wisno furniture finishing

Epoxy adhesive

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

Epoxy glue or epoxy adhesive is glue that contains epoxy resin as the main ingredient. The epoxy is the resin produced by the condensation reaction in which a polyhydric compound and epichlorohydrin are reacted in the presence of alkali. Epoxy adhesive is a two component material, the epoxy resin and the hardener that will crosslink the epoxy to make a dry, hard and strong bond. The hardener is chemical that will react with the epoxy groups, including amines, thiols, hydroxides, and acid groups, but amines are the most common hardeners.

The epoxy glue is a versatile adhesive is widely used for various purposes such as: the building construction, bicycles, sports equipment, boats, decking and even the aircraft construction. Epoxy adhesive can be used to glue the glass, metal, plastic, wood, and iron. It can be made in wide range performance from the clear, transparent, to the opaque performance; it can also be formulated in an elastic or rigid, fast or slow dry. In the wood adhesive, the epoxy is widely used for outdoor furniture, boats, decking or construction. The adhesive has some advantages such as: cure at ambient temperatures, have good gap filling ability, and available to bond with many other substrates. The epoxy glue can be used to produce a bond to the wood as well as for in-place repair of the damaged wood at structural members.
But the fact that the uses of epoxy adhesive in wood adhesives is quite less. It could be caused by two factors, the price is relatively expensive and the unsatisfied bonding result. The study and test carried out to the epoxy adhesive showed high failure compared with other types of glue that is cheaper and easier to be used. Two major factors that contribute to durable wood bonds are less creep and its ability to withstand the tension caused by changes in humidity of the wood.

The more discussion about the epoxy adhesive can be found in the article; Does the epoxy adhesive strong enough?

epoxy for bamboo laminated

The tips to use the epoxy adhesive:

The epoxy adhesive is more suitable to make the outdoor uses wood product. It is waterproof, and has high resistant to the outdoor weather. It can be used to laminate or assembly the patio furniture, garden furniture, fences, decking, boat and other outdoor wood product. The glue is expensive and considered is not suitable for the indoor furniture, plywood, barecore, m.d.f., particle and other indoor product.

Select the proper epoxy adhesive according to the project. They are available in many forms: liquid, paste, more elastic or more rigid, longer drying or faster drying, Choose the most suitable formula according to production process and condition.

Prepare well the wood. The failure of the wood bonding mostly is caused by the wood problem. The wood moisture content is the main factor, make sure the wood pieces have dry enough and have uniform m.c.

Make sure we read and follow the instruction according to the adhesive. Read the specification about the time curing, the pressure needed and the mixing ratio of the adhesives.

Veneer conditioner.

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

Veneer is a wood product that is very similar with the wood panel. Problems of arching, cracking, bending and other problems resulting from the changes of moisture content are also often happened to the veneer. The veneer may be more fragile since it is just a thin sheet then thick wood panels. To help overcome various problems in the veneer, then the finishing materials industry has provide a special material called veneer conditioner.

Veneer conditioner (veneer softener or veneer plasticizer) is a material that is specially designed to soften the veneer to become soft, plastic, and flexible. It is glycerin diluted with water with some other solvent and chemical. Glycerin is a humectant that would keep the veneer at the higher moisture content to keep it to be soft, plastic and elastic. Veneer conditioner serves to straighten the buckled and curled veneer. Veneer if is not stored or handled properly may be curved, uneven or wavy. Directly straighten the hard veneer is risk to crack and damage the veneer sheet Veneer conditioner will help to soften the veneer; after the veneer is plastic and soft then it can be straightened.

crotch mahogany veneer panel

The veneer conditioner can also be used to help reduce the problems to the hard and brittle veneer such as: crotch, burl or veneer from hard and brittle wood. The brittle veneers tend to crack when attached at its core to make panel. In some cases the veneer conditioner application has reduced the crack problem significantly. The hard veneer may be difficult to be laminated perfectly. The veneer softener help to make the veneer to be soft and plastic. The soft veneer will make the better lamination and thus reduce to the veneer problem.

How to apply the veneer conditioner.

Apply the conditioner by brushed or sprayed on both side of the buckled veneer. Make sure it layers perfectly and wet the veneer evenly. The wet veneer will be soft and plastic; it can be pressed with straight board or plat to make it be straight. The veneer is held flat while it is dried, and the straight veneer is resulted after it is dry. It can be placed in the dehumidifier room or heated to faster the drying. Heating the veneer give an advantage since the heat makes the wood even more plastic.
The veneer conditioner is also helpful to reduce the problem of crack at the veneered panels. Wet the veneer with veneer conditioner before its being laminated. Spray or brush the conditioner to the veneer and then put the veneer at the dehumidifier room until it reaches the standard m.c. (about 8%-10%). Then glue and laminate the veneer to the core panels. The veneer conditioner help to plasticize and soft the veneer and then produce a better attachment. The result is better lamination and then reduce the problem at the veneered panel.

Saw mil

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:00:00 +0000

Saw mill is the facility where the first process in woodworking industry takes a place. In the saw mill the wood logs are cut to form panel boards. The panel boards then are dried to be used as a raw material in the woodworking industry. The chainsaw is the main tool to do the cutting process for the wood log. It is usually also equipped with equipment to help the wood transportation such as: rail, lift, and pallets. The big and modern saw mill industry can also equipped with the equipment to wood waste. A large saw mill can be equipped with complete facility for the processing to the wood waste. The wood chip and saw dust can be processed to make some other wood product such as: pulp, particle board, OSB or simply dried and used as fuel.
The wet wood boards are taken to the wood drying process. The thin wooden boards will dry in much shorter time than the wood in the form of logs. A thin wooden board has much larger surface area much larger than the logs to make the water evaporation can be done much faster. The sizes of the boards are usually made according with the standard sizes in the woodworking industry. But the special sizes can also be made if necessary.

Some of saw mill also available do the further processing such as: wood drying, anti-insect treatment, and grading the wood board.

traditional saw mill

Portable saw mill.

The current technology has made enable to run a portable saw mill. It is the mobile saw mill to serve the timber cutting to make the wood board near the forest or wood plantation. The portable saw mill can also be equipped with a complete facility for cutting the timber and manage the wood waste. Portable saw mill help for people who want to make wood panel boards without having problem with the transportation.

portable saw mill

picture is from: http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/

Mirror.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Mirror as is glass that serves to reflect light that goes to him. Mirror as furniture product is used to help people for personal grooming. It is including the household that always needed in a room or houses. It is main function, is to help people to see himself at the time of dressing up. But then as well as other furniture, it also serves to decorate the room. At the time mirror then is made in various shapes, color and model.
The mirror becomes one of the essential elements part in furniture set in a collection. Mirror can be made with special frame to be hung in the wall or place in special hold. The mirror frame and the mirror hold are designed to be accord with the other furniture in one collection.

As household product, mirror is an object that is relatively rarely be touched or handled. Mirror has a glass that makes people always carefully in the handling. Then the mirror may be made with very complex shape and be finished with maximum beauty with less risk to become damaged due to the usage. The mirror can be made in many shape and models: square, oval, circle or with variety ornaments. It also can be finished in many models such as: antique, classic, rustic, millennium, contemporary, etc. as the finish and model for furniture.

Generally the model of the mirror is according to the model of the furniture in the room. But as the product that is mounted at the wall, it also can be in a special form, different with the furniture as long as accord to the room decoration theme.
Since it is relatively rare to be touched, then the mirror can be finished in a special looked to maximize its beauty. High gloss finish with gold or silver can be applied to the mirror without any risk of damage caused by the usages. The finishing material for the mirror is the same with the finishing material for the furniture. The transparent finish or the opaque finish with many color and model are much used to accord with the furniture finish. The gilt finish is also can be applied to the mirror to give the expensive looked.

Finishing for the wood veneered panel.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Finishing is the last step in a series of processes to make product from wood (veneer). The process of finishing to the veneer panels is very similar to the finishing process for solid wood panels. The stain and coating used and the finishing looked for the veneer panel are very much the same with the finishing for the solid wood panel. But however, the wood veneer and solid wood are different material, so there may be some differences properties between both of them that have to be considered in the finishing process

The finishing color.

Although the wood veneered panel can be finished in any color, but the transparent color finish is the most proper color. The panel is layered with wood veneer since we want to get the wood looked and the wood characters at the panel, then the finish should also enhance the beauty of the wood looked of the veneer. The transparent finish is absolutely needed when the special exotic veneer is used and when the veneer is arranged in the special form and pattern. For the panel with special inlay veneer then even the dark stain should be avoid since it may block and kill the special effect of the veneer setting. A transparent finish with light stain or without stain application and the good quality clear coat is the most recommended finish for the inlay veneer.

finishing for inlay veneer

The solid color or opaque color will totally kill the beauty and the special looked for the veneer. If the light paint is used to make a semi-transparent paint then we may still be able to see the pattern of grain and pores of the wood. It still can be used to finish for some veneered panel. But if the full closed solid color finish is needed, then we better use m.d.f. or particle board as the substrates. The m.d.f. and particle surface which has no pores and grain can be easier finished to make solid color.

Porosity.

Wood veneer panel only has a thin layer of wood on the surface. Therefore, he tends to have bigger porosity and absorb more finishing material compared with the solid wood panel. If we finish the wood veneer and solid in combination in one step finishing, then me may need to be treat differently to the veneer part. Avoid too wet spray at the veneer part. If the glaze application is used, then we may need to apply the inert glaze or glaze base to the veneer part before apply the glaze overall the surface. It will help to make better color blend between the veneer part and the solid wood.

The wood veneer is sometime has different color base, pore and pattern with the solid wood. The veneer usually is made from the older and more straight trees. The veneer tends to have bigger and deeper pore and grain. If the close pores finish is needed, then we may need to apply the filler to fill the wood veneer pores and grain.

