Wood for furniture

 

This past weekend I received a much appreciated gift of a car load of seasoned lumber. It seems that two old maple trees on my brother-in-law’s property were the victims of the violent storms we experienced last year. John had the trees processed into a variety of standard lumber sizes with the intent of making furniture for his home and he passed on some of the excess to me.

John and I are the kind of guys who love to read tool guides and woodworking magazines in our free time. There’s something special about the nature of wood and the creativity it brings out in designers and craftsmen.

Wood’s warmth and character have a positive effect on those who are in touch with it on a day to day basis in their work or home environment. Even small touches of wood in frames and accessories can enhance the warmth of interior environments and provide a positive connection to the natural world.

One of our clients works from a custom designed table fashioned out of a single 3’ wide x 4” thick redwood plank. A natural crack runs down the center of the table and the edges retain the outer bark of the tree from which it originated. Our client believes that working at this table enhances his creativity and connects him with nature, even when he needs to be working indoors.

Wood is renewable, natural, and locally available. It can be utilized as sawn lumber or as engineered wood in a wide variety of applications. It generally requires minimal processing, making it a great choice for minimizing the building’s environmental impact.

The standard reference on specifying building woodwork is Architectural Woodwork Standards which provides guidelines for fabricating, finishing and installing woodwork in buildings. Additional guidance is available from Architectural Woodwork Institute http://www.awinet.org/ as well as other wood trade organizations.