Misunderstanding 1: Only solid wood is good
Many customers see a product in a furniture store and just ask if it’s all solid wood? As soon as he heard the negative answer, he turned his head and left. In fact, this is due to their lack of understanding of marine furniture.
Modern panel furniture, which corresponds to traditional solid wood furniture, is centered on man-made panels. Take the commonly used medium fiber board, it is an artificial board made of wood fiber or other plant fiber, added with resin and other adhesives, after high temperature and high pressure. In terms of material, MDF has a dense texture, a wide range of thickness and density, a large strength-to-weight ratio, low moisture content, and is not easily deformed. It is a universal high-quality furniture board all over the world. In terms of finishes, natural veneer is not only natural and beautiful, but the veneer has a certain thickness (0.3-0.6mm), which has a good protective effect on the home. Therefore, solid wood edge banding and veneer are a high-grade practice for panel furniture, even if imported high-end European furniture. Solid wood is generally only used in small parts such as wood strips and edge banding. On the other hand, whether it is traditional furniture or modern furniture, the wood used is divided into high, medium, and low grades due to factors such as its material, texture, and resources. Low-grade solid wood is not as valuable as high-grade veneer. Especially for many low- and medium-grade solid woods, due to the failure of dehydration treatment (wood for furniture usually requires kiln drying, with a relative moisture content of 10%-12% or less), there is a great chance of deformation and bursting after furniture is made. And high-end solid wood furniture is often expensive.
There are many solid woods and veneers used in modern solid wood furniture. The common ones on the market are as follows:
1. Black walnut, a high-quality kind of walnut wood, is mainly produced in North America and Europe.
The domestic walnut is lighter in color. The black walnut is light dark brown with purple, and the string section has a beautiful large parabolic pattern (big mountain pattern). Black walnut is very expensive, wood veneer is usually used for furniture, and solid wood is rarely used.
2. Cherry, imported cherry wood is mainly produced in Europe and North America. The wood is light yellow-brown, with elegant texture, and the string section has a medium parabolic pattern with small circles in the middle. Cherry wood is also high-grade wood, and veneer is usually used to make furniture, and solid wood is rarely used.
3. Beech wood, the beech wood here refers to beech, which is different from the beech wood of "South beech and North elm" in traditional Chinese furniture. The beech wood is bright and light yellow in color, with dense "pins" (wood rays), and the peeling has a mountain pattern. European imported beech has fewer defects and is much better than domestically produced beech. Imported beech wood belongs to middle and high-grade wood in China, and veneer is commonly used. Solid wood is also used as dining chairs and small squares.
4. Maple wood, maple wood is light yellow in color, with small hills, and the main feature is "shadow" (obvious local luster). Maple is a mid-range wood, and veneer and solid wood are common.
5. The birch is light yellow in color, and is easily distinguished by multiple "water lines" (black lines). Birch is also a mid-range wood, and both solid wood and veneer are common.
6. Rubber wood, the original color is light yellow-brown, there are messy small rays, the material is light and soft, and it is a low-grade solid wood material. Businesses often call it "oak", which is actually a fish in troubled waters. Real oak is more expensive. The European white oak has an elegant texture, and the North American red oak has a large mountain pattern. Both are hard and heavy. The appearance, structure, and material are not comparable to rubber wood.
Misunderstanding 2: The confusion of solid wood, veneer and stickers
So far, modern wood furniture has developed into a large market pattern with diverse styles, complete varieties and complete grades. While the diversified market provides a wealth of choices, it also derives the problem of a mixture of good and bad. As a customer, you must keep your eyes open when buying.
Solid wood is mostly used for varieties and parts with few materials, and solid wood is rarely used for valuable wood. For example, solid wood dining chairs are more common, but they are generally made of imported beech wood for mid- to high-end ones, maple, birch, domestic beech wood for mid-range ones, and rubber wood for low-end ones. If someone tells you that he sells "imported black walnut solid wood dining chairs" for five or six hundred yuan each, then he must be fooling you. Most of the chair is dyed with birch wood to darken walnut color. Similar practices are common in the furniture industry at home and abroad. However, it was originally intended to save costs and harmoniously support, but it was used to hide from the sky and had to guard against it.
There are many facing materials for modern panel furniture, among which veneers and stickers are very commonly used, but the grades are completely different. The veneer furniture is rich in natural texture, beautiful and durable, but the price is relatively high, while the sticker furniture is easy to wear, afraid of water, and unbearable, but the price is low and it is a popular product. Some types of furniture that are not very worn and not close to the water source are currently mainly made of stickers, such as shoe cabinets and bookcases.
Customers who visit a furniture store will see descriptions such as "walnut base cabinet", "cherry wood coffee table", and "beech dining chair" on the price tag. At this time, it is very important to figure out whether it is solid wood, veneer or sticker. Solid wood and veneer can be called "cherry wood furniture", but the sticker can only be called "cherry wood furniture", otherwise it will be a mixture of fish and pearls.
Solid wood-wood grain, wood rays (if any are usually expressed as "needles") are clearly visible, and there should be more or less natural defects (knots, wood spots, etc., black lines, etc.). For the same piece of solid wood, whether it is a wooden board or a wooden strip, the grain of the two interfaces should be able to clearly see the natural connection between the longitudinal section and the cross section.
Wood veneer-clear wood grain and wood rays. There should also be natural blemishes. Because the veneer has a certain thickness (about 0.5mm), when making furniture, when two adjacent interfaces are encountered, they usually do not turn, but stick one piece each. Therefore, the wood grain of the two interfaces should not usually be connected.