revenue. Many sengon wood are planted by the villagers. The residents in the mountains slope in Java such as: Temanggung, Wonosobo, Salatiga, Boyolali, are preferring to plant sengon instead of other wood. The easiness in selling the timber is also the other factor that make the sengon wood is very attractive for the people. In the other side, many peoples plant sengon also give advantages to the industries that cultivate the wood. The industries can utilize the wood without any supply problem.

Instead of the abundantly supply, the sengon wood offer many advantages to be used as raw material in the woodworking industry. It is lightweight, malleable, less price easy to be processed. The wood does not have nice grain and beautiful looked as: teak, mahogany or mindi, etc. It is not suitable to make wood products that require the beauty wood appearance. It is also not strong enough to make construction that need maximum strength. Sengon wood is an ideal material to be used for interior part and support to make many product in the woodworking industry. It is most used to make drawer box, furniture support, inside of the wood panel, inside of the wall panel, etc.

Sengon for plywood.

One of sengon utilization is to make plywood. Sengon plywood offer many advantages; it is lightweight, durable, inexpensive and quite strong. The plywood construction can increase the strength of wood be 3 than the solid wood panel board. With proper gluing the plywood will be stronger than bare core or laminated wood. The plywood can be marketed with higher price then the bare core.

To make the plywood we need the better quality wood. The wood to make the plywood must be straight and quite big in diameter ( 60 cm up). The wood is sliced with rotary slicer to make veneer. The veneer layers then are dried and glued to make the plywood. At least 3 layers of veneer needed to produce plywood. With cross banding lamination the wood will have equal power to the length and width. The plywood change the timber that has varies properties becomes more uniform, strong and versatile. The plywood construction also reduce the risk of splitting and puncture to produce the rigid and high impact resistant. See our previous article: plywood for wood panel.

Sengon plywood is marketed with various thicknesses. The standard size are : 6mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm or 18 mm. The sengon plywood can be sold for panel products that do not require the good wood appearance such as: core board, back panel, drawer box and support panels for furniture or to make the panel for low end furniture.

A beauty wood can be laminated at the face and back to produce plywood boards with better looked. Meranti, mahogany, mindi or other nice wood can be used as the ace to increase the value of the plywood. The panel can be use to make top panel, side panels, front drawer at the cabinets, tables and other wood product. furniture. It could be better choice instead of the solid panel because it is lightweight, relatively inexpensive with strength and looked is very similar to the solid wood boards. As engineering products, plywood sengon is also relatively more stable and have uniform properties compared with solid wood panel.

Pendhapa.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Pendhapa is the traditional Javanese buildings. Pendhapa is the building in the front center of the layout of Javanese house. Pendhapa, traditionally is the building as a place for meetings, living room, show, presentation, etc. It is open building, consist of many poles supporting roof without any wall. A short wooden fence could be made out as a barrier with the gate at the front as the barrier for the hall.

pendhapa sitihinggil Keraton Yogyakarta

Pendhapa is an ideal place for gathered many people. The roof serves to withstand the sunlight and rainfall; the open space let the wind blow and flow through to bring freshness to the whole room. In the modern architecture, pendhapa is used as room for rest, relax and do the in-house sports. Pendhapa in the modern residence is used as space for relax and rest. A small pendhapa can be built in the park as a place for the whole family to chat and get the air freshness. As an open space it is also an ideal place for the kids to play.
To have pendhapa in our home is certainly a very pleasant. We will have an open space that can be used to relax and rest while enjoy the natural air freshness. But as special building, we need to good planning when we decide to make pendhapa in our home.

Here are some things to be considered in making the pendhapa:

The design and layout.

The building in our home must be considered about two things, the function and the aesthetic looked. Pendhapa is also need to meet his function as a place to get the air fresher and also need to have the artistic look. Make sure we get the proper size according to our home space and proper designed according to the house design. The traditional pendhapa is the Javanese building, but pendhapa in the modern era can be made by adopting various models of architectural design.

The building construction.

Pendhapa are usually made of wood. The wood house is emphasizing the natural atmosphere of the building. The woods are used to make the poles and hold the tile. Some people use the wood as tiles and floor to make the pendhapa. No matter what material is used, we need to make sure we do the proper construction.

The maintenance.

When we design and build the building we need to consider the maintenance. Avoid too complicated model that make difficulties in the maintenance.

LPL for furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:57:00 +0000

L.P.L. (Low Pressure Laminate) panel is an engineering product. It is made from the impregnated paper with the melamine resin that is pressed and heated. A solid M.D.F. or particle board panel is needed as a base for the resin and paper. The layers are pressed with a pressure about 20 to 30 bars (between 290 to 435 psi) at temperatures of 335 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. After the reaction is completed, then a panel with plastic resin at the top is resulted. The materials used, the panel and the result is about the same process with H.P.L., but lower pressure and temperature is needed. (see our previous article : H.P.L. for furniture). That is may be the reason why it is called L.P.L. (low pressure laminated).

It is very similar with H.P.L. in the looked and properties. It is strong and has high resistant to the heat, scratch and chemical. Although it is made from melamine resin but it is quite safe for household purposes. With the good quality resin used, it will not release any hazard or toxic materials, after its reaction has completed. Actually its free toxic is slightly less compare with the H.P.L., but it is quite safe to be used as furniture and household products. The decorative paper is used make the panel looked and color. Many model of wood grain and pores looked and can be made as well as the paint finish with any color. The special finish such as metallic, pearl, silver or gold are also can be made.
If the H.P.L. is marketed in a thin layer (with a thickness of about 1mm), the L.P.L. is already in the form of a panel with decorative looked at the top. The thickness of the L.P.L. is depending to the thickness of the panel (usually m.d.f. or particle board) used as a base at the manufacturing process. To make the L.P.L. panel we does need to glue the layer at the thick flat panel (bare core, particle or plywood or M.D.F.) as the H.P.L. panel. The panels is already consist the particle or M.D.F. board at the bottom. The L.P.L. panel can be directly cut and used to make any product.
Normally the L.P.L. panels is cheaper compared with H.P.L. With the exact size of the panel's thickness can be directly used. The laminating and gluing process is no longer needed. The problem is about the minimum amount of panel to be economical in the production batch. If necessary we can laminate the L.P.L. panel with the other flat panels, particle board or plywood, bare core to make panel with higher thickness.
L.P.L. panel is used as substitution for wood panel make wide range of furniture products and household product. L.P.L panel have advantages because he is strong, resistant to heat, scratches, chemicals, solvents. With the selection at the decorative paper used, variety of : models, colors and looked can be produced without any finishing process. As engineering product, it also has stable properties, relatively uniform, controllable and measurable compare with the wood panel.

L.P.L. is lot used to make furniture products with simple form and model. Contemporary furniture, office furniture, simple tables, cabinets, kitchen set can be made with the L.P.L.. The knock down furniture models that produced in big amount is the suitable product for the L.P.L.. With the proper manufacturing process , the production process can be set up with less people power but rely to the machinery. With the proper arrangement then the high speed and efficient production process can be made, and less expensive product is resulted.

Clam shell for furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Clam shell is a hard, protective outer layer of the shell an animal that lives in the sea. The clam shell is the part of the body of the exoskeleton of an invertebrate marine animal. The shells will empty when the animal has died and the soft parts have been eaten by another animal or have rotted out. The clam shell can found many in the beach and collected to make souvenir. Many clam shell handicraft is very common souvenir at the beach tourism.

Now, with the development of woodworking and finishing technology, the shell can be utilized to make special configuration for the furniture and handicraft products. The shells can be arranged and pasted on the wood surface to make panel with very attractive appearance. The resin is layered at the top to build the film layer and protection to the shell mosaic. Variety of patterns and model can be created with the arrangement of shell.

The clam shells are widely used to make the panel to make the top panel for the table or cabinet. It usually used in combination with the wood or metal in the furniture product. The shell panel also can be used to make front drawer or accent parts at the cabinet, bed or even a chair.
With the proper process, the shells can also be attached to the curved surface used to make accent special appearance for the unflat surface.

Finishing for the clam shells panel.

