Quality Check For Wooden Furniture

The source of wood

The type of wood used for your furniture will give you a clue as to how long the fitment will survive.  Wood can be hardwood, softwood or composite wood.

Furniture built of hardwood came from trees that shed off their leaves yearly like mahogany, maple, walnut, teak, oak, birch and cherry.  The wood will be exposed to the air to dry and afterwards will be dried in a furnace so that moisture will be completely eliminated.

On the other hand, softwood came from coniferous trees like pine, redwood, cedar and fir.  Excellent type of woods can be equally found from these trees, although they are more susceptible to blemishes and indentations.

Most modern furniture is seldom made from an all-wood material.  The most common wood materials used for this type of furniture are plywood or composite wood.  The reason behind this is they have more strength; hence, furniture is prevented from getting cracks or from being deformed.  This feature assures you of the sturdiness, resiliency and superbly striking furniture when combined with the good quality veneers.

The structure

Another way to know if your wooden furniture will last longer is in the manner it was structured or built.  It is also a factor for its usability and appearance.  The method in which the pieces were joined as well as their toughness will give you an inkling on its excellence.

The old-fashioned way of assembling furniture is by using the dovetails and mortise and tenon technique.  These two methods, apart from being traditional, is also the sturdiest and best-looking manner of putting furniture together.   The use of screws and dowels also make up for good joints.  If glue was used, there will be no traces of it.  Stapled furniture signifies poor quality.

Adding to the sturdiness and firmness of furniture are the corner blocks.  These cannot be seen from the outer area; however, these are fastened to both sides of the internal angles.

The Finishing

Sanding, staining and finishing are all incorporated to have an excellent finish.  The general excellence of the furniture will be affected if one of these steps was overlooked.

The initial step in the finishing procedure is sanding.  A good piece will be sanded to make it even and to remove any coarse patches.  This procedure can also cause blemishes or dark lines on the surface of the wood.  The stain will not be evenly removed if wood was inappropriately sanded.   Hence, you have to examine the finish from various positions to see if there are any scratches or stains.

Alternatively, a good stain improves the real exquisiteness of wood and enhances its character and color.  A wood can be made to look the same as another or various kinds can be made to look the same.  Wood that received premium staining will be smooth with no dark blotches.  Everything, from sides to end, is of the same quality.

Finishes can be high-gloss to dull.  Wood that is smooth like satin with no coarse spots, blemishes, bubbles or dust fragments has a first-class finish.  When buying wooden furniture, check the finish for profundity and richness, which is produced from numerous light coatings of finish with sanding in between coatings.  First-class quality furniture has finishing on its back and underside to eliminate any bumps or attenuations.