Want to buy wooden furniture but are confused about the quality of the furniture that is durable and can last for years? If you are just starting to use wooden furniture, you may be confused about the quality of wooden furniture, especially since the wood looks the same and is difficult to identify if you don’t really know about the type of wood.
Even though it looks difficult, there are actually easy ways to see the quality of wooden furniture. Look at the material, construction, and finish of the wood. You need to take a moment to learn this slowly, as it can help to become familiar with some wooden furniture terms before buying it.
The following is how to see whether the quality of wooden furniture is good or not:
Wood Source
The first way to see the quality of wooden furniture is to look at the source of the wood. Wood furniture looks different depending on the type of wood used, such as being made from hardwood, softwood, or even engineered wood.
The type of wood used is one of the factors that determines how long your furniture will last and how its finish will look over time. Good quality wooden furniture is generally made from hardwood from oak, maple, mahogany, teak, walnut, cherry, and birch trees. Now, furniture made from plywood or engineered wood is easier to find. Even though plywood is engineered wood, it also has good quality because the finish is strong and can prevent the wood from breaking or warping easily. Wooden furniture can be sturdy, durable, and attractive.
Wood Durability
To see how good the quality of wood is, look at its value which contributes to beauty, functionality, and how long the wooden furniture will last. If wooden furniture quickly breaks, becomes porous, it means that the quality of the wood used to make the furniture is not good.
Apart from the basic wood material, other elements that hold the wood together, for example screws, glue, and others, also need to be considered. If the additional elements do not have good durability, the wood will still be easily damaged even though it is use the best quality wood.
The structure and frame of the wood also greatly influence the durability of wooden furniture. For example, a good quality wooden table or chest of drawers may have dust panels or thin sheets of wood between the drawers in the body. This not only makes them structurally stronger but also keeps dust away from clothes or papers stored there.
The back part is generally attached with screws to help ensure lateral stability. The back and uncovered parts must be sanded smooth and installed properly. This is an important feature, as only well-built furniture will have this detail. Therefore, structure and framework are very important.
The Final Result
The final results of the sanding, staining and finishing processes can affect the overall quality of wooden furniture. Sanding is the first step in the finishing process. A good quality cut will look smooth so there are no rough patches when you touch it. Sanding across the grain of the wood will produce unattractive results, such as dark lines or scratches on the surface. Wood that is not sanded properly will not remove stain evenly. Check the finish from different angles to check for blemishes or scratches that may be visible from the sanding process.
Good staining will enhance the natural beauty of the wood and make the wood more attractive in character. The staining process can also make one type of wood look like another or make different ones appear similar. High-quality staining will be even without leaving annoying black spots because all sides and ends of the wood should be the same tone.
The finish or final result can be seen from high-gloss to matte. A high-quality finish will produce satiny smooth wood and free from rough spots, dust spots, or bubbles.
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