This shell panel usually is finished with natural color. The panel is already covered with resin layer. He already got protection and film layer. We can polish the surface to produce a flat smooth and high gloss panel. The high gloss shell panel will bring the unique, luxurious and special looked. However, if the lower gloss is required, we can apply to top with the required sheen. We can apply stain or glaze to make color to the panel. However, too thick coloring should be avoided since it can cover and kill the beauty of the shell mosaic.
Any type of clear coat can be used; NC, AC, PU or water work well with the polyester resin. PU is widely used because it can provide maximum protection, especially for the high gloss finish. The NC clear coating is also most used since it is easy in application, especially when we do stain and glaze application.

Fumigation in the woodworking industry.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:33:00 +0000

Fumigation is the process of fuming of poisonous gas to cope the insect attacks. The poisonous gas is purposed to kill all pests and the living organism (larva, pupa, and imago). The fumigation is considered standard process to the furniture, handicraft and wood product before it shipped to the destination country. Most countries in the world require the fumigation process for the incoming products that have high risk for the pest infection. Furniture, handicrafts and the products made from wood or natural substrates are high risk to be infected by insects. they need to be fumigate before it shipped to ensure it free from the pest.

The fumigation process is done by covering the product with close container and fumes the gas into the container. The poisonous gas will kill all insects and organism inside. For the products that are placed in the ship container, the fumigation process can be done by spraying gas into the container before the product is shipped.

The fumigant that is used to do the fumigation are the poisonous gas that will kill the pest and insect by respiratory healed. The fumigant that is widely used in Indonesia is the: Methyl Bromide, phosphine, Ethylene Oxide, and Sulfuril fluoride. The methyl bromide treatment currently is limited since it can affect the ozone layer. The most widely uses fumigant that is the phosphine.
Although fumigation is a very effective to kill insects or creatures that infect the product, but actually the process cannot guarantee to the product to be free from insect attack. The fumigant gas cannot be absorbed by the product, means it will go and disappear after certain time. The fumigation will only kill organisms that alive at the time when the stuff is fumed by the gas. The fumigation will kill the termite, wood borer and bug that infect the product but it won’t kill the eggs that have not hatched. After the fumigant gas has evaporated completely, the product will be susceptible to the insect attack. If there is any insect eggs hatch, they will be born and attack the wood products. The fumigation is also cannot give protection o the new insects fly and alighted at the product after the product is free from toxic gas.
In the pest control we can do fumigation periodically to control the insect attack to the wood houses or building. The chemically treatment to the wood or natural product could be more effective way to prevent the insect attacked. The proper chemically treatment will make the wood products be toxic and not liked by the insects. See our previous article: the insect attacked to the wood product

Butyl cellosolve

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:49:00 +0000

Butyl cellosolve is quite important in finishing industry. Butyl cellosolve (also called Glycol Ether EB or water miscible glycol ether) is solvent with very low evaporation rate. This solvent has lower evaporation rate than the water. His ability to solve the resin and paint and dissolved each other with water make the butyl cellosolve become the important element in the waterbased coating thinner. Butyl cellosolve serves as a “bridge” between the water with the resin. He help to make the process of coalescing of the waterbase coating. In the application of the waterbased coatings, the drying process is started with the evaporation of the water as the main thinner. The after all the water has evaporated the curing and coalescing of the coating is done by the evaporation of the glycol ether that is left at the mixture. Finally the dry and hard film is build when all the solvents have evaporated.

Butyl cellosolve is also used some in the solvent base coating. It can be used to thin the synthetic and enamel coatings. Some finishing material suppliers add butyl cellosolve in the lacquer thinner. The butyl cellosolve in the thinner make the lacquer dry slower; he acts as retarder. But since it has character to absorb water then the uses of butyl cellosolve should be properly controlled. Too much butyl cellosolve can result to the problem at the film layer such as: blushing, or soft film. Moreover, this solvent cannot be used in the finishing materials that are sensitive to the water. The solvent base PU coating cannot contain this solvent. The water in butyl cellosolve will react with the isocyanate and interfere the drying process.

The other uses are for disinfectant and cleaner liquid for industrial and household stuff. This material is also worked as a rust remover to clean the rust at the surface of iron. This material also can be added some into the paint thinner or acetone to wash off the finishing material layer. It will help the washing process for the one component coating film layer such as: NC, water based and other 1 component finishing material.

The physical properties of the Butyl cellosolve can be viewed below :

Specific Gravity : 0.9

Boiling Point: : 171°C

Evaporation Rate : 0.06 ( Evaporation of Butylacetate =1)

Vapor Density : 4.07

Solubility in Water : 100% soluble

Auto ignition Temperature : Not applicable

Flash Point : 160°c

the data is from: http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1396.html

Vacuum press

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:55:00 +0000

Vacuum press is a pressing machine that uses vacuum force. At the gluing process we always need a static force to hold the glued pieces to stick together until the glue is dry and set. The machine is sucking the air in the gluing room to create the vacuum force to press the wood pieces. Vacuum press is the tool to do the lamination to the complex forms. It can be used laminate veneer for the flat panels, curved panels, arched jams, shaped parts, cylinders, etc. The machine is also portable it can be used to laminate the veneer at the built up product such as lobby, pole, post, wall, or spiral staircases.

The laminating process is about the same with the laminating with the other press machine. The wood veneer and the core are layered with glue. The proper type and amount glue is needed. Then after the veneer is attached at the core, a plastic bag is used to wrap and cover the work piece. The air inside the bag is pumped out to make vacuum room. The vacuum force is used to press the veneer to keep stick with the core until the glue is dry and a strong bond is obtained. After the glue is dry then we can open the bag to get the veneered panel.

The advantages of vacuum press:

Relatively inexpensive

Vacuum press machine is relatively simple and inexpensive equipment. The main equipment is the plastic bag and air pump. The plastic bag has to thigh enough to produce vacuum room. The manometer is equipped to see and control the vacuum force.

Flexible.

The machine is lightweight and flexible to accommodate the uneven and complex form. It can be used to laminate the veneer at the curved panels, uneven and complex panels. It is also available to laminate many panels with many size and form. The machine is portable easy to be installed to do the lamination on the products that have been built such as: stairs, doors or architectural product.

The disadvantage is:

Long time pressing.

Since no oven is equipped, the drying of the glue will only happened at the room temperature. It makes the gluing and pressing time will take long time. With the hot press machine, the glue will dry and set in 2 minutes, but with this machine we need at least 15 minutes to let the glue dry.

Limited pressing power.

This tool uses vacuum force to do the pressing. The maximum power that can be generated is limited to the atmospheric pressure (15 pounds / sq.in). It cannot be used to do the pressing stuff that requires high power press. It cannot do the pressing for the several layers panel in same time.

This press machine is more suitable to do the lamination process in small volume job. It can accommodate the varied product but it needs relatively long time processing. If we do the flat panel but with big volume, then the hot press machine is more suitable machine.

Coffee table

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 21:53:00 +0000

Coffee table (cocktail table) is a table to serving drinks. And because the coffee is probably the most popular drink in the world, then the table to serve the drink is named as the coffee table. The coffee table is installed in the living room as the completeness of the living room. We usually serve the snack and drink for our guest to bring the atmosphere of friendship. And the coffee table is designed as a place to put the drink and snack for our guest. In addition there could be some magazines, ashtray, newspaper and some other souvenir to bring the comfortable atmosphere for our guest.

coffee table

In the living room there are also chairs or sofas as a place to sit. For some homes, coffee tables can be placed on a carpet, mat or wood parquet flooring. With this layout, we may don’t need the chair, or sofa; the people in the room can sit on the floor or carpet.

petrified wood coffee table

Coffee table is furniture which is the part of the living room. To get the pleasant room then we need to accord the table to the living room decoration theme to bring the atmosphere we want. The selection of the coffee table actually is quite easy and simple. There are many model and type of coffee table that we can choose. The furniture industry is providing the coffee table with a variety of models, types and form that we can choose according to our needs. There are also many furniture shops are available to make the coffee table with special form and style if we want to.

rattan coffee table

Tips to choose the coffee table.