The sanding process.

The sanding for the wood veneered panel is about the same with the sanding process for wood panel from solid wood. The sanding must be done gradually with the coarse sandpaper followed by the fines sandpaper. First time sanding we can use the 150 to clean the tape, glue or stain at the veneered surface. The sanding with #180 is needed to remove the sanding mark from the #150 sandpaper. The final sanding with #240 grade sandpaper is needed to prepare the smooth surface for the finishing process. But the sanding must be done carefully, Wood veneer usually has only thin layer then it has high risk to get sanded trough by too aggressive sanding. The sanding by hand must be done with the stroke direction along to the grain pattern. A hand block can be used to help the sanding the flat veneer. The sanding machines also can be used to do the sanding process, but must be done carefully.
If the veneer has special arrangement, the sanding will be more complicated. The sanding machine is absolutely needed to sand the special inlay veneer. The wide belt sander or stroke sander is very good machine to handle this job. If the big machine is not available, then the hand sander machine can be used to take care the wood veneered panel

If the finishing process requires physical distress, then we need to consider the thickness of the veneer layer. Some of physical distress such as: nails, rocking or chaining can be performed without any problems, but the distress with deep wounds cannot be held. The gouges distress with chisel, or sanded trough distress can peel of the veneer layer form the damage to the veneer. For the big and deep distress we better uses the veneer with thick layer or solid wood panel.

How to make wood veneer panels.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The wood veneered panel is more used to replace the solid wood panel. The veneer that is layered to the particle board or m.d.f., will produce panel with wood looked that has very similar looked with the solid wood panel. With the proper processing the wood veneered panel gives some advantages compared with the solid wood panel. It is more stable, uniform in color, can be arranged with varied pattern and less expensive in price. The engineered wood product such as: m.d.f., or particle board are homogenous and more stable since they are engineered product with some specific standard properties. Even the bare core, plywood and laminated wood are also have less risk to get warping or cracking problem since they are made from many pieces wood that is glued together. The tension of the wood pieces are eliminated each other result for more stable and stronger wood panel. Since that reason, then many woodworking industries prefer to use wood veneer than the solid wood panel.

The process of making wood veneer actually is a simple process, but each process must be done in the right way. It is included the preparation of core panel, the veneer cutting and setting, the gluing process and the sanding of the veneer.

wood veneered panel for furniture

Preparation of the core panel.

Core is a board where the veneer is going to be attached. The engineered wood products are used as the core; m.d.f., particle board, bare core, plywood or laminated wood. Each of them has their advantages and disadvantages but it won’t be discussed in here. Yoy can go see my previous article : (m.d.f., particle board, laminated wood, plywood).
No matter what is the type of core used, they need to be well prepared. First the core must be cut with the correct size and shape, according to the size and shape of the panel will be made. Then it needs to be properly sanded to make a flat and even surface core panel.

The flat panel usually is glued by the hot press machine. It is a press machine which is equipped with the heater to heat the glue to fasten the glue curing process. To produce strong bonds we need a core board with a flat and even surface. The uneven surface or panel which varied thickness could make the uneven pressure and uneven temperature in the panel and make the gluing is not well done. The core surface must be cleaned form any dirt, and texture that may affect the gluing. The wide belt sanding is the best tool to sanding and calibrating the core panel to make the flat and even panel.

For a curved panel, then the gluing is done with the vacuum press. It used vacuum to attract the veneer to keep stack with the core during the glue setting. It also need the clean and fairly smooth surface.

The cutting and unification of the wood veneer.

Veneer is usually attached to make a wood looked with certain patterns. First the veneer is cut into the certain sizes and shapes according to the design. Wood veneer pieces are then put together to produce unified veneer with the desired pattern. To produce the tidy veneer, then each piece must be connected tightly. The right, neat and precision cutting is needed. A special machine called as guillotine knives is purposed to cut the veneers. The guillotine has a sharp knife with high pressure can cut the veneer with very sharp edges precisely, but it is limited to be used for the straight cutting. The laser knife is a modern tool to cut the veneer to make special shape and pattern. For small volume work, then a cutter which has sharp, and thin knife can also be used with very good results if it is carefully conducted with the skillful people.
The next process is the unification of the veneer pieces before glued to the core panels. The unification should be done precisely to make a tidy and tight connection for each piece. To form a simple and straight pattern veneer, then there is a veneer joint er machine. It can glue and connect the veneer edges automatically with very tight joint, but it only work for the straight connection. For the complex form then we need to join each pieces and then keep it with veneer tape or a thread. The manual hand work is needed in the jointing the veneer to make special pattern.

Gluing veneer to the core.

Once the pieces of veneer are unified together forming the desired pattern then he can be placed and glued on its core. The glue used should be strong enough to produce a strong panel board. The chemical reaction is widely used. It forms the thermosetting bond which is strong, durable, high resistant to thinner and finishing materials that will be layered on
usually some ply of wood veneer is used to make a veneered panel. The C or D grade veneer is used as the first layer that attached directly to the core. The on the veneer layer is attached the good performance veneer as the panel face. The first and second layer veneer usually is set in a cross banding. The first veneer is layered with the cross direction grain while the top veneer is set with the grain direction according to the face panel designed.

The cross banding will give you more strength to the wood veneer bonding. The special arrangement in the cross banding can be used to address some specific veneer problems. The crack problem in the crotch mahogany veneer can be minimized by set the cross banding veneer in the 60 angle with the core and face veneer.

For flat panel then the attachment is usually done with by hot press machine. Hot press machine can heat the veneer layer with temperatures up to 100 C, thus the glue hardening process can quickly done; the glue dry in about 2-3 minutes. But the heating plate is flat; restricting the uses of the machine to board the flat panel only. To form the curved panel, then the vacuum press is needed. It used the vacuum force to suck to keep the veneer attached to the core until the glue is dry.

Veneer sanding.

Veneer that has been attached will have rough and dirty surface. The tape at the veneer surface, the glue that sticks and stains that are stick at the surface must be cleaned to perform a smooth and even panel. The tapes can be cleaned by remove then with water or mineral spirit, but then it still need sanding process to make a smooth and even surface. The sanding with proper way can eliminate the tape, glue and stain at the veneer surface. The veneer sanding can be done with # 150 or 120 grade sandpaper to clean the glue, tape and stain mark. Then the sanding with # 180 grade sandpaper is usually enough for last sanding to provide the clean and smooth unfinished surface for finishing. Some type of veneer may need the # 240 as the last unfinished sanding before stain application.

How to make veneer.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:28:00 +0000

Veneer (wood veneer) is a thin sheet of wood. It is much used to layer the m.d.f., particle board to produce wood looked surface. The veneer industry is big scale in the woodworking industry. The wood veneers from any type of wood are available in the market to supply the woodworking industry. If you need a wood veneer then you can find supplier and order according to your need. But do you know how wood veneer is made? In this article we want to share about the process to make veneer.
Veneer is made from the wood, so the manufacture of veneer is started by cutting the tree. All types of tree can be used to make wood veneer, but usually the wood with nice looked are used. The nice exotic and expensive wood such as: ebony, rosewood, pavero, zebrano, etc. are used to make veneered panel with special wood looked. While the common wood such as: oak, pine, cherry, maples are also much used to make veneer. If the exotic woods are used to make special inlay in the wood looked panel, the common wood veneer are used to make the better wood looked panels. The wood veneer with high grade can be obtained with cheaper than the wood plank panels.

The trees that are used to make veneer should be long enough, has a straight trunk and quite big in the diameter. The timber for veneer usually is better quality than the trees used to make the wood panel. The timber log usually is hard and brittle; it should be soaked or boiled first before being sliced. Soaking the wood will make the wood to be soft, elastic and reduce the problem in the slicing process. The tough and brittle wood may need to be boiled to get soften.

The wood stem is peeled by a rotary knife to clean off the skin and sap wood to make the long wood trunk with same size diameter from one end to the end. This log then is going to be sliced to form veneer. There are various techniques of slicing: rotary slicing, flat cut slicing, half cut slicing, quarter cut slicing and rift cut slicing . Each of cutting technique will give different types of veneer and give the difference appearance in the term of grain pattern. The veneer slicing can be viewed below.

rotary slicing

half round slicing

quarter cut slicing

rift cut slicing

flat cut slicing

The thin sheets of wood are still wet and mixed in the quality, then are need to be selected and dried in a kiln dry. Veneer is thin sheet; therefore he can dry quite fast. It needs few days to let the veneer dry. The veneer is usually marketed with the moisture content about 10 %.

The next process is grading and separating the veneers according to its quality. There are several grade of veneer according to its quality. By length, the veneer is grouped into three: the architectural grade, furniture grade and flooring grade. Architectural grade, this is the longest veneer, up to 2.2 m - 3.4 meter length. It is used to layer the specific forms of the building or home to make special architectural model. The furniture grade is the veneer for the furniture industry. Its size is according to make panels for furniture such as: side panels, top panels for cabinet or table. Some special furniture model that needs the longer veneer will need the architectural grade veneer. The flooring grade is the shortest veneer with 1 meter length. It used to make engineered flooring parquet, which is usually need the short panel.

The veneer is also graded according to its defect as the wood panel. Veneer with a grade is the best quality; it is the veneer with clean surface free from the eye, hole, crack and other defects. The B grade is the veneer with some defect or knot, if more defects are existed then the veneer is grouped in the C or D grade.

The architectural A grade veneer is the most expensive, it means the veneer has clean and good surface for 3 meter length. It is the sheet that first explored and separated from the bulk of the sliced wood. The good performance sheet with some defect can be cut to go to the furniture grade or flooring grade. The low performance veneer can also go to the b grade or c grade. The A or B grade are used to make the face panel, while the C or D grade can be used to layer the back panel or to be used as the banded core.

