The Advantages of utilizing Reclaim Wood as Furniture

Based on its studies, the United Nation Environment Program, there are presently twelve species of trees that are on the watch and regarded as an endangered. A lot of these have been famous choices to make cabinets, furniture, musical instruments, and several other items utilized by people. On a yearly basis, with an approximation of forty (40) million hectares of the earth’s forests are swiped for this purpose. As our limited resources immediately comes to a close, consumers and companies alike are searching for methods and techniques to consolidate environmental responsibility in to their way of living.

Ulin log transformed in stool and finished with a butterfly joint.

Energy conservation, paper-less theory, and recycling have been there long before.  Another efficient way to become environment-friendly is by furnishing your home with reclaimed wood furniture.

Instead of being thrashed, old woods from dismantled buildings and homes is refurbished, harvested, rejuvenated and given a renaissance as dresser or coffee table. The use of reclaim wood can supply a positive environmental impact beyond the preservation of virgin trees. A lot of builders also utilize non-toxic paints and glue as well as natural oil finishes.

The main objective is to come up with a high quality, beautiful product while giving the environment a breather and develop as soon as possible. Reclaimed wood yields stylish yet rustic type of furniture. In several cases, it is difficult to regard the piece is not brand new. In some cases as well, evidence such as rustic nail holes or saw marks are retained for a purpose, supplying an antique feel, well-worn appeal. It can be tailored to suit a vast array of homeowners’ tastes and feels and can be blended with traditional, rustic, or contemporary tastes.

There is also a sense of mystery surrounding a piece of reclaimed wood product. Your night shelf could emanate from a turn of the century raw house or a barn. Or maybe it was salvaged from a neighbor’s unused deck. Whatever the case is, it has a story to tell and history of its own.

At the end of the day, the cost efficient factor of this type of furniture is a lot more enticing to buyers. Even though hand-made furniture can be expensive, reclaimed materials are basically cheaper as compared to brand new items. Reclaimed wood is basically treated and pre-cut, lessening expenses significantly.

Any property owned with a taste for nostalgic feels, an eye for a stylish theme, and a goal to protect and preserve our natural resources would be wise to mull over buying reclaimed wood furniture. Whatever your goal is, reclaimed wood is the “in” thing as of the moment. Let’s just say that yesterday’s pieces are the most loved pieces of today and still embraced until tomorrow.

As for us, at Kaltimber, we are not fully dedicated to furniture but to decking and flooring in reclaim wood. All the character and history carried in each and every single piece makes all our projects unique. Our leftover are used to create unique piece of furniture on occasion.

How to Identify the Best Lumber for Your Woodworking

One of the major reasons for people to not make their own furniture or woodwork is the lack of knowledge to choose the right lumber. While identifying which lumber to use is an extremely confusing process, knowing a few basic tips can get you through the process a lot more easily. So, here are a few pointers that will help you decide which lumber to use for your next woodworking project.

Hardwood or Softwood?

Whether you need hardwood lumber or softwood depends entirely on the type of woodwork you are building. Some projects can also require a mix of both, for instance, a violin has a soft Spruce to work as a soundboard and the back of it is made with hardwood like Maple. Similarly, the bottom of a workbench is made using less expensive softwood and the top is made with durable Hardwood.

By using common logic we can figure which parts of furniture are needed to be durable and which parts to be cheap. Use durable wood for the places of furniture where it is more likely to take a beating and use easy softwood for the places that do not take much tension.

Janka Wood Hardness Test

Lumber industries often use Janka Hardness Test to determine woods for hardness. On the basis of this test, they rate common woods for hardness. This technique involves a steel ball pressed hard into the wood, then the pressure required to gauge the ball halfway inside the wood is calculated and the hardness of that particular wood species is determined based on the pressure calculated.

Obviously, for a common man to carry a steel ball to gauge into the wood can sometimes prove to be difficult, hence it is much simpler to ask the factory men itself and depending upon their results, you can choose which wood is perfect for your woodwork or consider the chart below.

Janka rating for some US wood

Different Types of Wood Milling Cuts

If you are creating a fine piece of furniture or woodwork, it is recommended to use the most stable wood you can find. However, to know which plank of wood is most stable, you first need to understand the different types in which the wood is cut. Mainly, there are four different types of wood milling cuts, namely Flat Sawn, Rift Sawn, Quarter Sawn and Riven Sawn.

Among these four types, the most stable type is Riven Sawn. The most stable planks are obtained by cutting or are “riven” directly from the log. These are considered as the most beautiful wood boards with the best quality flecks pattern and design. So why don’t lumber factories sell these “Riven Sawn” boards more often? That’s because they don’t have it as they use powerful sawing machines to get the most wood out of a single log.

The best way to get hands on these Riven Sawn boards is by cutting them yourself. Riven boards require more of muscle power and hand tools like chain saw, wedges and hatchets. However, if you cannot do it all by yourself, you can buy the “Quarter spawn” as they too are similar to Riven Sawn and have beautiful flecks pattern.

Milling wood lumber cut chart

You can always look for advise of a professional woodworker. We. at Kaltimber, are always happy to share our knowledge to carpenter enthusiast and be part of your project.

Bird-tail joint on a custom seat feet.

One rustic side and one semi smooth side. Small round beam support for the seating seen on the top left corner. This custom design and made seat took 48 working hours to complete.