Best Wood For Furniture In The US
The wood material cannot be separated from the house building, whether it’s part of the construction or furniture. Houses, offices, schools, cafes, and restaurants also use wood as part of the building and our beloved furniture.
Given the importance of the function of best wood for furniture, especially for making high-quality furniture, it is fortunate that we live in the US, where various types of wood are grown.
Then the question arises, what type of wood is best used as furniture material? Most of the US people will answer Pinewood as the best. Are you?
If so, then you need to read this article to the end. Because not all types of furniture are suitable for using Pinewood to get maximum results, it all depends on the type of product and the finishing results you want.
Let’s get to know the advantages and disadvantages of each type of wood often used in many furniture industries.
Most Common Wood For Furniture In Us
One type of wood that is most often used as material for making furniture is Oakwood. Why Oakwood? This is because oak is a type of wood that has a high level of hardness.
This hardness level will have an impact on the quality of the furniture made. Yes, furniture made will be more sturdy and not easily damaged by impact or heavy loads.
Another thing that makes oak wood popular in the US is its resistance to fungi and pests. You can use Oakwood for various purposes, both indoors and outdoors.
However, there is one thing you should pay attention to regarding Oakwood, namely its maintenance. Yes, although it is resistant to collisions and pests, oak wood is not immune to sunlight.
You must pay attention to the placement of furniture made of oak wood so that it is not exposed to direct sunlight. Natural sunlight can make oak wood shrink from its original size.
This shrinkage will also impact the coating of furniture, such as paint and its finishing.
You will find furniture that is cracked and also broken on the outside due to sun exposure. So, make sure you don’t leave the oak wood furniture you are using exposed to high-intensity sunlight for a long time.
Apart from oak wood, of course, there are several other types of wood that you can use. The following is a review of alternatives to oak wood for making furniture.
Best Wood For Beginner Woodworking
Softwood can be bent by heating it at a specific temperature and is widely applied to raw materials for making guitars and other musical instruments.
Of course, Maple wood is one of the most versatile raw materials and has even become the choice of many people in the world for various room needs.
This wood is widely applied to minimalist kitchen spaces, from dining tables to complete cabinets. Other applications are also used for workplaces or offices with desks and cabinets and more.
Maple wood is also the raw material for making stairs and railings because the wood is solid and looks beautiful and natural.
It is very suitable to be applied to spiral staircases or straight stairs with various decorations and dyes to look more beautiful. Maple wood is also a lot cheaper than any other wood in terms of beginner’s wood.
All Wood Name List For Furniture
1. Cherry wood – best wood for furniture as well as the cheapest
Of course, you are already familiar with this one wood. Cherry wood also has an excellent scientific name, namely Tectona Grandis.
Cherry wood is slightly yellowish-brown and is found in Arizona. Cherry wood cannot grow optimally because the soil content in the two islands has high acidity. In the furniture industry, Cherry is the prima donna. You could say one of the premium wood types.
Cherry wood can take up to decades to be used as furniture or furniture material. The age factor affects the price of Cherry wood to be expensive. In addition, because of the supply and demand factor, many are looking for it, but stocks are limited.
Cherry is more durable than other woods because it contains a lot of natural oil. Even so, this is also a weakness of Cherry wood. Because it has a lot of natural oil content, Cherry wood is not suitable for using solid finishes in bright colors such as white, red, green, etc.
Because over time, it will release natural oils, which will cause stain marks to turn yellowish on your furniture. Natural oil stains can still be tolerated for dark solid colors like black or brown, but if you pay attention to the details, it still disturbs the beauty.
Cherry wood is suitable for most furniture products, but the finishing earlier needs to be considered. We recommend using natural color finishing; apart from avoiding the impression of stains, natural colors will create beautiful natural fiber streaks.
This is precisely what furniture lovers are looking for. The emergence of fiber can be an added value or satisfaction for them.
In addition, Cherry is a type of hardwood. This is an advantage of Cherry wood because it is not easily damaged if hit by an impact.
2. Cedar – beginner’s choice best wood for furniture
Cedar is one of the primary raw materials for making Modern furniture besides Pinewood. If Pinewood is more idolized in the local market, Cedar has become an idol abroad, especially in European countries.
So many Modern furniture artisans use this Cedar, mainly for export products. Cedarwood has more delicate fibers than Pinewood. It has tiny pores so that the resulting furniture products are also very smooth.