Choose the model and form according to the theme of the room decoration.

Coffee table as home furniture will always serve as the part to build the aesthetic value of the room. Then the table has to match room with the room decoration and the atmosphere that will be built in the living room and the whole building. The model, form and color of the coffee table should be in line with the other constituent elements of the room decoration such as: wall, floor, door, windows and other household to bring the nice room.

Consider the size according to the size of the room.

Coffee table usually is a small table. It has relative small size of the top and low height according to the size of the living room that usually is not too big. When we chose the coffee table, we always need to consider the size of the living room to be filled it. Make sure the furniture is not too fully the room. Make sure there is still enough space for the people inside to do the activity freely.

antique coffee table

Consider the maintenance.

As household product, the coffee table will always need to be cleaned everyday. Choose the table that is easy to be cleaned and maintained. Avoid to buy too complex product that lead to the difficulties in the maintenance. Check the type of the finishing at the table, and find out how to clean and maintain the finish.

Termite

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:43:00 +0000

Termite is the natural wood destroyer machine. Termites eat wood and decompose them become the earth element. The insect is the nature creation to destroy the wood to let the recycling process of the wood is happened. Although there are several types of termites, but actually they have very similar character. Termites live in a colony which is controlled by a queen. There three types of termites in the colony, the moth, workers and soldiers. Queen termite is tasked to produce termite eggs that will produce new termites. when the eggs hatch she become the moth (the baby termite). They can grow up to be 3 types of beings: the worker, soldier and alates. The workers termite are assigned to gather food and to build nest for the entire colony. The soldiers are tasked to control the worker, maintain the safety and security of the entire colony. While the alates are the termite that come from the fertilized eggs. The alates have wings to fly and go out to find new place, reproduce and building new colony. Most of the alates are death in their journey, but the alates that could find the suitable place will build the new colony and become the queen of the new colony.

Termites eat wood from the rest of the log, dead tree, fence and every wood were piled on the ground. Actually the termite activity to eat and destroy the wood is a natural thing, to let the process of recycling and regeneration of the wood happened. The termite decomposes the wood to let them fused with the soil and absorbed by the new plant.

Termites become problem for human life because he damage the wood and wood product that is still used in human life. Wood and wood products in the outdoors that is sitting on the ground such as: logs, planks, fences, outdoor furniture are susceptible for the termites attacked. Termites are also found in the house attacking the doors, house frames, timber walls or floors. Termites are also found attacking wood products such as: indoor furniture, paper, plywood and mdf. The termite is part form the nature, then to exterminate them is impossible. What we suppose to do is to control and avoid them to destroy our stuff. .

termite attacked at the wood

Here are some things we can do to prevent termite infestation.

Choose wood that is resistant to termites for furnishing and framing the house.

In fact there are some types of wood that are naturally not favored by this insect. For example the teak wood that is harvested at the right time has oil inside that make it is not liked by this insect. Some other hard such as: kamper, Kruing, ulin are also having a high resistance to termites.

Keep the wood and wood product away from direct contact with the ground.

Termites live in the ground, the colony develops and spreads trough the earth. Termites that are out from the ground will built the soil nest by decomposing the wood otherwise they will die. Even the most resistant wood is susceptible to termite attack when he placed outdoors in contact with the ground. Use the base of a stone or cement that cannot be penetrated by termites basic for the wood poles, fences, doors, frames or house.

Keep the termite susceptible wood far away from the house.

Termites will spread from one colony to establish a colony nearby when he find the suitable conditions. The wood that is susceptible for the termite attack would be an ideal place for the growth of the new colony. Get close with the termite colony will increase for the termite attacked. The colony will send moths or alates that have the potential to form a new colony nearby.

Seal the wood with finishing materials.

Layering the wood with chemical can be used to prevent termite infestation in wood. Some chemical such as: oil, teer are not liked by the termites. Modern finishing materials such as: coatings and paint will also inhibit the termites to penetrate into the wood.

Chemically preservation to the wood.

The wood treatment with the anti insect chemical is the quite expensive and effective to prevent termite infestation. Treatment with anti insect chemical will make wood to be toxic and is not liked termites. An integrated chemically treatment in the woodworking process is one of the best ways to produce the wood product with resistant to the insect attacked.

Treatment with the termite killer chemical.

If we find any termites in our home then the only way is killed them before they damage and destroy the entire building. We could use termite killer chemical. There are many companies that offer pest control treatment and termite extermination in the home or building. The combat termite infestation is the only way to stop the termite attacked that appears in the house or wood products that we have. However the process is a relatively expensive. The treatment process should be carried out continuously with a repetition every few time (once a year or every 6 months).

Dust collector in woodworking room.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:04:00 +0000

Dust collector is an apparatus for capturing the dust. It is quite simple but important equipment in the woodworking room. Most processes in the woodworking such as: cutting, sanding and other wood processing generate wood dust (saw dust) as side product. The wood dust must be cleaned from the workspace because it could interfere the working process. The dust that is not well treated can cause problem many problems for the working environment. The saw dust that is healed can cause health problem for the human respiratory. The dust will cause problem if get into the eyes, hear or even contact with skin. Wood dust in the big amount will reduce the space in the room and increase the fire risk.
Wood dust is that can be collected has economic value because it can be sold or used as a fuel. Many woodworking company utilize the wood dust as fuel for the boiler that could save his fuel consumption. Since of that reasons, it is very reasonable if the dust collector is considered as important equipment that has to be equipped in the woodworking room.

portable dust collector

Portable dust collector.

It is the dust collector with small capacity. It is formed as small bag that is installed at woodworking tools. It is most used for woodworking shop, or small-scale woodworking factory. The woodworking tools such as: chainsaws, machine sanding or cutting machines usually are equipped with the dust collector bag to collect the dust generated. There is a fan to suck the dust and flow it to the bag. Dust bag can be uninstalled and cleaned when it is fully with the dust.

dust collector in the woodworking room

Dust collector with a centralized system.

Dust collector is build in the woodworking room as a series of pipes with the ends are the proboscis that suck the dust from the dusty machines and the other end is the cyclone separator that collect the dust and drop it in a dust storage silo. The equipment uses a big fan to suck the dust from the whole woodworking area. The centralized dust collector is the standard facility that is required for the woodworking factory, furniture factory that has big capacity. With this system the factory only need to provide 1 fan, and the dust is collected and stored at 1 place. The big capacity fan and the piping system is needed, but it will be more efficient for big capacity woodworking operation, since he does need to deal with many apparatus and dust bag.

cyclone separator

Maintenance for the dust collector.

As well as other machinery and equipment dust collector requires good maintenance to let it long time lasting. The improper treatment for the dust collector can be lead to the danger because of the risk of fire. Dust collector can be maintained easily by cleaned and checked periodically. Fill out the dust bag when it is full. Do the routine check for the dust collector system to anticipate any problems that arise before they become big.

English for the woodworker.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:13:00 +0000

Proficiency is important skill for many people including the woodworker. The English skill allows us to get greater access to the information and knowledge that we need. The news, information and knowledge that are shared in the internet mostly are available in English. The woodworking book and e-book is more available in the English then in the other languages. The English language skills also allow us to communicate and build relationships to the whole world. English language skill is very important tool, if we want to get maximum benefit from the information technology now,

Here are some tips to learn English

Read books, articles or news in English.

As a woodworker, we need to read. The woodworking technology constantly evolves according to the society changes. We can get the information about new knowledge, techniques, material and equipment and business issues from the reading activities. Most of the new information is delivered mostly in English. By reading and studying the information we actually do 2 things at once; learning the woodworking knowledge and the English.

Join the woodworker community and forum.

In order to increase our capacity as a woodworker we need to actively join with our community. There are many forums, mailing lists or groups in many social media that we can use to discuss and share. The international forums are always managed in English. Actively joining in the English forums is very good media to enhance our ability to the English language skill.

Writing in English.

Writing gives many advantages. Writing is the simplest way to share experience, knowledge or opinion for many peoples. Writing some useful trick and technique means help many peoples at the end it will help us to get relationship. At this time there is lot of media that we can use to write with wide spread expose. There are many providers on the internet that gives us the opportunity to write articles for free; some of them even provide rewards for his contributors. Writing in the English language will indirectly enhance our capabilities and expertise for the woodworker as well as the ability of our writing materials. Some provider gives the article editor and writing consultant that will big help for us.