Veneer storage.

As product from wood, the veneer is hygroscopic material that is susceptible to the changes of the air humidity. The changes in the environmental humidity will caused to the shrinkage or swelling that could damage the veneer. Therefore, the veneer should be stored in a conditioning room which has a stable humidity. In the room the veneer sheet with same quality, sizes and type are bundled and stored in the same place. .

Laminated wood.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Laminated wood is a big size wood block or panel made from many wood pieces that are glued and unified together. Laminated wood then is used to make various products in the woodworking industry. Panel boards, table, chair for furniture, pile, frame, door or window in the wood house most are made form laminated wood. The uses of intact solid wood boards for the width and length wood product is very rare today. Wood pieces with big size are very difficult to be obtained, if any then the price will be very expensive.
Wood gluing technologies has very advanced. It makes the laminated wood has many advantages compared with the intact wood. With proper processing, the laminated wood is stronger, more stable then the solid intact wood and has cheaper price and faster processing time.

laminated wood board

The process of making the laminated wood includes several processes: wood drying, cutting, gluing and resurfacing

Drying the wood pieces.

The wood from fresh trees usually is wet, so he must be dried to fulfill the m.c. requirement for the woodworking industry. To speed up the drying process, the logs should be cut into planks which have thinner size. Then the thin size planks are dried in the oven, or let it dries naturally in the open air. The drying process for timber that are going to be used to the furniture or architectural products must be controlled in order to keep the wood in the good performance. The drying that is too fast can damage the wood performance by giving some crack, splitting, honeycomb, warping or color changes to the the wood. While too long time drying can lead to the fungus or insects attacked that also will ruin the wood performance. The proper drying is the first step to make the timber with good quality.

Cutting and gluing pieces wood to make laminated wood.

The dried wood board then are used to feed the machining process to be cut, shaped and formed in the woodworking industry. If the wood with a larger size is needed, then some pieces wood can be glued together to make the laminated wood. To get good laminated wood panel, the we need a proper laminating process. The proper gluing process involves the glue selection and the gluing process. The glue used should be strong enough to let the laminated wood to fulfill the product requirement. For the outdoor uses, then the glue must be waterproof and resist to the outdoor weather. The PU, epoxy glue or urea which are two components that give thermosetting bonding are the good choices. While for indoor furniture and architectural products that require good color, the p.v.a.c. glue or urea can be used. It does not to be water resist, but it needs light color to help the finishing looked and color. For construction products in the interior of the house or building that does not good color match, the stronger and fast drying glue can be used.

The glue is applied by coated to the wood surfaces before the wood pieces are unified and pressed to let the glue dry and making a strong bonding. Each type of glue has different specification and may need different process. To get the maximum bonding, then the proper process must be followed. How thick the glue is layered, how long is the glue drying and how much pressure is needed must be followed to obtain the good bonding.

Resurface the laminated wood

The laminated wood always give an uneven surfaces, then to get an even and smooth surface, it need to be resurfaced. To make flat panel, the laminated wood can be planed and sanded. The laminated wood panel can also go the machining to be shaped and formed as component. Then the sanding is needed to smooth and even the wood out from the plainer or machinery. The wood (or laminated wood) pieces with proper size and smooth surface can be brought to be assembled to make the wood product.

Finishing for the laminated wood.

Laminated wood that keep naked (unfinished) tend to suffer the consequences from the environment changes. The humidity and temperature changes could make problem as the dimensions changes in the laminated board. Each of wood pieces may have variation of: porosity, grain direction, pores and the each pieces may act differently according to the humidity changes. It gives risk to get the dimensional changes of wood such as: uneven surface, delamination, crack, splitting, etc. To minimize this problem, then the laminated wood should be immediately coated with finishing materials. The coating that is layered on both sides wood board will close the pore and grain of the wood to make the wood more stable and less risk to the dimensional changes problem. If the unfinished wood product is needed, then wood conditioner can be used to keep the moisture wood content keep stable, thereby reducing the risk of problems resulting from the movement of the wood..

How to spray stain to the wood furniture.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Most of stain application for wood furniture today is done by spray. With the proper spray technique, we can layer the stain to color the wood surface according to the wood condition to get the finish color we want. The problem of the wood variation in color can easily be handled by spray application. The spraying process is also much faster then the wiping and brushing. However the proper spraying application is needed to produce the good coloring result. There are several point must be considered to get the proper spray stain to meet the good finishing result. They are: the unfinished preparation, the equipment preparation and selection, the stain preparation and the spray stain execution.

Preparation to the unfinished wood.

The most important wood preparation is the wood sanding. The wood sanding must be done correctly to produce a good performance finishing. The white wood sanding must be started with the coarse sandpaper and gradually followed with the finer grade. The final sanding for finishing preparation should be ended with the # 240 or # 180 sandpaper. For more explanation you can read our previous article : How to sand the unfinished wood .And to help the check the wood sanding you can go to our article: How to inspect the unfinished wood furniture

Preparation of the spray gun.

The proper spray gun is needed to produce a good layer stain. Check and clean the spray gun that is going to be used to spray your stain, make sure it works well, do testing with paint thinner and see the results. For wood stain application, the air spray gun is the best choice. It can produce the best atomization. It is also very flexible for adjustment and setting, with fully control by the operator. The HVLP or LVLP spray gun are also can be used, although they are not as flexible as the air spray, but they can produce good atomization and quite well adjustable. The airless spray gun or air mixed spray gun is not proper for stain application since its limitation in control and setting. But most of all, the spray gun must be in the good condition to get the good staining result. You can view more about spray gun in our previous article: The spray gun for wood furniture finishing

Preparation of the stain.

To get the correct coloring, then we need the proper stain. Wood stain is a thin solution which is rarely damaged, but of course we have to check it to ensure that the stain is in the good condition before being used. Stir and agitated the stain to let the pigments perfectly mixed. Check the physical performance of the stain, it must be well mixed without any sediment or dirt inside. We may need to filter the stain to clean from the dirt or slurry.

Check the stain color; make sure we got the correct color. The stain may be changed in color due to its solvent evaporation. The stain with low quality may even get color changes because of chemical reactions or pigment degradation. The stain colors can be checked by pouring it in the pour down on the card, wood panel or wood veneer. See our previous article: How to check the stain color

The spray stains technique.

The stain is needed to be applied properly to produce the correct color finishing. We should coat the stain with proper thickness to the wood surface for the right coloration. The wood may have varied base color; then we may need to layer the stain differently for each part to get the even finish color. Use the sap stain and equalizer to equate the wood base color before apply the overall body stain. See our previous article: how to match color in the wood furniture finishing

After an even wood base color is obtained then we need to view the overall basic color of the wood, and make sure that we use the right stain color to produce final color finishing what we want. We can use the color wheel diagram to determine the color of the body stain we need.
There are three techniques spray; dry spray, medium wet spray and wet spray. Wet spray technique is the most recommended because it produces the best surface wetting. Wet spray also gives the highest efficiency in material transferring. However, in some cases, the medium wet or dry spray is needed. Dry spray is needed for the application of equalizer stain and sap stain to handle the variation of the wood base color. While the medium wet spray is needed for stain application to the soft woods like pine, maple, sengon, etc. to minimize the risk of blotchy color when stain is applied too wet.
Spray stain with the correct technique; make sure the stain coat the surface with a uniform staining to the overall surface. Start to spray stain on the bottom or the inside part or other invisible part, then do the spray on the visible part. The main part furniture as top panel or the front should be sprayed at the last time. To see more about spraying technique, you can go to our previous article: How to use the spray gun and how to set the spray gun
Do some experiments on some pieces of wood panel to make sure we apply the stain correctly before making application for the big furniture product.
Check the stain layer after the application. Make sure the stain layers the wood surface evenly with the proper color. Make correction if the color is uneven, too light or too dark. We can also make correction or revision in this step if there is any problem on the wood surface such: glue spot, scratches, dents, gap, etc. The stain layer that has not been covered with clear coat still can be cleaned easily. We can darken the light stain by re spray the stain, or lighten the stain little bit by rub with steel wool. We can also easily remove the stain layer by wash it off with thinner or sanded with sandpaper.

The stain application is the first finishing process that will form and built the base finishing color. It is very important to do the proper wood staining to get the even stain layer with the right color. Then we can continue the finishing process by another finishing operation, the sealer, glaze and top coat application.

Louis XVI Style furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:45:00 +0000

picture is from: furniture saglio

Louis XVI was the last king of France who ruled the country from 1754 to 1789 before ended with the French revolution. When Louis XVI succeeded to the throne in 1774, he had an big responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment to 'despotic' monarchy was on the rise. During his reign big changes were happened, the change in the governmental system from absolute monarchy to the democratic republic was very important event in the history of the country. Louis XVI also signed the Edict of Versailles, which was an important step in to the religion tolerance in this country.

Louis XVI bed

The circumstance of the socio culture and economic was also influence the model and style of the furniture at that era. The furniture style at era was very different and was recognized as the milestone in the classic furniture style. Different with the previous model, the Louis XVI furniture style was dominated by the straight and firm form. The gently and curved shape that was very popular in the previous era was not found on the Louis XVI furniture. The straight and square with sharp form dominated the shape for most furniture; cabinets, desks, bed and even the chairs and sofas were made in the straight and square. The style impressed of manly, firm, logical and serious was strongly appeared from the Louis XVI style.

