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Wood
Wood for furniture is split in two main categories: hard wood and soft wood.
Hard wood comes from trees that shed their leaves in winter while soft wood comes from trees that stay green all year round. Somewhat! Let say that is very old way of looking at wood, and it is a good rule of thumb.
When people say hard wood they mostly think of Oak, Walnut, Ash, Maple, Beech and when they are saying softwood they think of Pine, Poplar, Linden.
Technically the hardness of wood is measured on Janka scale, name after it’s inventor. Janka measures the force needed to insert a 11.28mm steel ball halfway into a wood board.
By comparison an average punch in amateur boxing is around 2500N which translates to 255kg. I would say this would be the maximum force you will exert on the furniture through the normal use (even under abnormal behavior). So just to be safe say that if you use wood over 300kg on Janka you should have it for a lifetime.
We would not advise to buy any furniture which is made of wood under this threshold as it scratches and dents easy even if you try to be very careful when using it.
Most woods under this threshold can be used for the infrastructure of furniture, say the reinforcing of a cabinet carcass.
Wood guide
North America
- Oak
- Black Walnut
- Maple
- Cherry
Europe
- Oak
- European Walnut
- Maple
- Cherry
Asia
- Elm
- Teak
- Rosewood
- Exotic
South America
- Cumaru
- Massaranduba
- Genuine Mahogany
- Exotic wood
Africa
- Iroko
- Padauk
- Wenge
- Exotic wood
Australia
- Jarrah
- Red Gum
- Ash
- Accacia
Finishing guide
Natural oils finishes take about two weeks to cure and are good for most furniture inside the house as long as they are not in contact with alcohol they should be fine. It taints the wood a bit but keeps the natural look and feel of the wood as it absorbs completely into the wood grain. We use only 100% natural high grade Linseed and Tung oil, or a combination of both.
It seals the wood well and hardens the surface somewhat. We would not advise using this type of finish for intensively used surfaces or exterior furniture. It applies easy, with a cloth. Leave for 10 min to be absorbed by the wood and than swipe clean with a dry cloth. Do that every 5 to 7 years. To give you a personal example we used Tung oil for our doors (Oak & Acacia) and the staircase (Oak).
Bees Wax is also a natural finish, which is very sensitive to most interaction with the object. Usually we would advise using wax as an additional finish after Natural Oils to give the surface an extra beautiful shine. Used by itself it applies with a dry cloth used to rub in between the fibers. It remains mostly to the surface of the wood and does not penetrate the fibers, thus it would not protect the wood that much. The main reason it is used is that it bring out the smell of wood from the furniture. You would need to wax once a year. We would advise using it only on wooden jewelry boxes, wooden jewelry or as finishing touch on a surface which has been previously oiled.
Danish oil is not necessarily an oil but rather a varnish. It is highly used in the high end furniture making as it brings out the wood fibers while protecting the surface well and it is easy to apply. We use the high grade version of Danish Oil it on most of the furniture we are making. What we vary is the number of coats we apply. It is applied with a cloth and after about 5 minutes you need to swipe the surface clean. 3 to 5 coats should be enough to protect the wood and yet retain it’s natural feel and look. The more coats applied the more shine the surface retains up to a glass surface. You can reapply additional coats every 10 years or so if surface is used frequently.
Lacquer is mostly used for surfaces that see a lot of use or are destined to be used in exterior settings. It is resistant to most substances and a good resistance to mechanical wear and tear normal to intensive use (meaning if you start banging on it, with who knows what tool, the surface will be damaged). Lacquer also comes in different colors, most of which are natural wood colors, and you will also see Lacquer in black or white. We use it frequently on exterior furniture or Pergolas. We have not used it that much for inferior furniture as it covers up the natural feel and look of the wood. It seals and protect the wood very well so even for exterior furniture there is no need to recoat more than one every 5 to 6 years. Most brand come with UV protection as well.
Paints are available in a huge variety of colors and types. Paints seal the wood and protect the wood very well. Can be used for exterior as well as for interior furniture. We recommend repainting the exterior pieces every 8 years or so and the interior pieces whenever you get bored of the color. We use natural clay based paints which. They do cover the wood looks but they keep how the wood feels to the touch, while they bring out vast possibilities for designing a space. You can find the available colors we use here, https://earthbornpaints.co.uk/colours/. One of the reasons we have chosen this supplier is the eco-friendly production process and ingredients. However, the main reason remains the high quality of the products they are selling. (We have no ties to this supplier juts found them to be in line with our values and needs).
Stains are not finishing as they do not seal or protect the wood. They are just ways to color wood. The colors are, as you can imagine, numerous as are the producers. We rarely use stains as Lacquer or Paints these days are a better alternative. Most of our use of Stains are Custom or Bespoke furniture. There is however an exception which is Iron Oxide which we use intensively for Ebonized Oak. Tannins in Oak react strongly to Iron Oxides (obtained by steel left for a week in vinegar) and darkens, becoming almost black. We use it because it is natural and leaves the wood look and feel intact. Then we use a finishing to seal and protect the wood.