Learning to the right people.

To improve our ability more quickly, we need the tutor, teacher or guru. The proper tutor is a mentor who helps us to improve our skill in the faster way. Instead of auto learning that take long time and could be very exhausting, we can take a course or joining a English class. The school or course near us could be good choice, but joining the regular class sometime does not accord with our schedule. As a woodworker we may do not have certainty free time to join the regular class. If so, then we can join the online tutoring. There are many companies or group that provide online service to give the tutoring and mentoring to enhance your ability.Learning English with online tutor could be very better option who has to work and cannot join the regular class.

Nyatoh wood

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:28:00 +0000

Nyatoh wood (Palaquium spp) is widely known in Indonesia. There are about 48 species of Nyatoh tree with the distribution area in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. The tree grows in low land in the altitude to 1100 m above sea level. It has medium hardness, good property for, gluing, drilling, machining and processing in the woodworking.

The wood is used for many purposes. The wood has nice grain, moderately fine texture but with fairly strong character. It has varied base color from the light brown at the sap wood to the read purple at the heartwood with some dark strip at the grain. The wood pores are quietly deep but small. The wood is utilized for wood for many purposes; for wood construction, plywood, flooring, panel boards, decking, indoor furniture, wood house, house frame, doors, windows, and craft paper. In the furniture maker it can be used to substitute the mahogany and teak wood.

The physical properties of the Nyatoh wood can be seen in the table below :

Average Dried Weight (Basic, 12% MC) : 39 lbs/ft3 (620 kg/m3)

Specific Gravity : .53, .62

Janka Hardness : 1,070 lbf (4,760 N)

Modulus of Rupture : 13,920 lbf/in2 (96.0 MPa)

Elastic Modulus : 1,939,000 lbf/in2 (13.37 GPa)

Crushing Strength : 7,890 lbf/in2 (54.4 MPa)

Shrinkage : Radial: 3.2%, Tangential: 5.5%,

Volumetric shrinkage : 8.7%, T/R Ratio: 1.7

the data is taken from : the wood database

Nyatoh wood has a high risk to get cracked or bent. The drying process for this wood has to be done with fully control. The wood also is also susceptible to the insect attacked; the treatment with insect repellent is needed to preserve the wood.

nyatoh for kitchen cabinet

the picture is taken form : kabinet idaman

Finishing for Nyatoh wood.

The wood has good properties according to the finishing process. It can absorb and accept the finishing material applied on. All type of finishing material can be applied on without any problem. The wood also has an attractive appearance. The transparent finish can be applied to generated the nice wood looked. It can be stained to make any color to make the dark brown or light brown color to imitate the mahogany or teak wood color.

Polyurethane adhessives in the woodworking

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 01:11:00 +0000

Polyurethane adhesives (polyurethane glue) contains the urethane resin as the main ingredient. There could be some variation in the formulation depending on the type of urethane used. In the application the urethane resin is mixed with the isocyanate to produce the crosslinking polymerization to form strong hard and insoluble bond. The uses of PU adhesive in the woodworking industry may be not very much, but the glue provides some advantages that make it is useful for some special purposes. The glue is often used to do: gluing for the “relatively” wet wood, gluing with a short drying time and gluing for wood laminated with low-pressure press.
PU glue has some advantages such as: water resistant, strong, and fast drying. This glue also has low viscosity that make it is quite easy to be applied on the wood. The glue setting is happened in a relatively short time which is useful to do the gluing in a short time. It can do the gluing for the working condition when the clamping press is not available. But the most preferred property of the glue is the ability to fill and close the gap and cavity at the joint. The PU glue can help the woodworker to address the voids or gaps problem that are often left out at the wood joint. The isocyanate can react with the water in the wood to form a solid mass that will harden and fill the existing gaps in the joint. The PU adhesives is the best glue for joint the end grain. The strength of the glue and its ability to fill any voids on the surface could be a good combination to address the problem of gluing the end grain.
For the regular wood gluing the glue may be not the best choice. It is expensive and rather difficult in handling; the application and the storage. The glue could give the strong and durable bond. But the wood is an anisotropic material (material that is not homogeneous) with high variation properties make the wood gluing become more complex. In glue testing, the bond failure might be not caused by the failure of the polyurethane adhesive itself but because of the condition of the wood. In the glue testing for most of wood gluing, the good result can be achieved by using the cheaper glue.
The polyurethane glue is two components that require perfectly mixing in the application process. The bond failure could also could be caused by the imperfectly mixing. The glue use the isocyante, a reactive substance. Isoyanate easily reacts with water, so he should kept at the closed container to prevent reaction with air from the humid air.

Tips in using PU glue

Use the glue selectively.

The PU glue is expensive and somewhat difficult to be handled. The inappropriately used could be "the luxuries process" that lead to expensive cost. The glue should be used when the cheaper glue does not work. Do some trial and test to find the best glue for some specific process

Do the proper process and handling.

A polyurethane adhesive is the two components glue that is relatively difficult to be handled and applied. Read the technical guidance carefully to get the maximum benefit from it. Avoid to storage this glue in too much amount so we don’t get dizziness problem with the storage.

Preparation of the wood.

The success of the wood gluing depends on preparation of the wood. Make sure that the wood pieces are dry enough before they are glued and unified. Although technically the glue could be used for the relatively wet wood, it does not mean that we can glue the wet wood carelessly. We may be able to get a good adhesion at the wood joint, but we still have risk to get the problem caused by the wet wood such as: the wood cracked, bend, the fungus problem, etc.
Make precision cuts and slices as good as possible. Although the glue can fill the gap, but of course this is not the best option to eliminate the gap at wooden connections. Using glue to fill the gap will leave the disconnected grain and pores to spoil the wood looked.

Meranti wood

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:02:00 +0000

Meranti (shorea) wood is one of the hardwoods that are widely available in Southeast Asia. There about 70 species including to the family Dipterocarpaceae are traded in the name of Meranti wood. The Meranti wood is widely available in Indonesia tropical forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and some in Maluku. The success of Indonesian government to stop the illegal logging is making the country to become the largest suppliers of this wood. The other sources are Malaysia, Thailand and Philippine.
The Meranti wood has many advantages properties to be utilized in the woodworking industry. Wood has a good ability to be processed by machines, sanded, drilled and screwed. He has medium hardness, easy to be handled, machined and processed with reasonable price.

Physical properties can be seen in the table below:

Average Dried Weight     ( MC 12%)    : 44 lbs/ft3 (710 kg/m3)
Specific Gravity   (12% MC)                 : 0.55 - 0 .71
Janka Hardness                                      : 840 lbf (3.730 N)
Modulus of Rupture                              : 11.800 lbf/in2 (81.4 MPa)
Elastic Modulus                                         : 1,675,000 lbf/in2 (11:55 GPa)
Crushing Strength                                      : 6.840 lbf/in2 (47.1 MPa)
Shrinkage (from wet to MC 12%)            : Radial: 3.8% Tangential: 7.9%, Volumetric: 13.3%,
                                                                    T / R Ratio: 2.1
data is taken from : http://www.wood-database.com/

The uses of Meranti wood.

The wood is used in the woodworking industry for various purposes. It can be logged, sawn and sliced to any sizes. The wood can be used to make: house frame, flooring, decking, ceiling, walls, doors, windows, or furniture. The meranti wood also can be sliced to make veneer or plywood. His grain character may be not as beauty as the teak or mahogany wood but it is still quite good to make the “wood looked” panel. The meranti veneer is used as face panel for the sengon plywood or block board with better appearance then the sengon plywood.

The uses of meranti wood in the furniture manufacturing industry is also quite lot. Many people use this wood to replace the mahogany wood. Although it does not have the beauty grain as the mahogany wood, but the hardness, strength, structure and basic colors are relatively similar. With the cheaper price and its high availability, then the Meranti wood is good choice to make furniture.

meranti wood for flooring

http://lantaikayoe.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/meranti.jpg

Treatment for Meranti wood.