Louis XVI round table

picture is from furniture saglio

The substrate was widely used were mahogany, walnut, oak or cedar. During his reign was the golden age of French furniture and craftsmanship. The furniture was decorated with inlay, gilt or ornament embellished the straight, stiff and strong form as the main shape. The chairs and sofa also were made with straight frame, arm and legs and rectangular back rest. The straight flute leg or rectangle were used to replace the curved forms from the Louis xv or earlier.

picture is from furniture saglio

The Louis XVI style furniture was one of important element in the classic style furniture history. The style is still widely used as reference by the furniture designer. The Louis XVI furniture with various modifications are still be found in the furniture market.

picture is from furniture saglio

Louis XVI style chair

Jabon wood for furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Kayu jabon, jati kebon (Anthocephalus cadamba) is starting to be favored to be cultivated by wood plantation companies or residence peoples. It can be good alternative to supply the woodworking industry demand for the cheap wood but with acceptable quality. Jabon tree has a straight trunk and grow quite fast if planted in the suitable areas. It can live in the tropical area with the level 0 to 1000 m above the sea. The jabon wood is considered soft and inexpensive to be used for the interior parts in the woodworking industry. Now it is still less popular than the sengon wood, but jabon wood has great potential to fulfill the wood for woodworking industry. In the proper climate the jabon trees can grow quite fast, easy to be planted, and have a straight trunk. He has straight branches that are easy to be cut to give the cleaner and straight stem with less knot. This wood is also relatively easy to be dried; it has small volume shrinkage make it can be dried fast. For interior used, the jabon wood can be drying within a few days.
Jabon wood is light and soft with a smooth pores and grain and pores texture. It is good choice for plywood, or barecore. Generally the wood has straight and long stem, which is easy to be sliced to make veneer or plywood.
Some people also use this wood to make furniture with quite good result. This wood is hard and strong enough to make furniture. It can be shaped, machined, engraved and carved to produce nice and interesting wood furniture product. This wood has a yellowish white base color; with the proper finishing it could produce furniture with an attractive appearance.

Jabon wood properties:

Volume shrinkage from wet to dry (m.c. 12%) : 3% for tangential, 6.9% for radial
Specific gravity                                              : 0.29 to 0.56
Modulus of elasticity                                      : 42.9 to 68.0 kg/cm2
Hardness (Janka test )                                   : 276-409 kg/cm (edges), 239-268 (side)

jabon wood furniture
picture is from : jabon

Finishing for jabon wood.

Jabon timber has a great potential to be used as raw materials for furniture. This wood has a yellow base color so it can be finished in a any wood color without much difficulty. With proper application of finishing material, it can produce wide range of transparent wood colors without any problem. It also still have grain which is special. Although its grain may be not as beautiful as hard wood such as teak or mahogany, but it still can be enhanced in the finishing process. It has small and shallow grain and pores texture, make it quite easy to be finished in the close pores finish. The pores and grain texture can be easy to be covered with the sealer application without the hard process of filler application.
The solid-color finishing is better option since it would be easier to do. His shallow pores and grain is an advantage because it will be easily to be covered with paint or base coat. The solid color in many color, either antique or clean looked can be generated to make the attractive looked.

The jabon wood should be considered as softwood. It has risk for blotchy color if it is not well prepared. A good sanding is very important to get good finishing result. A glue sizing can be done to help the sanding process and minimize the color blotchy problem. The wood is also susceptive for the insects attacked; The proper wood treatment is recommended to minimize the insect attacked problem later on.

Regence Furniture style

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Regence (French Regence) furniture style refers to the furniture in the France in the period 1715-1723 when the French was led by Phillipe D'Orleans because the Louis XV who should be the king was still too young. (French regence, wikipedia). Regence is French furniture style and also often called as French Regence to clarifie with the England Regency style which is an English style furniture refers to furniture style in England about 100 years later (1810-1837).
It was the era of transition from the Louis XIV and Roccoco which is straight, stylish and heavy to be more light and dynamic. The asymmetric forms, convex surface shape were used to bring the more light and comfortable but with more ornament. The flowers, shells, and natural motif with some eastern mythology (dragon or monster) are used to ornate the cabinet, commode and armoire.

picture is from : french furniture saglio

The French regency was also the era of the Goldsmith and the Metalworkers master. The gold and ormolu, metal accessories are widely used as an ornament in the form of asymmetrical scrolls, floral motifs and cockleshell.

picture is from : french furniture saglio

Regence chairs and sofa shows the evolution from the heavy and straight of Louis XIV to the lighter the sinuous shape and liquid form with more ornament. The chairs and sofas use the cabriole legs with curved backs, bulging panels and equipped with various ornaments. The upholstered chair back displays the carved wood frame in the form of lighter seat. The rectilinear uprights of the chair back and the plan of the seat quadrangular is persisted the longest of the chair or cabinet impressive light and liquid form.

picture is from : french furniture saglio

regence style arm chair

Antique pine finish 2

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Pine wood is quite popular in the woodworking industry. He has been widely used as raw material for furniture since many centuries ago. The pine wood is easy to be machined, drilled and handled in the woodworking process. But the wood has high porosity; he will absorb a lot of finishing materials to produce a smooth surface. The stain application should done carefully since its high porosity. Too wet stain is risk to get blotchy color.

Now in this article we want to share about antique pine finish. In this finish a latex paint is used as the first stain. The latex paint as the stain gives some advantage. It will bring the antique finish and since it is thick material then we don’t need to worry about the blotchy problem. The paint is combined with glaze and NC clear coating to make the antique finish.

Here is the finishing process.

Physical distress.

The physical is the first step to make the antique impression. Use the stones, files, chains and hammers to do the distress. The heavy distress is needed. Start with the file to rasp at the edges and to make some mark in the surface. Then we can use the chain and hammer to hit the surface. Finally we can use the rock to picture the physical abuses. Make sure the distress mark are random and natural to mimic the long time used. See our previous article : Physical distress for wood furniture finishing.

Application of latex paint.

Choose the light brown or cream latex paint. Agitate the paint and make sure it is well mixed, add some water is necessary. Brush the latex paint to layer to the wood evenly. Make sure the paint is well applied until he fill in the pores, gap and crevices. Let the paint dry.

After the paint is dry, then sand the paint, clean the paint at the surfaces but leave the paint inside the hole, pores, grain and the distressed mark. The latex paint should fill in the wood pores, grains, dents, holes, crevices and gaps.
Check the antique effect we got. Make sure we get the antique effect, make sure the all the distress mark are filled with the latex paint and make sure the wood surface is cleaned to get the clarity of the wood finish.

Sealer application.

A layer of clear coating is required to protect the latex paint. The sealer is used since it will be sanded to provide the smooth finish. The clear coating has to be applied by spray. The brush application will resolve the latex paint and damage the antique effect that has been formed. Spray two layer of NC sealer and let it dry. Sand the sealer layer with # 280 or # 320 sandpaper to get the smooth surface.

Dry brush glaze.

Glaze application is needed to enhance the antique looked. Use the glaze with a dark brown color (van dyke brown or dark umber). Do dry brush to burnish the edges and the distress part. The dark glaze will darken and enhance the antique effect. Some more antique effect such as cow tail or spatter also can be made to make more interesting antique effect. See our previous article: Dry brush glaze

Application of top coat.

Top coat is the last layer to provide the protection and to build the sheen of the finishing. Use the low sheen top coat as final layer. Apply 1 layer of 10 sheen or 20 sheen NC top coat by wet spray to the finish. Let it dry and check the film surface, make sure and even and smooth surface is obtained. If the surface is rough, then we need to sand the top coat layer and apply 1 more coat.

Thinner for water based paint.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:00:00 +0000

What is thinner for water based paint? Water of course, that's right, water is the major component for the water based paint thinner, that way it is called "water based". But the fact is there also some solvents and chemicals are in the water based paint mixture. Although it is named as water based, but we cannot expect that the mixture is completely free from the solvent. In the water based thinner there are also some materials that could be toxic and harmful to the health.
Water-based coating, water based paint or waterborne coating is usually made of acrylic resins, modified acrylic or "one-component polyurethane" as the main resin. The resin then is mixed with some other resin and chemicals to meet the paint performance. The resins mix naturally is not water soluble, then it needs solvents and some additives to make it mix well with water. The mixture of paint and water will not be a solution, but usually in the emulsion form. But with the good agitation and proper application, the emulsion can be applied with perfect results as the solvent base paint does.

The material in a water based paint thinner.

Water.

The water is the major ingredient in water based paint thinner. The water that was added to the paint formulation usually is the pure water, since the water based paint must be formulated with fully control composition to meet the standard of the paint quality. The water should be neutral, free form dirt, precipitation material, or chemical that could be interfere the paint mix.

Solvents.

There are also some solvents in the water based paint thinner to keep the mixture works well. Some of the materials are: ethylene glycol, some other aromatic and aliphatic solvents. Ethylene glycol is very important solvent for the water based paint; it is the main solvent for the resins and pigment. Ethylene glycol is dissolved each other with water, and has higher evaporation point than water. In the drying process, the water is evaporating firstly. After all of the water has evaporated, then the solvent (ethylene glycol) is starting to evaporate. The evaporation continue until all solvents are evaporated when the dry and hard paint layer is built.

Additive materials.

Additive material is added to build some specifics properties to the paint mixture. There are some additives used to improve the paint properties, to reduce surface tension, to improve the flow, to make the stability of the mixture, etc. The additive materials are the same material for thinner base coating. They are very specific; depending to the resin formulation in the paint mixture. In the water based paint there some more additive are added, the anti-fungal and anti bacterial to prevent the bacteria growth and the emulsifier to improve the emulsion of the mixture.

Tips in using water based paint.

The knowledge to the composition of water based paint thinner is more complex then what written here. There are many thing need to be consider in the paint manufacturer. The knowledge about thinner in this article is purposed to understand the water based paint and help us in the application. There some tips to apply the water based paint.

Use the protective and safety equipment.

