![Woodcarvings of cranes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Woodcarvings_of_cranes.jpg)
Woodworking is the skill of making items from
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
, and includes cabinet making (
cabinetry
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...
and
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
),
wood carving
Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
,
joinery
Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...
,
carpentry
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...
, and
woodturning
Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator ...
.
History
![Maler der Grabkammer der Bildhauer Nebamun und Ipuki 004](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Maler_der_Grabkammer_der_Bildhauer_Nebamun_und_Ipuki_004.jpg)
Along with
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
,
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by
early humans.
Microwear analysis Use-wear analysis is a method in archaeology to identify the functions of artifact tools by closely examining their working surfaces and edges. It is mainly used on stone tools, and is sometimes referred to as "traceological analysis" (from the neo ...
of the
Mousterian
The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an archaeological industry of stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and to the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and West Asia. The Mousterian largely defines the latt ...
stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone Ag ...
s used by the
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
s show that many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working these materials.
![Schreiner-1568](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Schreiner-1568.png)
Among early finds of wooden tools are the worked sticks from
Kalambo Falls
The Kalambo Falls on the Kalambo River is a single-drop waterfall on the border of Zambia and Rukwa Region, Tanzania at the southeast end of Lake Tanganyika. The falls are some of the tallest uninterrupted falls in Africa (after South Africa's ...
,
Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea is a seaside town in the Tendring District in the county of Essex, England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District with a population of 56,874 (2016). The town is situated ...
and
Lehringen. The
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s from
Schöningen
Schöningen is a town of about 11,000 inhabitants in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
The town is located on the southeastern rim of the Elm hill range, near the border with the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In its curren ...
(
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
) provide some of the first examples of wooden hunting gear.
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
tools were used for carving. Since
Neolithic times, carved wooden vessels are known, for example, from the
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
s at
Kückhofen and
Eythra Eythra is a former settlement near Leipzig, Germany. It is archaeologically important because it is one of the sites of Europe's oldest civilisation. Investigations between 1993 and 2005 under the direction of Harald Stäuble revealed a village comp ...
.
Examples of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
wood-carving include
tree trunk
In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the ...
s worked into
coffins from northern Germany and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and wooden
folding-chairs. The
site
Site most often refers to:
* Archaeological site
* Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area
* Construction site
* Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere
* Website, a set of related web pages, typical ...
of
Fellbach-Schmieden in Germany has provided fine examples of wooden animal statues from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. Wooden
idol
Idol or Idols may refer to:
Religion and philosophy
* Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents
* Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...
s from the
La Tène period are known from a sanctuary at the source of the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Ancient Egypt
There is significant evidence of advanced woodworking in
ancient Egypt.
Woodworking is depicted in many extant ancient Egyptian drawings, and a considerable amount of ancient Egyptian
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
(such as stools,
chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
s,
tables
Table may refer to:
* Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs
* Table (landform), a flat area of land
* Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns
* Table (database), how the table data ...
,
bed
A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax.
Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...
s,
chests) have been preserved. Tombs represent a large collection of these artifacts and the inner coffins found in the tombs were also made of wood. The
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
used by the
Egyptians
Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
for woodworking tools was originally
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and eventually, after 2000 BC
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
as
iron working
Ferrous metallurgy is the metallurgy of iron and its alloys. The earliest surviving prehistoric iron artifacts, from the 4th millennium BC in Egypt, were made from meteoritic iron-nickel. It is not known when or where the smelting of iron fro ...
was unknown until much later.
Commonly used woodworking tools included
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...
s,
adze
An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...
s,
chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...
s,
pull saws, and
bow drill
A bow drill is a simple hand-operated type of tool, consisting of a rod (the ''spindle'' or ''drill shaft'') that is set in rapid rotary motion by means of a cord wrapped around it, kept taut by a bow which is pushed back and forth with one han ...
s.
Mortise and tenon
A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) joint connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at right ...
joints are attested from the earliest
Predynastic period
Prehistoric Egypt and Predynastic Egypt span the period from the earliest human settlement to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period around 3100 BC, starting with the first Pharaoh, Narmer for some Egyptologists, Hor-Aha for others, with ...
. These joints were strengthened using pegs,
dowels and
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
or
cord
Cord or CORD may refer to:
People
* Alex Cord (1933–2021), American actor and writer
* Chris Cord (born 1940), American racing driver
* Errett Lobban Cord (1894–1974) American industrialist
* Ronnie Cord (1943–1986), Brazilian singer
* Co ...
lashings.
Animal glue
Animal glue is an adhesive that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue in a process called rendering. In addition to being used as an adhesive it is used for coating and sizing, in decorative composition ornaments, and as a ...
came to be used only in the
New Kingdom period. Ancient Egyptians invented the art of
veneering and used
varnish
Varnish is a clear transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not a stain. It usually has a yellowish shade from the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmented as desired, and is sold commercially in various ...
es for
finishing, though the composition of these varnishes is unknown. Although different native
acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
s were used, as was the wood from the local
sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry".