As the wood product, the Meranti has to be dried before it can be used in the woodworking industry. Overall the drying can be done fairly easily, but the white and yellow Meranti has high risk to get fungal attack, then it needs to be treated with the anti fungal chemical. The wood has risk to get insect attacked; the preservation with anti insect chemical is recommended to preserve the wood

Finishing for meranti wood.

Finishing is quite important for this wood, especially when the decoration value is needed by the product. The wood does not have strong grain character as teak, mahogany or other premium wood, but with proper finishing it still can serve interesting appearance. The wood can absorb any finishing material without any problem. It can be finished in any color with any finishing material. The transparent colors are the good choice for furniture products, doors, windows or flooring with the coating should be selected according to the product function. The wood also has quite good porosity properties; he can accept the wood stain without any risk of blotchy color, as long as we do god sanding preparation.

Finishing with solid colors can also be applied to the wood with a relatively easy process. With its soft grain texture structure and small pores, this wood can be coated with paint without many problems. However, some species of this timber has resin that can exit and could disturbing the finishing color, therefore, for the solid colors, it is recommended to use the catalyzed coating as first sealer to seal the wood.

Swirl marks in wood finishing.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 03:01:00 +0000

Swirl mark is the problems in the wood finishing process. Swirl mark appears as the swirl or spiral on the wood surface. It will appear more clearly when we apply wood stain on the wood surface. The more stain wet wood the more swirl marks will be apparent. Swirl marks also will be very visible when the glaze is used at the finishing system; the glaze will fill and color the swirl and clearly visible at the finishing result.

Swirl mark problem is caused by the improper sanding process by the hand sander. The palm sander and rotary disc sander if it is not properly used will caused the swirl mark. Swirl marks won’t be happened when we sand using the big sanding machine such as: stroke sander or wide belt sander. The swirl mark is mainly happened when we press the sanding machine too strong to the wood surface in the sanding operation. It is often happened when we use the blunt sandpaper or too fine sandpaper to sand the rough and wood surface.

Here are some tips to handle swirl marks problem.

Make sure the sanding machine is in good condition.

Palm sander works by vibrate the sandpaper, while the disc sander works by rotating the sandpaper. Both movements are causing friction with the sandpaper with surface of the wood. To produce a good sanding result, we need the stable movement. The unstable movement will cause problems in the sanding result. Put the sandpaper at the pad and run the machine and feel the movement. The sanding machine must be able to move and run stable and controllable easily. Stop using sanding machine when we feel the movement is “wild” and unstable. Fix the sanding machine first and make sure the machine in the good condition when we run the machine.

The second problem that often found is the pad. The pad is used as a place to attach the sandpaper that is moved by the machine. The pad needs to be thick and “elastic” enough to reduce the excessive pressure during the sanding process. Check the pad condition and make sure it is flat and thick (elastic) enough. The thin and uneven pad tends to produce excessive pressure on the sanding process which is the main cause of swirl marks.

The proper sanding technique.

Hand sander machine is small machine but effective and helpful to do sanding for small stuff or small area. It is portable handy and flexible with good result. However, this tool will only work well if we use it properly. The key is never press the machine too strong. Let the sandpaper does his job to sand and scrape the wood surface. Just make sure we use the right grade of sandpaper and use the sharp sandpaper. The sandpaper that has been blunt must be replaced because it does not work well. Do the sanding process patiently, little by little, and use the sandpaper grade by grade from the coarse to the finer, never skip the grade sandpaper. If we push the machine too much then we tend to press the machine to strong and it will create the swirl mark. (See our previous article : pad sanding machine)

Checks the sanding before start the finishing process.

Swirl marks should to be addressed and corrected before the finishing process done. The revision and repairs after finishing the process will be hard and costly process. We had to remove the finishing layer, re sanding do the refinishing which are difficult, expensive and never give perfect result. Use the light or thin stain to help check the sanding quality at the beginning of the finishing process. (See our previous article : the wood sanding )

Selection the finishing.

Swirl marks will be apparent in a transparent wood finish. Swirl mark may not be visible for finish without wood stain or glaze application. We may obey the swirl mark for paint finish or natural finish especially when the finishing quality requirement is not too high. Although the swirl mark is considered as the indication for the wrong wood sanding process, but for some finishes we may continue to do the finishing.

Burl veneer

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:15:00 +0000

Burl, burr or bur wood is obtained from tree that had abnormalities in infancy. Burl could be the result of stress on the trees, infection from the insects, virus, or fungal attack. Burl wood is appears as a bunch of bulge and the knots at the tree trunk or branch. After the wood is cut, then the burl is utilized as a special wood part and has high value because of its unique appearance. By the artists, burl is used to make the wooden sculptures with special form. By the carpenter, artist or furniture maker, the burl is utilized to make some special furniture.

burl wood for furniture

In the woodworking industry more burl wood are slashed and cut to make veneer. Burl veneer for some wood such as: oak, walnut, maple, etc. can be purchased with the high availability. Thus, the beauty and uniqueness of the appearance of burl wood can be obtained with relatively inexpensive price. The burl veneer is fully with knots with swirl around. As a natural product, the patterns of burl are usually varied and have irregular form. The burl veneer with “relative uniform “pattern can be ordered and with higher prices. The burl veneer is widespread and found in many products wood product such as: furniture, walls, doors or other wood products.

But as special veneer the burl need to be handled properly. Despite of his special looked; the veneer has some special properties that make it is needed to be taken care in special way. Here are some important things to be considered when we dealing with burl veneer.

The burl laminating.

The veneer has a lot of knots, so it is structurally fragile and brittle. The veneer also tends to contract or expand with high coefficient. The result is the veneer is easy to get crack and splitting problem. To minimize the veneer problem then we need to soften the veneer before at the gluing process. Apply the veneer softener to the veneer before we laminated the veneer. The gluing can be done with the hot press or cold press, but make sure that the proper glue is used.

Glue sizing.

Burl is naturally is brittle and rupture. It may be not as brittle as the crotch but it still has high risk to get crack problem. To minimize the crack problem then the glue sizing process is recommended. We can put a thin of glue at the veneer surface after the veneer lamination, before the sanding process. The glue will cover the pores and grain to reduce the water absorption and make the veneer is more stable.

Matching the veneer.

The veneer figure is the main factor to build the special looked for the burl. But the fact is the veneer could have the variation at the patterns of dots and swirl and the color base. If the variation is quite big, then it could be make the product is looked “strange”. To get the maximum beauty, the veneer need to be properly set and matched. Make sure we match the veneer selection before the laminating process to get the well looked panel.

burl veneer with inlay

Finishing for the burl veneer.

The burl veneer is a premium veneer with high price. We need the proper finish to get the maximum benefit of this product. The proper finishing works to stabilize the veneer. The coating layer will cover the pores and grain to reduce the porosity of the veneer and lower the risk of veneer crack and rupture.

But the finishing should more concern to the looked of the veneer. We need the proper finish to enhance and maximize the veneer beauty. The transparent color is recommended for this veneer. The thin stain that is directly applied at the wood will bring the beauty of the wood veneer. The glaze application is also can be used to enrich the veneer looked. We can do highlight for the stain and glaze to enlighten the wood veneer pattern. The too thick stain should be avoided since it may block the veneer pattern and kill the veneer beauty. The paint finish is not suitable for this veneer.

Swirl veneer

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 22:57:00 +0000

Swirl veneer is the veneer that is taken from the wood part around the crotch or knot. It is special veneer. Swirl veneer has nice and special pattern of grain looked. Its grain pattern and character is very similar to crotch veneer but with less “flame effect”. Swirl veneer is most used together in mixed with crotch veneer to make special looked at the wood product. Sometime the swirl veneer is used to replace the crotch veneer. It has similar pattern with the crotch veneer but less expensive and relatively more stable. The crotch veneer is premium veneer, it has very strong patterns and with very bright base color and strong "flame effect", but he is very brittle, fragile and expensive. People who use the crotch often has to face the problem with the crack and rupture veneer. Meanwhile the swirl has a very similar grain pattern to the crotch, but he is relatively more stable and flexible. Many woodworker prefer to use the swirl to make the "crotch appearance" but with less problem and price.