In fact the water based paint also contains some solvents and chemicals that potentially interfere the human health. Then when we do the mixing and application of the water based paint, then we still need to wear the safety equipment. Wear the gloves to protect the skin and masks to protect the respiratory. The drying process of the paint will release some solvent fumes, then make sure the air circulation is work well when paint is coated and dried. If spray application is chosen, then the spray booth is needed.

Use the "clean" water when diluting the water based paint.

Some time we need to thin the water based paint at the application. We can add little water to the water based paint, but make sure the water is not interfering the paint mixture. Pure water is probably the best choice, but usually the normal water for drinking or daily necessities can be used as long as it is clean and neutral.

Do the small mixing according to the consumption.

Bacteria are the enemy for the water based paint. The water based paint in the closed containers is in a hermetically sealed so no bacteria or fungi that can live in it. But when the can is opened, then there could be some bacteria entering and live in a mixture of paint, moreover when we add some water into the mixture. Although the mixture contained anti-bacterial additive, but there is a possibility the bacteria could live in the mix and potentially to damage the paint mixture. Therefore, try to store the paint in the closed cane. The paint in the opened should be applied as soon as possible since it has higher risk to be damaged.

Tips and consideration to build the wood kiln dry.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The (wood) kiln dry is a large building that requires special equipment and tools. To build and operate the kiln dry is considered big work. The fact is the kiln dry is the most important facility to process the wood. But, then we need to do carefully calculation to find the best suitable facility according to our need. There are many method to drying the wood and many type of kiln dry are available. We have written about the drying of wood (kiln dry in the woodworking industry), and now in this article we want to share about the considerations needed when we are going to build a dry kiln.

Here are some tips and consideration when we want to build the kiln dry to the wood.

Calculate the volume of the dry wood needed.

The volume of dry wood, the size and the required moisture content of the wood is the first thing to be considered when we are going to build a kiln dry. The calculation to the building, facilities and types of the kiln is mainly based to the capacity and the type of the kiln dry. Some type of kiln dry is more proper to work at low wood m.c., while some types are more economic to dry the wood at the moderate moisture content that may be enough for construction wood. Pre drier or naturally drier may quite well to dry the wood for construction that works well at about 20% m.c. level. But the woods for woodworking, furniture or architectural product always need the lower moisture content (m.c. level at 8%-10%).

The building and the equipment for the kiln dry is calculated based to the capacity of the kiln. The room, the heater and the type of kiln dry has to follow the calculation result from the capacity of the kiln dry.

The species of the wood.

Wood is a life material that has unique properties. Each type of wood has different properties and may require different drying process. Generally, wood can be divided into two types: the hard wood and soft wood. The hard wood usually has higher risk to get cracked, swelling, splitting, honeycombing or other defect caused by too fast drying. The carefully drying schedule for the hard wood is needed. Especially when we are going to use the wood for the visible part which need the best performance dry wood.

The softwood usually can be dried in quicker schedule. It less risk to get defect and naturally can be dried faster. The softwood is also most used for the interior part at which some small defect is not a problem.

The data of wood moisture content versus the volume of the wood is very important. The wood with big shrinkage is more risk to get damaged by the too fast drying. The wood hardness is also important; the harder wood usually is more risk to be cracked or splitting.

Environmental conditions.

Wood is a hygroscopic material. The naked wood will always absorb or release its water to make balance with its environmental humidity. Then we need to find the data about the environment condition especially the air humidity. Wood will release his moisture if it is placed in the open air until its moisture content is in balance with the air humidity. The moisture content of the naked wood will fluctuate according to its environment air humidity changing.

The data of the air humidity can help us to find the final m.c. needed. If the wood is going to be used in the same area, then we can dry the wood until it reach the moisture content in balance with the average of air humidity in the area. But if the wood is going to send to another place then we may need to make some treatment for the dry wood. The dehumidifier room may be needed keep the wood m.c.

The types of kiln dry.

There are several types of kiln dry can be selected to get the most suitable facility according to our need. For the areas that are quite hot with lot of sunshine, the solar kiln dry could be considered as good choice. It uses the solar energy to reduce the energy consumption.

For the small volume, the dehumidifier kiln dry is good option. It less use energy and can give the low wood m.c. If the rapid drying is needed, then the high temperature or vacuum kiln dry kiln is the choice. The Vacuum kiln dry can dry quickly, but requires relatively expensive operating costs with small capacity.
To drying the wood with large volume, then conventional kiln dry is still the best choice. It is quite simple, can be set to arrange the drying schedule. It can be combined with the pre drier or naturally drier. To save the energy consumption we can use the wood wastes from the woodworking process as the fuel.

Upholstery for furniture.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Upholstery is part of the furniture that is used to sit. Chair, sofa, bench and seat require upholstery to make them to be comfortable when they are used. The upholstery is also used to form the appearance of the furniture to be more beautiful and attractive. The upholstery become the important part for some furniture; it function to make the comfort and at the same time it also built the appearance. As its attached to the furniture, then he has to match with the wood frame.

furniture upholstery

Generally the upholstery is built from three parts: support, cushion and cover.

1. Support.

Support is the bottom part of the upholstery that holds the whole upholstery and also the person who sits on. There are several types of support can be used, webbing, spring and board. Webbing is a material most widely used. It is made of elastic rubber that is woven to make elastic holder. With proper material and weaving techniques it can provide a flexible yet strong support to the upholstery.

Spring as a support can also be used and will bring the comfort, but it can be considered rather expensive. It is also metal that is risk to hurt when it is broken.

For some design and construction, the wood panel can be used for support. If it used then, the softer cushion is needed to generate the comfortable.

2. Cushions.

It is the inside part of the upholstery that makes the upholstery is soft, elastic and comfortable to be seated. There are some materials that can be used such as; goose feather, cotton, cloth or burlap. There also some synthetic materials; foam and dacron are used.
Goose feather is very expensive but can be very subtle, natural, safe and soft. It is an expensive material, it should be wrapped in a cloth before placed on as the upholstery.
Kapok is also a natural material that can be used as well. It also should be wrapped in a cloth before installed as cousin. As a natural material he has advantages by providing the natural and comfortable atmosphere.
Foam is a synthetic material, it is the main material for cushion today. It has different density that will give different softness. Foam is available in a wide range of specification and types to fulfill the upholstery requirement. The foam also can be made with some special additive such as fire-resistant, anti-fungal, anti-allergic, etc.

3. Cover

Cover is the visible part of the upholstery. The upholstery cover is not only has to serve the comfort, but also work to form the appearance of the product. Then he must match with the whole furniture set. There are several types of materials can be used; fabric, leather either synthetics or natural, and some natural product such as rattan or bamboo.

Fabric.

It is the most widely used material for furniture upholstery. Fabrics are available in lot variety of motifs, colors and quality to meet the models and style of the furniture. It is also available in different standard of quality and specifications. There also some type with texture form that can produce more attractive appearance. As an industrial product, then the fabric can be made in special specifications according to the furniture industry need, for example: fireproof, waterproof or anti fungal anti-allergy, etc.

Leather.

Leather for upholstery leather is very attractive. It gives the impression expensive and luxury. The leather can also be finished with variety finishing model. Leather with antique finish will bring to the impression of old, unique but expensive, while leather with a clean and neat finish will bring an impression of luxury, elegant and expensive.
There are also synthetics leather available which also nice and interesting. The synthetic leather may have more varied model and color with less expensive than genuine leather. Synthetic leather is available many textured form with variety of colors.

Natural substrates.

Natural materials are other option that is no less interesting. The material must be flexible enough and be able to follow the movement of the cushion. Some natural substrates such as: rattan, bamboo wicker can be used. The rattan and bamboo are fairly strong but flexible enough to be used as a cushion.
The natural substrates will provide a cool, comfortable and natural atmosphere.

upholstery for rattan furniture

Tips in choosing upholstery.

When we buy furniture, the upholstery usually have been installed and become part of the product. But now, there are some furniture companies who give his buyer freedom to choose the upholstery. There are also some furniture shops that can serve upholstery installation. Now and in the future, there will be more freedom to choose the product according to our own tasted including to the upholstery.

Here are some tips for choosing the upholstery.

Consider the safety and healthy.

The upholstery is used for sitting; there will be lot of interaction with our bodies. Therefore, make sure that it is safe and does not create problems to our health. If we have the allergies to certain ingredients, then we should choose materials that do not cause the allergies.
Upholstery should also must safe. If necessary we can find out the construction of the upholstery and make sure it is properly assembled.

Choose the color and appearance to match with the furniture and room decoration.

The upholstery could be the main part for some furniture. For sofa, or bench, then the furniture appearance is determined by the upholstery, the wood is only the small portion. Then the upholstery needs to match with the room decoration.

Consider the way to clean and care.

Upholstery can be dirty, dusty or damaged. It also requires a proper caring. When we decide to choose the upholstery, then make sure we know how to care it. Make sure we can do the maintenance and cleaning the upholstery.

Kiln dry in the woodworking industry.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:45:00 +0000

Kiln dry is a room for drying wood that equipped with tools and facilities for manipulating the air temperature, air humidity and the air flow. The drying process is fully controlled by arrange the air circulation, humidity and temperature. The wood can be dried in shorter time, without any problem with the environmental conditions such as: humid or wet weather. Almost all of commercial wood is dried in a kiln dry.

Pre drier kiln.

It is the kiln that is used to dry the wet wood to the moisture content about 25%. It can be used to do the pre-drying before the wood go to the kiln dry to achieve the standard low moisture content (moisture content 6% to 10%). The pre-drying process can be done with air drying or sheds drying but the commercial pre-drier requires more complex facility than the air drying. Pre-drier kiln in commercial operations is a large building equipped with: heating tool, fans and vents to keep the ideal conditions for drying process during the whole year. Automatic controls were installed to monitor the temperature of the air. The room temperatures ranges from 75°F to100°F, relative humidity ranged from 60% to 90%.

