Rudy Silva

Why You Should Select Wood For Grandfather Clocks?

Most people like grandfather clocks. They appear solid and prestigious. When these clocks first appeared they were made of solid wood. Today this still remains the case, except for the more modern styles. There are a variety of woods that are used to build these clocks. If you are planning to buy such a clock, read this article to gain insights on the woods use to build them.

The Grandfather clocks can be classified according to the materials from which they are made. A wide variety of materials are used in manufacturing these marvelous clocks. The finishing material is commonly from a wood such as beech, cherry, mahogany and oak. There is also a combination of other materials such as stones, metals, glass, and other components.

The traditional clocks were usually made of woods while the contemporary clocks were made from different materials including metal. Oak wood is a hard wood that has been in use for many centuries, because of its natural qualities as a building material.

Oakwood is strong, durable, and highly resistant to moisture and other elements. Among its applications include the historical houses and buildings, ships, and of course, grandfather clocks. It is also used for building foundations of buildings and support beams.

Cherry wood is also a hard wood. According to many experts, cherry wood is 228 % as hard as the red oak wood. When it comes to hardness, it ranks 2820 in the Janka Hardness Scale. Among its applications are flooring for houses and buildings, stairs, rails, doors, tool handles, wheel rims and as an alternative material for teak.

It is also resistant to insects such as termites. It is also difficult to cut and plane because of its interlocking grain.

Another wood used to finish grandfather clocks is from beech. Experts consider it a hard-wearing wood. It can take a lot of pressure over time as it resists gouging and chipping better than some woods.

In addition, beech wood has a good capacity to absorb shock. It can bear heavy weight and receive high impact force. Products manufactured from beech are known to be durable. It does not have strong odor, while having solid density, and non-porous wood. Its surface is strong and can hold up building materials.

Mahogany has been in use for making furniture as early as the 16th century. Makers of furniture favored mahogany because of its combined soundness, uniformity of grain, large size, durability, richness of figure, beauty and color.

There are two classifications of mahogany, namely the Spanish mahogany and Honduras mahogany. The Spanish mahogany consists of the close-grained, rich and heavy varieties of woods, which are capable of holding a high polish. On the other hand, the Honduras or Baywood mahogany is light, open-grained, and plain. It has uniformity in color and does not warp.

Although there are many components that categorize grandfather clocks, they are generally classified between Comtoise and Bornholm. Comtoise is made in Franche-Comte in France. It is also referred to as Morbier or Morez, and can be found in Germany, Spain and other parts in Europe.

Bornholm grandfather clocks are a tall wooden box clocks. They are a pendulum-driven clock manufactured in Bornholm, a Danish island in Baltic Sea. These grandfather clocks are built from 1745 to 1990. However, the demand for this clock now is low.

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