Species of trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplata ...
and
tamarisk
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...
trees,
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
in the
Nile valley
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
resulted in the need for the importation of wood, notably
cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
, but also
Aleppo pine,
boxwood
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
and
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, starting from the
Second Dynasty
The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last ruler, K ...
.
Ancient Rome
Woodworking was essential to the Romans. It provided, material for buildings, transportation, tools, and household items. Wood also provided pipes, dye, waterproofing materials, and energy for heat.
Although most examples of Roman woodworking have been lost,
the literary record preserved much of the contemporary knowledge.
Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
dedicates an entire chapter of his ''
De architectura
(''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide f ...
'' to timber, preserving many details.
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
, while not a botanist, dedicated six books of his
''Natural History'' to trees and woody plants, providing a wealth of information on trees and their uses.
Ancient China
The progenitors of Chinese woodworking are considered to be
Lu Ban (魯班) and his wife Lady Yun, from the
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...
(771 to 476 BC). Lu Ban is said to have introduced the
plane
Plane(s) most often refers to:
* Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft
* Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface
Plane or planes may also refer to:
Biology
* Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant
* ''Planes' ...
, chalk-line, and other tools to China. His teachings were supposedly left behind in the book ''Lu Ban Jing'' (魯班經, "Manuscript of Lu Ban"). Despite this, it is believed that the text was written some 1500 years after his death. This book is filled largely with descriptions of dimensions for use in building various items such as
flower pot
A flowerpot, planter, planterette or plant pot, is a container in which flowers and other plants are cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plain terracotta with no ceramic glaze, wi ...
s, tables,
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
s, etc., and also contains extensive instructions concerning
Feng Shui. It mentions almost nothing of the intricate glue-less and nail-less
joinery
Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...
for which
Chinese furniture
The forms of Chinese furniture evolved along three distinct lineages which dates back to 1000 BC, based on ''frame and panel'', ''yoke and rack'' (based on post and rail seen in architecture) and ''bamboo'' construction techniques. Chinese ...
was so famous.
Modern day
![Woodworkdamas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Woodworkdamas.JPG)
With the advances in modern technology and the demands of industry, woodwork as a field has changed. The development of Computer Numeric Controlled (
CNC
Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a p ...
) Machines, for example, has made us able to mass-produce and reproduce products faster, with less waste, and often more complex in design than ever before.
CNC wood router
A CNC wood router is a CNC router tool that creates objects from wood. CNC stands for ''computer numerical control''. The CNC works on the Cartesian coordinate system (X, Y, Z) for 3D motion control. Parts of a project can be designed in the c ...
s can carve complicated and highly detailed shapes into flat stock, to create signs or art. Rechargeable power tools speed up creation of many projects and require much less body strength than in the past, for example when boring multiple holes. Skilled fine woodworking, however, remains a craft pursued by many. There remains demand for hand crafted work such as furniture and arts, however with rate and cost of production, the cost for consumers is much higher.
Materials
Historically, woodworkers relied upon the woods native to their region, until transportation and trade innovations made more exotic woods available to the craftsman. Woods are typically sorted into three basic types:
hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s typified by tight
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
and derived from
broadleaf tree
A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with n ...
s,
softwood
file:Pinus sylvestris wood ray section 1 beentree.jpg, Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood
Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main diff ...
s from
coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
trees, and man-made materials such as
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
and
MDF.
Hardwoods, botanically known as angiosperms, are deciduous and shed their leaves annually with temperature changes.
Softwoods come from trees botanically known as gymnosperms, which are coniferous, cone-bearing, and stay green year round.
Although a general pattern, softwoods are not necessarily always “softer” than hardwoods, and vice versa.
Softwood is most commonly found in the regions of the world with lower temperatures and is typically less durable, lighter in weight, and more vulnerable to pests and fungal attacks in comparison to hardwoods. They typically have a paler color and a more open grain than hardwoods, which contributes to the tendency of felled softwood to shrink and swell as it dries.
Softwoods usually have a lower density, around 432–592 kg/m
3, which can compromise its strength.
Density, however, does vary within both softwoods and hardwoods depending on the wood's geographical origin and growth rate. However, the lower density of softwoods also allows it to have a greater strength with lighter weight. In the United States, softwoods are typically cheaper and more readily available and accessible.
Most softwoods are suitable for general construction, especially framing, trim, and finish work, and carcassing.
Hardwoods are separated into two categories, temperate and tropical hardwoods, depending on their origin. Temperate hardwoods are found in the regions between the tropics and poles, and are of particular interest to wood workers for their cost-effective aesthetic appeal and sustainable sources.