The color of Cedar is slightly reddish on the inside, and on the outside, dark brown. Although with the same diameter, when compared to Pinewood, the price of Cedar can be cheaper; in practice, this is not the case. This is because:
a. Usable wood must be above 30cm
Cedarwood under 30cm has a less stable structure when used for furniture, unlike Cherry wood.
In addition, wood will shrink quickly and be more susceptible to pests. Due to the use of large diameter wood, of course, it affects production costs.
b. The type of Cedar is not as hard as Pine.
This makes Cedarwood more susceptible to pests. Usually, before being processed, Cedarwood will be soaked in an anti-pest liquid first.
Some boil it to avoid pests; such a process will also affect the final price of Cedar products. However, this is one of the best wood for furniture.
If you want a solid color finish, Cedar is our suggestion. This is because the natural oil content in Cedar is not as much as Pine so that the appearance will last longer in the long run.
3. Rosewood – best wood for furniture with the best finish color
This wood is usually used as a shade for roads. Able to live in an environment with minimal water or heat. It has relatively faster growth than other trees; therefore, it is often found that the size of this wood is large, unlike Pinewood.
They are usually used for furniture products whose construction supports the product’s strength, such as the solid table below.
Rosewood has fine fiber streaks like Pine. The fibers are prominent and regular.
The elegant impression is strong because of the fiber. When it is still a tree, it can withstand extreme weather. But after becoming wood, it is not substantial if it is placed outside the room. More suitable for indoor products that do not have construction joints, thick solid designs, or large sculptures.
4. Pine Wood
The price of this wood is relatively lower than real Pinewood. The fiber that pine wood has is also excellent. Stand out clearly. Very beautiful to be used as furniture products. With a note, the finishing uses natural colors, not solid colors.
For durability, the wood tends to be durable because pests do not like the natural oil of pine wood. However, for strength, pinewood is not strong enough. This is because pine wood is softwood, so it breaks easily or warps.
For the use of small-size furniture products, the risk of breaking is higher. The natural oil that is owned by pine wood is also very high.
This also has an impact on the production and finishing process. Glue and finishing color will not stick optimally if blocked by the oil. To overcome this, there is only one solution: the wood must be completely dry to the maximum.
The use of pine wood can be a middle ground for those of you who want to change the theme atmosphere once a year, both for home furniture or cafe furniture.
5. Fir wood
Firwood is a type of wood that is also often used as a material for making furniture. Usually, Firwood is used for the manufacture of building materials such as windows, doors, and roof frame construction.
Firwood was also chosen to be used as Pir. Pir is wood peeled into wooden sheets, which functions to help the finishing process make it flatter and better.
In general, the color of Firwood is light. The sapwood (wood edge) is lighter. Has a rough surface, not as smooth as Pine or Cedar; even though it has been sanded, the impression is still rough.
The wood fiber itself is good, has a strong wood character, so it is suitable for furniture using natural colors.
If you want to use a solid color, in our opinion, only use Cedar. The price itself is cheaper than Pine and Cedar.
However, we do not recommend using outdoor furniture such as garden swings, garden tables, and chairs; we do not recommend Firwood because the character of Firwood is less strong when exposed to sunlight and rain.
This type of wood is also less strong against pests because it is a softwood type.
So handling must also be right from the start to avoid pest attacks. This is why Fir is the best wood for furniture if you want durability.
6. Birch wood
Birchwood is also an alternative wood as raw material for making Modern furniture products. This wood has a character that is quite hard but not as strong as Pine or Cedar.
Because of this, Birchwood is prone to breaking. So you have to make sure that the wood is dry.
The fiber streaks that have Birchwood are in a good category. There is also a lot of demand for Birchwood Pir. In terms of price, it is more or less the same as Cedar.
Unlike Pinewood, Birchwood is not too hard. So it is easier to attack pests. The solution is to soak it first with anti-pest drugs.
Among the several types of wood mentioned above, the types of wood that we often use are Pine and Cedar. Apart from the two logs, there is an agreement with the consumer.
So, those are some types of wood that you can use to make furniture. As you already know, each wood has its character.
So, you need to know the character of the wood you want. That way, you will have no trouble making furniture.
In addition, each wood also has its care methods that must be considered. For example, oak must be kept away from sunlight and so on.
So, make sure you know how to care for your furniture based on the type of wood used.
You can also have durable furniture for a very long period due to its best wood for furniture.