Pre-drying is used by the woodworking industry to prepare the wood to dry before entering the kiln. Pre-drier kiln will give the maximum benefit to dry the hard wood. Buildings and facilities that is built could be a substantial capital investment, but it will reduce the energy consumption in the kiln dry.

The advantages of pre-drying are:

Give the brighter color of the wood.

Give more uniform wood MC.

Minimize the defects due to the drying process.

Reduce the drying time in the kin dry.

Dehumidifier kiln dry.

It is a low temperature kiln dry, but capable to dry the wood to the maximum level. Dehumidifier kiln dry is able to dry the wood to the moisture content at around 5%. It operates at relatively low temperatures, around 160°F and small heat energy is used. The drying process will run slower compared with the kiln dry with high temperatures. The dehumidifier kiln dry is using the water condensation (the same principle with the conditioning system) to retrieve of water vapor in the kiln chamber. The explanation can be viewed in this diagram below:

dehumidification kiln dry.

picture is from :http://fennerschool-associated.anu.edu.au/fpt/drying/dehum.drying.html

The air from the drying chamber is pumped to the evaporator coil on a cold, where the water in the air is condensed.

The condensed water is removed from the system.

The heat from the air and water condensation evaporates the refrigerant in the evaporator coil.

The refrigerant then passed through a compressor where it re-absorbs more heat.

Refrigerant heat is passed back to the condenser where heat is transferred back and the cool refrigerant is used to condense water from the air.

Vacuum Kiln dry.

Vacuum kiln dry using a low pressure to accelerate the evaporation of water. Vacuum kilns can reduce the drying times than the conventional or dehumidification kilns. A major limitation of the vacuum kilns caused by the chambers sizes. The small chamber limits the kilns capacity. It cannot dry large quantities at one time.

It still heat to speed the drying process, where it quite difficult to be facilitated. Some systems use electric blankets in contact with each piece of lumber, while some use heat coils or microwaves.

All of these systems are much more expensive to run when compared to dehumidification or conventional kilns. Operating costs and initial cost are much higher than the dehumidification kiln and steam kiln dry. The handling costs are much higher because of the smaller loads. The vacuum drying only can be considered when the thicker hardwoods are dried.

Solar dry kiln

The kiln is used the heat energy for drying comes from solar collectors. Depending to the chosen design, humid air can be removed through vents or condensed in the solar collectors at night. Drying times is dependent upon the weather, and thus unpredictable. In hot climates they can degrade lumber due to excessive drying. In colder climates they are unreliable and slow. Solar kilns often use electric fans to circulate air through the lumber and it become expensive due to the long time drying time.

The solar kiln dry may be relatively inexpensive in some tropical area, where the weather is hot with more sunlight is much more available.

Steam kiln dry

It is the facilitation for drying wood is widely used commercially in the woodworking industry. It is a conventional kiln dry that uses the hot air to drying the wood. The air with higher temperature will hold more water. In a steam kiln drying, the steam generating boiler is built to be used to heat the air during the drying process. The fans are used to circulate the air at high speed until 400 f.p.m. The temperature of air drying can reach 180 °F and can be adjusted by adjusting the flow of the hot air. Temperature and humidity can be fully controlled in accordance with the schedule for drying, size, condition and species of wood. Heat to the boiler can be supplied from gas, oil or wood waste-fired.

Although drying of wood products will add value to their products and reduce transportation costs, but the drying operation can be expensive operation in terms of energy used. Many timber mills use the wood waste as fuel for boilers to reduce costs.

High temperature dry kiln (kiln dry with high temperatures)

It is conventional kiln dry which operates at high temperature. It works to dry the wood with a high speed and is widely used for drying the soft wood where appearance is not a problem. The temperatures at about 200 °F to 240 °F and the speed at 800 f.p.m. can be set to the air drier. The ventilation openings are usually closed because the relative humidity control is not important.

In the high temperature kiln, the wood can be dried in large quantities in just few days. Soft wood that are used for interior such as sengon, jabon, or other cheap wood can be dried with this dry kiln. However, only a few hardwood species is be able to be dried in this way.

Stress on the wood

The woods will shrinkage when it dries. Outer surface of the wood will shrink faster than the inside and causing the pressure in the timber. Depreciation will also occur at different rates related to the direction of wood grains. The variation of the shrinkage can create problems in the wood panel such as: warping, checking, splitting, etc.

When the pressure is quite big and can cause damage to the wood, then the operator can do some manipulations to reduce the pressure on the timber. Wetting the wood surface with water in to some species and reduce the air drying temperature can be done to control the drying process. In some cases of hardwood, the drying can occur faster than softwood. In both cases, the surface of the wood will swell slightly, to eliminate the pressure at the wood surfaces. For some uses, such as wood for construction where appearance is not important, then some damage at the surface could be not an issue.

Drying the wood naturally.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:00:00 +0000

Drying the wood is very important process in the woodworking industry. Every pieces of wood that is used in the woodworking industry should be quite dry and meet certain of standards moisture content. But the fact is, the drying process for the wood is a high energy consuming process.

The fact is every pieces of wet wood will always release its water content when it is placed in the open air. The process of water releasing from the wood will be occurred naturally until a balance between the wood moisture content and the relative humidity of the surrounding air is reached. With this principle then we can dry the wood without any energy consumption. We can maximize the drying speed by arrange the speed of the air convection to the wood pieces.

Air drying.

This method refers to stack to the wood and expose outside and let the water from the timber to release to air. The efficiency of the drying process is controlled by proper arrangement of the stacking and the orientation of the wood stack.

The proper stacking of the wood planks.

The lumber must be stacked properly to ensure there is good air flow in between the wood pieces. A concrete block can be used as the bottom of the wood pile, the wood planks can be laid as railway tracks orderly to the top. Use the stickers to support and separate each layer of wood. The similar size stickers are needed to get the well ordered wood stacking. The sticker arranged aligned one above the other and placed at a distance 36" or less to avoid the wood warping. The edge of the wood planks should be based on the sticker. A roof to protect the wood from rain and direct sunlight can be directly placed on the pyre by using big blocks. The roof can be tilted to support water precipitation. Finally, the load is required to hold the roof remains in place.

The placement and lay out of the wood stack.

The wood stack must be placed on a dry surface such as concrete or asphalt where there is no stagnant water. Stack the wood on the black asphalt can significantly increase the rate of wood drying process compared to the bare soil. The grass or vegetable earth should not be chosen due to the high humidity of the grass that will affect the drying process. The shorter and smaller stack will increase the rate of drying process. The velocity of air flow will determine the drying rate, thus the wood should be stack in the open place, free from buildings, trees or other objects that could block the air flow.
Air circulation through the timber can be run by the natural convection. Hot and dry air would hold water from wood surfaces. As dry air moves over on the wood surface, the water will evaporate from the wood surface. Through the process of evaporation, the air became moist, cooler and thus heavier. The heavier air moves down to the bottom of the pile by the gravitation. If the air can move freely, then the cold air and moist air will soon be replaced with the hotter and drier form its surroundings. Therefore, the height of the base should be reasonably enough to allow enough space at the bottom to keep the drying process running well.
The final moisture content is determined by air temperature, relative humidity of the environment, and drying time. If a long time is used and the equilibrium time is fulfilled, then it will bring the moisture content of wood to a point of equilibrium with the relative humidity of the environment. Usually the wood moisture content from 20% to 30% will easily be achieved with this system.

the wood stacking in air drying

(picture is from: drying the wood)

Drying Sheds.

When lot of wood is needed to be dried, then a drying shed can be built to do better control for the drying process. Drying shed can be made in a very simple construction with the same principle with the air drying. It is a warehouse or a roofed big building with floor of concrete or asphalt. The big room inside must be enough to stack the wood to facilitate the naturally drying as the air drying. The warehouse can be equipped with some fans to blow or suck the air in and out to the room. Warehouses can also be equipped with portable walls that can be raised or lowered, opened or closed to maximize the air movement. The better adjusting to the air flow rate will make the drying process be more efficient.

Since no heat is added then, the final moisture content is determined by air temperature and relative humidity of the environment. As in the natural air drying, the moisture content of 20% to 30% is easy to be achieved.

The advantages of the naturally drying.

The low costs of construction and operational.

Less risk of wood damage caused by too quickly drying

The final moisture content is accordance with the environmental conditions in the area.

The disadvantages of the naturally drying.

Long time drying process is needed.

Increase the risk of insect and fungal attack

The less control to the drying process.

Tortoise finish

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 03:00:00 +0000

Tortoise shell finish

Tortoise is an animal that is very well known. It is unique and special with hard shell on its back. The tortoise back has a distinctive shape and appearance. The uniqueness of the tortoise apparently has inspired designers to create furniture models with tortoise looked. The appearance of the tortoise is expressed and created by the finishing that is then called with the tortoise finish.
Tortoise finish is the finish that mimics the appearance of tortoise. It is the type of antic finishing that needs lot of hand works with special techniques. Here in this article we will share the finishing process to produce a tortoise finish.

The finishing process for tortoise finish.

1. Stain and wash coat application

Tortoise appearance is created with the combination of solid color or paint color with heavy antic effect with glaze or pad stain application thereon. The stain used is the base coat, paint or toner to make solid color as the base color of the finish. We need the base coat or toner with light color, such as: light brown, cream or off white base coat as the base color. The light base coat will be combined with the glaze with darker color to produce an interesting and lively looked tortoise finish.
Spray wet the base coat evenly to the wood surface, wait for about 30 minute to dry. We will get a rough surface, since the raised and stiffen of the wood fibers as the result of the base coat applications. Therefore, we need to sand the base coat layer. Use a # 280 or # 240 grade sand paper to sand the base coat layer to cut the stiffen wood fibers.