How to manage the swirl veneer.

Although the swirl veneer is relatively more stable than the crotch but it is not really safe, the veneer is still at risk for rupture or crack. The proper handling and process is needed to avoid the risk of rupture and wrinkling problem.

Here some tip to handle and manage the swirl veneer.

Use the thick veneer.

For safe we better use the veneer with thickness 0.4 mm or more. The veneer is need good sanding, which is quite difficult to be done with to thin veneer. . Veneers are thin have a higher risk for getting into trouble.

Use conditioner veneer.

The veneer conditioner is the solution that work for soften the veneer. It will help to lay down the veneer at the core and make the better lamination. To view more about the sizing process you can go to our previous post: veneer conditioner.

Use the sizing process.

The swirl veneer still has high risk for the cracking and rupturing problems. To minimize the crack problem, we still need the sizing process. To find more about the sizing process you can go to our previous post : glue sizing in the wood finishing.

Use the proper finish.

To enhance his special beauty, the veneer needs the proper finishing. The transparent color finish is the proper choice for this veneer. Avoid too thick stain application since it may block and reduce the beauty and character of the grain. The antique finishing or clean looked finishing can be generated but the thin or light stain is recommended. We can do highlight at the stain and glaze step to enhance its grain pattern. The strong hand pad is also can be applied to make more life appearance to the finish.

Mold on furniture.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:00:00 +0000

Mold grows in the furniture is always unwanted. The mold will ruin the furniture performance; more than that it also could affect the human health, the dust from mold can be detrimental the breathing if it is inhaled. The fact we often find mold can grow at many objects. In the houses, the mold can be found at the floor, matt, door, furniture, and other household products. In the furniture, mold can be growing at the finish or unfinished surface. Mold can be seen as small spots with dusty surface or visible as a mushroom with many strands.

Mold is ignited when the spores of the mold are fallen on the surface of objects or media with the suitable condition for its growth. The mold on furniture surface usually will not damage the furniture and relatively easy to be cleaned at the time he starts to grow. However if it is not handled properly, he can spread to become big area. The mold also can go into the wood and be more difficult to be cleaned and can cause more serious problem. Whatever it’s looked the mold at the furniture is a problem that needs to be cleaned off.

mold at the finished wood

Here are some tips to prevent the mold problem at the furniture.

Keep the room to be dry.

The fungi require the special environmental conditions to grow and thrive. The wet and moist room is the ideal condition for the mold to grow and life. Then the best way to avoid the fungi is to keep the room dry and clean. We better design the house to give enough air circulation and ventilation to let the air and light flow at every space of the room. The dry and clear room is always more healthy and unlike by the mold. Mop and dry the wet or damp place to avoid the moist room.

If there is air conditioning installed in the room, then make sure it works well. Do properly cleaning and maintenance regularly to make sure it is always clean and healthy. The dirty air conditioning could become the media for fungi and bacteria to grow.

Clean the surface of furniture regularly.

Clean the surface of the furniture, flooring and household regularly. The floor can be cleaned by by sweeping or mopping regularly. Furniture and the household can be cleaned using the duster or dry cloth or cleaning liquid. Or we can sue the vacuum cleaner to suck and clean off the dust in the room. The regularly cleaning schedule will minimize the fungal attacked. Any spores or organisms that fell and stuck on the surface will be removed before it had time to grow. Regular cleaning is also meaning the regular check to the condition of our home furnishings. It will let us to find any problems when it starts ignited before they become big and become serious problem.

How to clean surface that already has the mold problem.

The tips above are the way to prevent the growth of mold in our home furnishings. Meanwhile, the mold that has already existed at the surface of furniture or home furnishings is need different treatment. Here is the step to fix the furniture with the mold problem.

Clean the mold.

First thing we need to clean and remove the mold from the surface. We can use solvents that don’t solve the finishing layer such as: mineral spirit or naphtha. The “cleaning liquid”, a special liquid that is specially made to clean the coating also can be used.

Dampen a piece of cloth with mineral spirits, naphtha or the “cleaning liquid”, then use the cloth to wipe off and clean the mold. Make sure all the mold has wiped off and we got the clean surface.

If we the mold cannot be removed with this way, then we may need to rub it little bit. Use steel wool and rub the surface to erase the mold. Do the rubbing lightly to avoid the line or the different sheen at the surface.

Re coating.

If we can get the clean and even surface finish with the first step then we don’t need to do the next step. What we need to do is to maintain the room and furniture to be dry and clean. But if we found that we cannot get clean and even finish surface with the first step, then we need to re coat the finish. Sand the surface with sandpaper or steel wool. Make sure all the mold are cleaned off from the surface. Then continue scuff sand for overall finish to prepare the top coating application. Then apply 1 layer or 2 layer wet coat at the finish. More explanation about the re coating can be viewed at our previous post: the refinishing without strip off the finish

PT Kudos Istana Furniture.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

To find the furniture with big quantity in Central Java may be is rather difficult. Most of furniture in Central Java are small scale and operated as home industry. PT Kudos Istana Furniture is one of the modern furniture factories in Central Java with quite big in size. It is not only quite big in scale but also managed as modern company. PT Kudos Istana Furniture, was founded in 1987, by PT Jarum Group, one of the big holding Company in Indonesia and until now is still exist as one of the big furniture factory in Central Java.

The factory start his operation by produce rattan furniture, and until now he is still familiar as rattan factory. With strong financial backing, PT Istana Kudos furniture factory was one of the big wicker and rattan furniture exporters in Indonesia in the era of 1990. Then along with the time he expanded to make other substrate. He still makes some rattan and wicker but now his major production is the wood furniture.

The factory is designed to manufacture wide range of furniture products. Furniture products from rattan, solid wood, and veneer, metal either for outdoor or indoor can be made here. The factory is available to do various types of furniture, from the furniture for special order and accustom product with special design and small amount, the contract and project furniture to the mass product for the regular market.
The factory location in Kudus is big advantage. It is near to Jepara where the raw materials, support material and skilled labor to make furniture are highly available. As modern company PT Kudos Istana combines the expertise of the carpenter with modern management to establish his production line. But he does not prioritize to make product with mass production. As furniture factory in Central Java he still maintains his flexibility to do wide range of furniture product.
For the export market, PT Kudos has established cooperation with several buyers from Europe and America He has production capacity is about 60 containers per month for export market. PT Kudos is also doing the local market, especially for contracts and projects. He also provide a show room at which people can view many furniture product and buy directly..

If you need more information about PT Kudos, you can visit his website; kudos furniture

Or contact by his address:

Jl. Lingkar R Agil Kusumadya – Mijen Km. 7
Kaliwungu, Kudus, Central Java, Indonesia
Phone: +62 291 434371
Fax: +62 291 433148
E-mail: info@kudosfurniture.com

Blue stain at the wood.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Blue stain is problem in the wood that degrades the wood quality. Blue stain appears as dark spots or lines (usually in the blue or black color) at the surface of the wood. The stain may be very thin and exist at the top surface of the wood, but it can also be very strong and thick and come deep from inside of the timber. Blue stain is not problem for wood if the wood is used for structural uses. Blue stain does not affect the strength of wood, but he disrupts the appearance and color of the wood. Blue stain will make problem in the finishing process, especially when the light or natural wood color is needed. The blue stain will be problem for products that need the aesthetic function from the wood such as: furniture, floor, door, window, wall panel, architectural product, etc.

blue stain at the wood

Blue stain is mainly caused by special fungus that is called as the wood staining fungi. The fungi will not affect the wood strength but he will make the dark stain at the wood and affect the appearance of the wood. There two species of fungi that are recognized cause of the blue stain, aureobasidium pullulans and hormoma dematodies. The fungi grow during the tree cutting, saw milling and drying process. The risk of the fungi attacked is higher when the environment is wet and humid.

Here are some ways to handle the blue stain problem.

Proper process and storage of the timber.

