How to Finish Woods

Here are some of the most commonly used furniture woods with suggested finishes for each. With the materials described above and the rules described here, you can work out many finishes of your own.

Walnut

Hard and porous, walnut always requires filler for a smooth finish. However, if you wish the texture to show, eliminate the filler.

For a natural finish, mix natural wood filler with a little burnt umber. Fill the wood, sand lightly, and finish with two coats of water-white lacquer.

For an antique gray bleached finish, first bleach the wood (use any commercial bleach available for woods), sand until the natural color shows, then use gray filler. Finish with a coat of lacquer or varnish.

For a stain finish, apply the stain, fill the surface of the wood with wood filler that matches the stain, and finish with varnish or lacquer.

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Stain Finishes

Wood is stained to emphasize grain and natural figure. Many professionals use stain when wood has little natural beauty of color or graining. Most stains give the wood surface little or no protection, so you may want to use a protective finish as well.

For proper staining, the wood surface must be uniformly smooth, clean, and free of any old finish or wax. Try to work on surfaces horizontally; when you must work on a vertical surface, work from the bottom up with continuous edge-to-edge stroke paralleling the grain to minimize drips and overlap marks.

Water stains give a clear, sharp tone with deep penetration. They have the broadest range of brilliant, warm-toned colors. Their disadvantage is that they raise the grain and require at least 24 hours drying time.

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Although you can make your own cabinet doors easily enough, you may buy ready-made doors from builders’ supply houses – provided your cabinet frames will accept standard sizes. Stock units come in a variety of facings and styles.

When hanging doors, allow for free movement between matching doors (and around hinges). Some carpenters judge the amount of space needed between paired doors by inserting a paper match between them before setting hinges. Read the rest of this entry »

Some methods for making drawers and runners call for the skill of a professional cabinet maker, but those written here are both simple and sure.

Drawer Construction

Regardless of the construction method, each drawer will normally require the same number and size of grooves and cuts. By standardizing your procedure, you can repeat the same grooves and cuts for several drawers.

Be sure to cut all pieces exactly, and remember to allow 3/32-inch between drawer and frame, so that the drawer will have room to slide. Use ½-inch material for drawer ides and ¼-inch stock for the drawer bottom.

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Threaded rods can also be used to join planks. You need a drill bit long enough to drill through the width of the board, and a doweling jig is almost a necessity for boring straight holes. Drill the hole to a slightly larger diameter than that of the threaded rod. Rods should be at least ½-inch in diameter.

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In almost any variety of home crafting, power tools make a noticeable difference – most jobs can be done easier, faster, and with more precision than by hand. There are two general categories of power tools – portable and bench-mounted.

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Two types of plastic are commonly used in furniture building; acrylic plastic and plastic laminate. Acrylic plastic is used as the principal material in construction of contemporary furniture. Plastic laminate finds use as a hard top for counters and tables.

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One very versatile artificial paneling material is hardboard. Usually quite smooth on one side and screened on the reverse, hardboard is made of wood chips that have been separated into individual fibers then bonded under heat and pressure into sheets of dense wood fiber. For added moisture resistance and strength, some hardboard is tempered with thermal-setting materials baked into place.

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Several types of superior wood products have been developed by modern technology. The majority are wooden “sheet” materials – flat sheets of laminated or compressed wood products that are generally stronger, more flexible, and less likely to split than ordinary lumber. They expand and contract less than common lumber and are available in large sizes (usually 4 by 8-foot sheets) that would be impossible to mill and distribute in the wood’s natural form. They are sometimes available in half sheets (4 by 4 feet) or odd sizes. All of these products fall under the categories of either plywood or hardboard.

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Before you begin the actual construction of a piece of furniture, it’s a good idea to have a basic knowledge of certain products, tools, and techniques. Familiarity with building materials will enable you to make proper selections for your project – and you can use materials other than those specified in plans if you are aware of their advantages and shortcomings. Although you may be reasonably adept at working with basic hand tools, check out the various types of power tools that can save you time and effort. Also, make it a point to learn how to put together basic furniture elements such as tabletops, drawers, and cabinet doors. The selection that follows is intended as a quick reference guide to some of the most important aspects of furniture building – from selection of the materials to applying the final finish.

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