One layer base coat usually is not enough to evenly cover the wood surface. The repeat the base coat application; apply the second base coat by wet coat spray, and wait to the base coat to dry. Sand the base coat layer when it is dry. The second base coat layer is much more smooth then the first one, since most of the wood fibers are already cut off by the first sanding. Make sure that we sand the second base coat well, and the smooth surface is obtained.
After we get the base coat layer with smooth surface then we can layer a wash coat. The wash coat application is purposed to relieve the sand mark form base coat sanding. The sanding mark and rough surface will affect the glaze coloring; then we need to make sure that we well sand the base coat and layer the wash coat evenly. Wait until the wash coat layer dried check surface of the wash coat, make sure we got the wash coat layer with smooth surface, and the base coat with the right color.

2. Glaze application

The glaze application is the main step to produce the tortoise looked. Use the glaze with the color that is quite contras but still well blend with the color of base coat. Remember that the final finish color will be the combination from the color of base coat with color of the glaze. Glaze with a dark brown color such as V.D.B. or Burnt umber can be used on the cream or light brown base coat to produce an interesting tortoise finish.
Dry brushing the glaze with stippling technique evenly on the wash coat layer, do the highlights to the glaze layer. The tortoise effect is made in this finishing step, then do the glaze application correctly. It may take long time since it is fully hand work. Always check and control the color and effect resulted. But the glaze is very flexible and easy to be applied in this way; we can always wipe or reduce the glaze layer with steel wool every time we need. You can visit our previous post : stippling the glaze. Make sure we got the right effect and color in this step. Wait for about 1 hour to let the glaze layer dry, then layer it with a sealer coat.

Let the sealer to dry, then check the color and effect we got. We may need to add some more glazes to get the right color and effect. Apply the glaze with the same color and technique as the first one. Let it dry and check the color we need. Make sure we got the finish effect we want.

3. Sealer application

Sealer is needed to give the film built and to make the smooth surface for the top coat application. Apply a layer of sealer by wet spray coat after we got the right color and antique effect from the glaze. Let it dry, and sand the sealer layer well. Use the # 280 or # 320 sandpaper to sand the sealer.

4. Top coat application

The top coat is the last layer in the finishing. Make sure the sealer is already well sanded, and the smooth and flat surface is obtained. Check the color of the finish; make sure we get the right color and effect. If necessary we can add some color with pad stain or glaze on the sealer layer. Then apply a layer of top coat as the final coat. Spray the top coat evenly to overall surface, make sure we do a even coat layer.

Patio furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Patio is an outdoor space that is used for relax, recreation or dining. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard or a paved area between a residence and a garden. Patio is like a park or garden as open space as a place to relax, while enjoying the sunshine.

patio folding table

Patio furniture

As a special room, the patio is also needed furniture to support the people’s activities there in. Patio furniture is very much the same with garden furniture. It has a very similar task. If we mention about patio furniture it can be meant by the garden furniture, while the garden furniture always can be used to be patio furniture. As exterior furniture, patio furniture is needed to be specially made since he has to withstand the sunlight, rain, and outdoor weather and climate.
The patio furniture usually has simple model and shape, and brings the atmosphere of relaxed and natural. The bench, lenjer, seat, or even chair and table are made in the special design to support the relaxing activities..
Patio furniture is outdoor furniture, then he needs a strong and durable material to withstand the outdoor weather. The hardwood that is suitable for outdoor uses should be used such as: oak, teak, merbau, bengkirai, munggur, etc. The other exterior synthetic materials can be used such as: synthetic wicker, aluminum, iron, or stainless steel.

patio cooper table

Finishing for patio furniture.

As furniture for exterior uses the patio furniture need special finishing layer that be able to withstand the outdoor weather. The stain used must be deigned to the outdoor used; otherwise the color will fade soon. The coating used has to be special finishing materials for the exterior.
The transparent wood color is mostly used to bring the natural atmosphere. The finishing with oil finish, spar varnish or exterior PU or water based clear coating with light stain is good choice for this color. If the iron or aluminum metal or paint finish is used then the exterior paint (car paint) can be used finishing.

patio chair with outdoor finish

Tips in choosing the patio furniture.

Consider the size to the shape of the space available.

As a place to relax, the patio or garden needs relief room. The presence of furniture in the room should not too big or too full that can interfere the atmosphere of relaxing. Choose the furniture with the simple and practical model. The furniture that can be folded may be better choice, because it can be folded and stored when not in use so the spacious and roomy can be kept in the patio.

Make sure the furniture is specially made for outdoor use

Patio furniture is used for outdoor, then that he must be specially made for outdoor uses. Make sure that the furniture is made using materials that are durable for outdoor uses. If the furniture is in the finished, then make sure that the exterior finishing material is used.

patio relax chair

Saws in the woodworking

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Saw is the main tool for cutting wood in the woodworking industry. Saw is made of a thin plate or chain with sharp serrated teeth on. The saw uses the teeth to friction the wood to make the cutting. By this way it can cut the object with the straight and flat surface with less pressure as the blade. The saw cuts the wood little by little and can make a shape in accordance with the direction of the saw blade movement.

manual hand saw

Manual saw

It is the simplest type of saw. It is a thin metal plate with teeth gear that serves as a cutting tool at one side. When it is used, the saw must be moved manually. This tool is the forerunner of all kinds of saws that are available today. The manual saws are made in different sizes to meet the needs of the woodworking and carpentry industry. The saw could be in the big size to cut the big tree. Now, the saw machines are available to replace the uses of big hand work to move the teeth blade. The manual saws now, most are in the small size for cutting or shaping the small size objects.
The jig saw is the simple development for the manual saw. The jig saw uses motor to drive the saw teeth to move automatically; the people work is to feed the work piece to the saw to be cut off.

circular saw

Circular saw

It uses a disc plate with saw teeth on the ring as the cutting tool. The object is moved toward the circular saw to let the circumstances truncated objects. The saw is powered by motor to rotate the disc with specific rpm. The circular plate can be fitted in a table with various positions. In the panel saw, the circular saw is mounted straightly for cutting boards and panels. The circular saw with a tilted position can be used to create special oblique angle object. The portable saw with small size are also available for cutting the small objects.

panel saw

Band saw

The band saw is the development of the jig saw. It uses a flexible metal shaped which rotating automatically by the power machine. The work piece is feed to the saw to be cut. The saw is available in various sizes and can be used to cut objects with big size and thickness. The big band saw is used in the rough mill to cut the log to make sawn timber.

band saw

Chain saw.

Chain saw is used chain where the saw teeth are mounted. The chain is rotated with the engine power when it is operated. By using the chain then more flexible movement can be held. The chain saw with relatively small size can be used to cut and penetrate the big and thick objects. But the using of chain make the teeth saw blade must be relatively large in the size. The result is it will generate more waste then the circular saw or band saw. The chain saw is widely used for cutting trees in the forest when a compact cutting tool but has the ability to cut the big objects is required.

chain saw

Tips in selecting and using the saw.

Customize the type and size of the saw according with the type and volume of work.

When we choose the saw, we must make sure it fit well with the work needed. Determine the type of work required and then calculate the volume of work, and then we can choose the most suitable type of chain saw according to the job required. Saw with a large size requires big power and also produce a lot of waste. The band saw or manual saw will give the least waste; otherwise the chain saw is the most waste

Do a good maintenance.

The saw is actually a simple tool, but it is also dangerous. Little mistake result from any reason such as the careless handle or improper equipment setting can result in a severe injury. Therefore, the proper treatment is needed to keep the tools in good condition. Always check the tool condition before use it. The teeth are main tool for cutting, and then they should be kept to be sharp. In the automatic machine, then the blade has to be well engaged. The lose blade is very dangerous since it can hurt the people around him.

The Scandinavian Furniture Style

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Scandinavian country

Scandinavia is a region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden who historically have similarity in the ethnology, cultural and language. But the Scandinavia often also refers to the some small countries around the three countries, the: Faroe Islands, Iceland and Finland which have proximity historical and geographical to the three countries.
Geographically this area is located in the north land, close to the North Pole, so it has a more extreme climate than Southern European countries. In winter, the weather can be very cold with a very short day time, meanwhile in the summer time the weather is very hot with longer day time than the other European regions. The geographical and climate then has formed the Scandinavia culture to be different with the other European countries.

Scandinavian furniture

Scandinavian Furniture.

The geographical conditions and culture have also influenced the model furniture in this area. The Scandinavian has his own style and model furniture that is very well known as the Scandinavian furniture. Basically the Scandinavian furniture is identical to the simple form, practical and natural, bring the atmosphere of relax, calm and serene. The Scandinavian furniture style then spreads to many other countries and is accepted by the world furniture market as special furniture style.
The furniture markets in various places accept this model as one of the special style in furniture design. The Scandinavian furniture model is also adopted and used by many furniture designers as inspiration to make furniture. Now the Scandinavian furniture style is available in various countries with various modifications. Generally the Scandinavian furniture is picturing the contemporary, simple and bring the natural beauty. The style brings to the atmosphere of simplicity, elegance, relax, calm and serene.

Finishing for Scandinavian furniture.

scandinavian transparent finish

Basically the light colors and natural is the favorite finishing for the Scandinavian furniture. Dark colors are very rare used. The wood with light base color such as: oak, pine, maple, beech, are most used. Natural finishing with a light stain or no stain with application thin layer sealer and semi gloss top coat is the most common. But with the spreading and modification of this style, the darker wood such as: mahogany, rosewood, walnut, teak, etc. are also used. The classic models with some antique effect are also could be found some.

Scandinavian antique paint finish

If the paint finish is used, then the soft and calm colors are used. The paint finish with white color, light green, light blue, light brown, salmon, cream paint are commonly found. As well as the transparent finish, the paint color can also be made with little antic effect. But however, the finish always impresses the simplicity and natural.