The fungi that caused blue stain grow in the media that are wet. The wood staining fungi grow when the wood is still wet, either on logs or at the wood boards at the wood processing. If we can control the wood processing to make the wood dry fast and minimize the wet condition then we can minimize the fungi problem. The well integrated wood processing from the harvesting to the drying is the best way to prevent the fungi attacked. Keep the wood log, or board at the dry and well circulated air and do the wood drying in the proper schedule. There some anti fungal chemical can be applied during to protect the wood from the fungi. The chemical is usually applied together with the anti insect chemical to keep the wood quality. The anti fungal chemical is highly recommended to handle the wood when the condition is wet and humid. The anti fungal is also needed when we deal with some species of wood are susceptible for the fungi such as : mango, rubber wood, etc.

The proper finishing.

If the blue stain already exists in wood products than it is quite difficult to remove it. It will lower the wood quality and restrict to the uses of the wood. It will ruin the appearance especially if we need the aesthetic value for the product. We still can use the wood to make the product at which the dark of the blue stain is not disturbing the appearance. We can use the wood for the interior part of the products with dark wood color or solid color (paint finish).

The thin blue stain may be able to be hided with the sap stain or equalizer stain in during the finishing process. But it will darker the final finishing color, then it cannot be done to make light color or natural wood color finish. If the blue stain is thick, bold and strong, then we only can use it for product with dark final color. The dark finish such as black or dark brown color may be able to cover and hide the blue stain.
If the blue is too strong and thick, then solid color or the pint finish could be the only option. The stain to make solid color will cover and block the entire wood. With this finish any color of the underneath color is not problem.

Bleaching

Bleaching is a process the oxidation process to whiten the wood color. The bleaching process is necessary when we need to develop light color at the wood with dark base color. The bleaching usually is done for the dark wood as the rosewood, walnut or crotch mahogany to lighten the wood color, while we want to keep the performance of the wood grain (see our previous article : wood bleaching). The bleaching process also works to lighten the blue stain. We can whiten and lighten the blue, black or dark color at the blue stain with the bleaching process. The process needed is very similar to the bleaching process the dark wood. We may need the strong bleach chemical with several applications to get the white wood color according to the strength of the blue stain color.

Polyester resin for furniture.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The uses of polyester resin (resin) in the furniture industry or handicraft may be is not as much as wood. But as engineering products he offer some advantages then the wood and other natural substrates. The resin can be used in combination with wood and other natural substrates to make many special form of handicraft and furniture products. In the finishing process the polyester resin can be applied as a coating to built film layer that provide protection to the finish, (see our previous article: polyester resin in the wood finishing). Polyester resin as a coating layer can produce a very thick layer of film. Polyester resins also can be applied with casting process to produce very thick film coating or the 3-dimensional form product. The 3 dimension resin product can be used to make many small items such as: handicraft, souvenir, component and some small item furniture.

The uses of polyester resin for furniture offers several advantages. The resin can be utilized with casting process which is more stable and consistent. Resin is also can be used as film builder that provide very thick finish that cannot be achieved with other coating material. As the engineered material resin is more controllable than the wood or other natural living substrate.

Here is the utilization of the resin to make furniture.

Resins to make components or ornamental items.

Resin can be utilized by casting processes to produce 3-dimensional form items. It can be used to replace the wood to make small components or ornamental items. With the proper setting almost any form can be made. We can make items with complex form such as: mirror frame, or components or small stuff with resin. The uses of resin can be used to replace the carving process with some advantages. The resin is engineered product; he will be stable and consistent. The ornamental product made of resin will always has same shape, size and form. Resin as material is also very stable. He won’t be affected by the environment condition as the wood product. There won’t, be any problem caused by the wood movement such as: warping, bending or cracking as the wood products.

The resin can be mixed with pigments to produce certain colors according to the desired appearance. The resin is also can be finished with many finishing material. Most of finishing material that is used for wood finishing can be applied on the resin without any problem. The resin is able to be finished with any color and effects.

resin for mirror frame

Resin for panel.

This resin can be laid down and coated on the m.d.f., plywood or wood board to make flat panel with special looked. The resin can be mixed with any other materials such as: pigment, stone, sand, coral, cement, etc. to produce special appearances. The special looked flat panel such as: stone, marble, traso, onix, can be made with the proper mixing and casting.

resin to make panel

Resin to coat the mosaic.

The resin as coating material has many advantages. He is hard, strong and has high resistance to the scratches, heat, solvent and chemical. He is also available to make a very thick coating where the other coating cannot do. We can use resin to make panel with the mosaic under the resin. Some special material such as: shells, bones, pieces of wood can be arranged and glued at the mdf, plywood or wood board, then layered with resin to produce panel with special looked. With this technique we can make any mosaics panel to be used for top panel or side panel in the furniture products.

resin to make mosaic

Finishing for resin products.

The resin is catalyzed product; he is strong and wont dissolved with thinner or solvent. It can be finished with any finishing material. Any stain glaze or coating material such as: NC, PU, AC, water based material can be applied on without any problem. The resin coating also can be sanded, polished and rubbed to make any desired looked. Practically we can make any finish with resin. But since resin is a engineered product he does not grain or pores as the wood, the resin finish mainly is the paint finish (solid color finish). For the ornament and components with complex form then we can apply the base coat with glaze and stain to make the wood looked finish. Any special finishing technique such as: graining, hand pad, smudge pad. etc. can be applied to make the special looked. If the resin product is attached at the wood furniture then we can do finish resin at the same time with the wood finishing process.

The resin at the mosaic can be rubbed and polished to make high gloss finish looked. The resin panel with special looked as: marble, stone, or onix also can be presented without any finish. But if necessary, we can apply some stain, or coating layer to make the color and gloss.

Banana leaf for furniture.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

We know the banana tree as the fruit crops. The banana is very popular fruit for human's lives. But apparently the banana tree also has other usefulness; the banana leafs is also utilized to be used as a raw material for handicraft and furniture products. The banana tree actually is not "real tree", he does not have wood, it consist of many leafs arranged in layers to form a large trunk. If the leafs are dried then we will obtain many thin sheets of fibers that are soft and elastic.
The dried banana sheet can be cut, slashed, stemmed and woven to produce many furniture and handicraft products. Banana leaf can substitute rattan, water hyacinth or pandanus to form webbing, mat, braid, plait or other cane work. The uses of the banana leaf in the furniture manufacturers are inspired by the handicraft industry. The handicraft industry have been using the banana leaf to make many handicraft products such as: bucket, basket, bag, wallet, etc. With his elastic form and unique appearance the banana leaf is good material to make many handicraft products.

In the furniture industry, banana leaf can be used to make furniture parts that need flexibility such as: seat, upholstery, back chair, etc. Since it has unique appearance, it also can be used as the decorative elements to the furniture products. With the modern woodworking technology, the banana can be cut and slashed and then glued on the wood panel, m.d.f. or particle board to produce panel boards with unique appearance. The banana leaf panel can be used as the drawer’s front, headboard or even table top in the cabinet to produce the unique and attractive product. The banana leaf in the combination with wood furniture will bring the natural, rustic, unique, and attractive appearance to the furniture.

banana leaf chair

The processing of banana leaf.

The banana leafs have to pass series of processes before it can be used in the woodworking or handicraft industry. After banana tress is cut, it has to be unrolled to get the leaf sheets. The sheets then are dried to lower its moisture content. The drying of the banana leaves is mostly done by the seasoning in the sunlight, although we can open it in the kiln dry if necessary. The utility of the banana is mostly done by craftsmen who does not have kiln dry, instead of the modern woodworking industry. The dry banana leafs then are needed to be treated with the anti-insect and anti-fungal chemical to prevent the fungal or insect attack. In the woodworking industry, the dry banana leaf can be cut, slashed, woven, glued or laminated to be used for furniture part.

Finishing for the banana leaf.