How to be save as Ikea supplier..

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Ikea is very famous. It is big retail company of household products that have network spread all over the world. In the furniture business he is also well known as big player, his market share could be the biggest in Europe. The Ikea furniture is simple, inexpensive but has high quality to fulfill its function as household product. The design made always base to the practicality and simplicity in handling both in the uses and in the manufacturing process. The price is the big concern, the construction is made with concerning to the efficiency in the production process.

Although made with simple, efficient and low price, but the Ikea products are made with strict control to meet the health and safety standards. All Ikea products must past series of tests to achieve the safety and health standards in accordance with European rules. The construction must be kept to follow the safety and security for the user. The substrate and finishing layer must use the materials that are safe and environmentally friendly. Ikea is one of the company that specifies the water based finishing materials for his product.

The Ikea products are sourced in various countries. The price is considered as the main consideration to outsource products. Now China could be still the biggest furniture maker for Ikea furniture. But along with the increasing of production costs in China, then Ikea began to look for some new places to outsource his product. The new furniture exporter countries such as: Vietnam, India, or Bangladesh and Indonesia are the alternatives. Although being made in many places, but the Ikea products are always manufactured with high standards of quality. The strict production processes are held to control the process from the beginning t the end to keep the quality.

Ikea furniture is simple and practice

To become supplier for Ikea product may be very interesting for many furniture manufacturing company. The big volume products with good payment make doing business with Ikea are very interesting. But if you want to become Ikea suppliers, the we must be careful. There are some stories about some furniture factories were bankrupt since he was left by Ikea. The demands to get good quality products with the lowest possible price, has made the Ikea furniture to be "disloyal" to the suppliers. Ikea could leave his supplier to find the “best price furniture”.

Here are some tips to be considered if you want to be Ikea supplier.

Do a good calculation for the price.

Ikea will keep his product to be cheap, since then he will always find the cheaper price when he outsources his product. But we as furniture factories has keep work in the save way. Price calculations must be done correctly, because the slightest error in estimating the price would be fatal to the plant. In fact, not every factory are suitable for Ikea product. To meet its the standard price and quality, the a big, well organized and efficient production system is needed.

Always keep space for the other supplier,

Ikea is a great company and he always demand for high capacity factories. When he place order, he may ask for your full capacity. But course we as furniture manufacturer should not rely for just one buyer. The competition in the furniture business is very tight then we must to be aware of all possibilities that could happen. Keep the amount of our order in a balance, don’t let one company dominating our order. Provide production space to serve some buyers. Thus if something happens for one buyer, then there are still some other buyer to keep the business. Maximum 60% of our production can be dedicated to the Ikea furniture, and other spaces must diverse to other company.

Keep the process and quality to meet the standard.

Ikea is big company; he is always commit to maintaining the quality of his products. If there are quality problem found, he did not hesitate to recall the products. It is very good for his buyers, but in the fact, Ikea will charge all problems arisen to its supplier. Then the supplier should be able to keep the quality of his products. Make sure the sample has been approved is used the production of reference. Any changes to the process must be discussed with Ikea. The good documentation is needed to avoid any disputes in the future.

Country finishing style.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Country furniture style is the style of furniture that refers to the furniture in the past when technology in the furniture manufacturer was not advanced as it is now. At that time the furniture was made traditionally with the simple tools. The wood was cut with a handsaw, and then formed by hand knives, and other hand tools. The leveling and smoothing the wood surface was done using: hand plainer, stone, glass. There was neither sandpaper nor sanding machine. The modern wood adhesive was not available yet, the wood gluing was done with adhesive from animal. The peg, or wood pivot were used to connected the big wood pieces.

Now, the process of manufacturing furniture is very far forward. There are wide range woodworking machinery and tools are available to manufacture furniture in the factories. There are also available portable woodworking toll to be used in the small woodworking shop. The result is the furniture with uniform size, neat and consistent. Meanwhile the country furniture style has to mimic the appearance of the traditionally furniture which was handmade, with his imperfectness and inconsistency shape and sizes. Then to produce the country style products then the proper finishing process is needed. The country finishing is the finishing processes to make the furniture to become “country looked”. The country finishing is needed to comply the design to build the country style furniture. The country finishing is the tool to make the modern furniture to be looked traditional, handmade and old looked.

country furniture finishing

Here are some special techniques and materials that are needed to do the "country style furniture".

Physical distress

Physical distress is physically “destruction” to the furniture to create the impression of damaged, broken or imperfect. There are many physical distresses can be generated to make "country looked",. The physical distresses with rock, file, nail or hammer are mainly used to make the damage looked caused by the physical abused. The physical distress can also be used to form the traditionally impression since of the imperfect production process such as the unevenness surfaces, the imperfect shape etc. The distress with files, hand planner or chisel are used for this purpose. Distress can also be made to mimic the impression of damaged due to the rupture such as: cracking, open joint or the imprecision of the shape. We can use the knife, chisel or nail for this purpose. You can find more about physical distress in our previous article: physical distress for wood finishing

heavy physical distress

Glaze application

Glaze is the finishing material that is mainly used to form the appearance of old and ancient looked. Glaze is very important to emulate the country style for the furniture. The patina looked that caused from the long time process and reaction of wood with the air is easy to be duplicated by the glaze application. In the "country finishing", the glaze is also used to create dirty old looked effects such as: cow tail, antic, dry brush, spatter, etc. See our previous article : glaze application to make antique

There are special glaze also available to make more dramatic antique looked. Powder glaze is special glaze to make the dusty looked. The glaze with white color is also work well to make wash finish.

"dirty looked" with glaze

Stain application.

Stain is material for coloring the wood furniture. To make the country style finish, we can manipulate the stain application with some special techniques. The stain can be highlighted or rubbed off to make the ware looked. The stain can be applied in the uneven thickness by padding to make smudge looked. The stain can also be spattered or splashed to make spatter, dirty looked or watermark.

If the paint or base coat is used, then we can make the rubbed off, chipping or crackle effect to make the more dramatic old looked.

rubbed off paint finish

Touch up kits for wood furniture finishing.

noreply@blogger.com (Wisno Johanes) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:20:00 +0000

Touch up is the correction to revise or repair minor problem. It is usually carried in the furniture factory at the end of the production process to handle the small imperfectness in the product. The finishing touch up can be done at the end of finishing process. Touch up is also needed at the packing to correct some finishing damaged in furniture products before it is packed. Touch up sometime is done in a furniture store or show room. The furniture product can be defect or damaged since the improper handling and if the problem is not too bad, then we may fix them with touch up process. Touch ups, of course only be able to fix the small defects; the furniture with bad damage has to to fixed at the furniture manufacturer or the woodworking shop.

Now, there are many touch up finishing kits has been provided by the finishing material industry to help the finishing industry. But we need the skillful people to do the touch process. The touch up is such as painting job that needs accuracy and patience. But however with the touch up kits available finishing touch up kit, there many small defect can be fixed. With the proper material and technique then many minor problem can be fixed, without have to be sent back to the finishing process which is costly, laborious and time consuming.

Some of the touch up kits in the wood furniture finishing.

Touch up markers.

It is a touch up kit that very easy to be used, but help lot to fix the color problem at the small part. It is marker that is specially designed to color the light color or the uncolored part. Touch up marker can be easily used to address at the corners or edges that was rubbed off or peeled off due to the sanded trough or rubbed trough during the finishing process. The marker also works to fix the light color since of the friction and impact during handling.

The marker can also be used in the finishing process, to coloring the light part of the finishing because of uneven stain absorption, such as putty mark or glue mark. Touch up markers is available in various colors according to many finishing color.

touch up marker

How to apply the touch-up marker.

Choose the marker with the best suits according to the color finishing in repair. Then paint the marker on the light part until it blend and well mix with the finishing color. Make sure that we portray a good and neat paint. Markers that are too thick and smudged will leave an ugly appearance. Wipe the mark with cloth or hand to smooth when he is still wet to reduce the thickness of the marker if needed. When the marker is dry, the marker can still be thinned by rubbed off with steel wool. We may need to do some trick to make the touch is well camouflaged with the finishing overall looked.

Fill in stick.

It is a kind of putty that can be applied on sealer, coating or top coat layer. Fill in stick is a kind of wax putty that is easy to be cut, shaped and inserted to fill the hole, crack or gap. The fill in stick is available in various colors and can be selected according to the finishing colors.

fill in stick

How to apply the fill in stick:

Select a stick with proper color, make sure it is well blended with the finishing color. Insert the stick to fill in the gaps, cracks or holes. We can use a small knife to insert the stick and cutting at the top of the stick is to flatten the surface at the finishing layer. Some scuff sanding can be done to resurfacing the stick.
Fill in is applied on the sealer and top coat layer and is usually followed by another layer of coating application; sealer, top coat or paint. The fill in stick without another coating layer may be obvious since the uneven gloss with the overall finishing surface. It can be used to fix the inside and unexposed part.

Burnt in stick.

It is the material used to fill holes and cracks as well as fill in stick. It will blend better with the finish surface, but it requires heat to be melted and applied. Burnt in stick is available in various colors and equipped with a device for heating and melting the stick. The tool used is a small metal blade fitted with electric heating (such as solder in electronic shop). The solder is heated to melt the stick and insert it the gaps, holes or cracks. This stick requires relatively more difficult process but when he properly applied he would produce better match finishing looked.

How to apply the burnt in stick.

Choose the appropriate color, heat the soldering tool. Place the stick at the hole, gap or crack than use the heat solder tip to melt the stick and to fill holes. Flatten the fill stick surface with the tool at this burnt stick still in the liquid state. And let the burnt stick is cool and harden.
When it is cold and harden, we still can flatten the surface by sand the uneven surface. The flat and even gloss can be created by rubbing the whole finish surface or recoat with another layer of top coat.