This banana leaf forms the attractive appearance without any finishing. The impression of natural, rustic and primitive are the massages brought by the leaf. We can find many banana leaf product are marketed in the unfinished condition. However, to provide better protection and looked we can finish it with proper style. The simple finish with the rustic or antique style is the most appropriate. Finishing with a thin stain or the natural color with thin layer of coating is the most common. Too thick finishing layer or paint should be avoided because it could conflict with its natural and rustic appearance. The thick coating layer also increases the risk to the adhesion problems. The elasticity of the banana leafs limit the coating thickness. The film must be thin enough to accept the leaf movement without cracked. The finishing with glaze application also can be used to make the antique and “life” looked. Glaze to fill and color the inside part will enhance the webbing to bring more life and attractive appearance.
The next consideration is the wax at the banana leaf that could interfere the finishing material application. The adhesion problem is the common problem found in the banana leaf finish. To minimize the adhesion problem then we need the proper process and proper coating material. Avoid too thick finishing film, since it will increase the risk of adhesion problem. Fortunately the finishing material industry has design a special materials for this finish tart is called cane sealer. The cane sealer is the special coating to handle the wax problem in some substrates such as: cane rattan, water hyacinth and pandanus. According to my experience this material is also work quite well to handle the banana leafs.

Wood for fence.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Wooden fence will bring the attractive appearance for building, yard, park or garden. The wooden fence is more than a barrier, it also bring the special atmosphere to the house and land inside. The wooden fence will bring the naturally and environmentally friendly atmosphere. Homes with the open wood fence means that he opens for a warm relationship with his neighbors. Country atmosphere and camaraderie is the message brought by the wooden fence.

house with wood fence

But when we choose the wood fences we need to understand that the fence is used for outdoor. The fence must be specially design to accept malignancy of the outdoor weather. The fence has to withstand the heat and U.V ray from the sunlight, the cold temperature at the night, the wind blowing, the rain and even snowfall. The materials and finishing for the wooden fence must be quite strong and resist to the outdoor conditions. The proper design and construction is also important thing to make durable and long lasting wood fence.

Here are some tips to make the wooden fence.

Choose the proper wood.

Wooden fences should be treated like the other outdoor wood products. We need to use the right wood. Although wood is material that is naturally easy to degrade, but apparently there are some types of natural wood that are relatively has high resistant to the outdoor uses. Teak, oak, acacia, pine wood are some type of wood that commonly used for outdoor wood products. They are well-known as the durable wood for outdoor uses.

The proper construction and installation.

The proper construction and installation is another important trick to build a durable wooden fence. The wood construction is simply based on two things: to keep the moisture content of wood stable by avoid the wood to absorb water and avoid the wood from a direct contact with the soil.

capping at the top end of the wood fence

We can minimize the water absorption by closing the end grain at the top of the fences. It is the part that gets water from rainfall, keep it open will let the wood to absorb the rain and raises the moisture content of the wood. We can use a special waterproof sealant or coating to coat the top or install roof at the top of the wood fence. The tapered end at the top is the other tricks to let the water flow fast and reduce the absorption by the wood. While the bottom end should be hang on and kept open as the point to release the water from inside the wood. The open bottom construction make the naturally drying of the wood occur fast; the inside water flow down and finally be drained at the open bottom end.

the bottom end is hang on

concrete construction for the wood fence foot

The wood connection with soil must be avoided. The connection of the wood with the ground will bring water into from the wet land to raise, go to the wood and increase the moisture content of wood. The ground will also invite the biological wood enemies; the wood fungi and insects. Each wood pillar that is planted in the ground must be placed the on the cement or stone or other waterproof material. Make sure there is no connection between the wood and the ground to block the water, insects or fungi from the earth to penetrate to the wood.

The proper finishing layer.

Wooden fences are placed and used at outdoor. He needs the special wood finishing that is able to give protection the wood form the outdoor weather. The stain and coating used must be strong enough to withstand the UV rays from the sunlight, water from rainfall, the wind blow and even the snow or ice fall. Fortunately there are many special finishing materials have been provided by the finishing material industry to be used for outdoor wood finish.

The design and model.

The fence is part of the houses and buildings; therefore he also built the atmosphere to the home and building. Make sure the fence has interesting appearance according to the house theme. We will see our fence every time we visit our house; we need to ensure that we also love our fence appearance as well as the building. Fences together with the house, garden and yard should be able to bring the comfortable feel for the occupant.

Heartwood and sapwood according to the woodworking.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

wood anatomy

If we cut tree on a cross-section we will see that there are many circular layers at the wood log. The circles at the wood actually show the annual living of the tree. At his lifetime, the trees grow in the tangential and radial direction. The axially growth is occur with the forming of woos cells at the tip of the tree, including the formation of the branches and new tips. While the radials growth occurs with the development of cambium. Cambium is the outer part of the wood log, where the new wood cells are formed. The wood cells from the cambium are growing to be the young wood tree which is called the sapwood. The sapwood will continue grow to become the heartwood the old wood tree where the wood cell has stopped grow and the wood already reaches his maximum strength. The life circle from the cambium to be the sapwood and ended with the heartwood is fulfilled at one year. Then actually we can see the age of the wood by viewed the wood ring.
In the woodworking industry, the heartwood is the wood part which has maximum value. The heartwood is the wood with its maximum strength. It is strong, dense and durable. The heartwood can be viewed clearly different with the sapwood according to its properties. Here are the important properties of the sapwood and heartwood according to the woodworking industry.

The hardness and strength.

Heartwood is part of the tree that already has the maximum strength. During its lifetime its main function is to support the tree to keep standing. It holds the tree against the wind, rain and other natural disturbances. It is physically tough, strong, dense and durable. Most of the heartwood is also high resistant to the insect and fungi.
While the sapwood function to bring the water and nutrition from the soil to the leaves. Sapwood is physically soft, less density, weak and less durable. The sap wood of any type of wood is vulnerable to get attacked by the insects and fungi.

The grain and pore

Heartwood also provide the best appearance the grain and pores. He has the maximum appearance according to the pores and grain. He shows the strong pores and grains pattern both in appearance and texture. In the premium wood such as: rosewood, sonokeling, and walnut we can see the black stripes very clear on the heartwood. In another wood such as: mindi, teak, mahogany then we can see the grain and pores texture are very strong at the heartwood.
Meanwhile the sapwood usually has the vague and soft grain pattern. Sapwood in the rosewood, sonokeling and walnut seem as the soft pattern, there no or less black strip at the wood. The sapwood for mahogany, teak and mindi will also display the shallower grain and pores texture.

Base color.

Heartwood can be differentiated from the sapwood with its basic color. In some timber such as the rosewood, walnut, and sonokeling the difference of the wood base color could be so contrast. But for the wood with light base color such as: maple, teak, sengon, pine, hence the difference in color between sapwood and heartwood will be less contrast.

Stability.

Although the wood properties is highly depending on the type of wood, but generally the heartwood is much more stable then the softwood. The heartwood is less permeable, less hygroscopic and less contraction according to the wood moisture content changes.

The utilization of the sapwood.

mixed of sap wood and softwood in the furniture

The use of the heartwood in the woodworking industry is undoubted. When we mention about the wood properties at the woodworking it is always refer to the heartwood. Meanwhile the sapwood is the cheap part of the wood log. In the past, when the wood is available abundantly, the sapwood is usually discharged or separated and sold in the cheaper price. But this time when the wood price is expensive, the sapwood is also much used.
To prevent the insects and fungi attacked, then the treatment with the anti insect repellent or anti-fungal is used. With the consumption of the wood that keeps increase and more wood type are used, then chemically treatment and preservation is already considered as the standard procedure in the wood utilization.

Meanwhile variation of the base color and difference color between sapwood and heartwood could be anticipated by the application of finishing. With the proper stain and application technique we can handle the variation of wood color to make the uniform color to the final product. The light color of the sapwood color even could be an advantage because it can generate the finishing with light color if needed.
The sapwood at heartwood can be mixed and laminated to make a big and wide panel. With proper gluing, the laminated wood is more stable and stronger than 1 piece wood plank.

The veneering technology has also made the utilization sapwood more optimal. The sapwood veneer can be separated and sold with cheaper price. The less strength of the sapwood would not be a problem at the veneer since it is only thin layer, the structure is built by its core. The soft wood grain and pores pattern are could be an advantage because it can produce a softer appearance. The light basic color sapwood is also an advantage because it will provide higher flexibility in the final color choice.