Tropical hardwoods are found within the equatorial belt, including Africa, Asia, and South America. Hardwoods flaunt a higher density, around 1041 kg/m
3 as a result of slower growing rates and is more stable when drying.
As a result of its high density, hardwoods are typically heavier than softwoods but can also be more brittle.
While there are an abundant number of hardwood species, only 200 are common enough and pliable enough to be used for woodworking. Hardwoods have a wide variety of properties, making it easy to find a hardwood to suit nearly any purpose, but they are especially suitable for outdoor use due to their strength and resilience to rot and decay.
The coloring of hardwoods ranges from light to very dark, making it especially versatile for aesthetic purposes. However, because hardwoods are more closely grained, they are typically harder to work than softwoods. They are also harder to acquire in the United States and, as a result, are more expensive.
![Woodworking Tools at the Women's Woodshop in Minneapolis, MN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Woodworking_Tools_at_the_Women%27s_Woodshop_in_Minneapolis%2C_MN.jpg)
Typically
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
such as tables and chairs is made using solid stock from hardwoods due to its strength and resistance to warping.
Additionally, they also have a greater variety of grain patterns and color and take a finish better which allows the woodworker to exercise a great deal of artistic liberty. Hardwoods can be cut more cleanly and leave less residue on sawblades and other woodworking tools.
Cabinet/fixture makers employ the use of
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
and other man made panel products. Some furniture, such as the
Windsor chair
A Windsor chair is a chair built with a solid wooden seat into which the chair-back and legs are round- tenoned, or pushed into drilled holes, in contrast to standard chairs (whose back legs and back uprights are continuous). The seats of Windsor ...
involve
green woodworking
Green woodworking is a form of wood craft or in broad terms, carpentry
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction o ...
, shaping with wood while it contains its natural moisture prior to drying.
Common softwoods used for furniture
![Warehouse of timber at a cardboard factory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Warehouse_of_timber_at_a_cardboard_factory._Buryatia%2C_Russia.jpg)
Cedar
Cedars are strong, aromatic softwoods that are capable of enduring outdoor elements, the most common of which is the western red cedar. Western red cedar can sustain wet environments without succumbing to rot, and as a result is commonly used for outdoor projects such as patios, outdoor furniture, and building exteriors. This wood can be easily found at most home centers in the USA and Canada for a moderate price.
Fir
Within the USA fir, also known as Douglas fir, is inexpensive and common at local home centers. It has a characteristic straight, pronounced grain with a red-brown tint. However, its grain pattern is relatively plain and it does not stain well, so fir is commonly used when the finished product will be painted. While commonly used for building, this softwood would also be suitable for furniture-making.
Pine
White pine, ponderosa, and southern yellow pine are common species used in furniture-making. White pine and ponderosa are typically used for indoor projects, while Southern yellow pine is recommended for outdoor projects due to its durability.
Common hardwoods used for furniture
Ash
This hardwood is relatively easy to work with and takes stain well, but its white to light brown color with a straight grain is visually appealing on its own. However, ash is much more difficult to find than other common woods, and will not be found at the local home center. Larger lumber yards should have it in stock.
Beech
Hardwood of the European species Fagus sylvatica is widely used for furniture framing and carcase construction, in plywood, musical instruments (drum shells and piano blocks) and turned items like knobs.
Birch
Whether yellow or white birch, these hardwoods are stable and easy to work with. Despite this, birch is prone to blotching when stained, so painting birch products is probably best. Birch is easily found at many home centers and is a relatively inexpensive hardwood.
Cherry
Popular and easy to work with, cherry is in high demand for its reddish-brown color and ease of staining and finishing. Cherry likely will not be at the local home center, but should be at a lumberyard for a somewhat expensive price.
This hardwood is a very common material for furniture, and is resistant to normal wear-and-tear, but it is best for indoor pieces.
Mahogany
A hardwood, mahogany has a trademark reddish-brown to deep-red tint and is known as "one of the great furniture woods". However, mahogany is not typically grown in sustainable forests, and thus runs a steep price at local lumber yards.
Oak
With two varieties, red and white, oak is known to be easy to work with and relatively strong. However, furniture makers often opt for white oak over red oak for its attractive figure and moisture-resistance.
Depending on the kind needed, oak can probably be found at a local home center or a lumberyard for a bit pricier than other hardwoods.
Maple
With strength, sturdiness, and durability, maple is a common material for furniture for the bedroom and even china cabinets. Maple is moisture-resistant and frequently displays stand-out swirls in the wood grain, an aesthetically pleasing differentiator from other hardwoods. While most commonly a lighter color, maple also can take stains and paint well.
Factors in choosing materials
There are many factors to consider when deciding what type of wood to use for a project. One of the most important is the workability of the wood: the way in which it responds when worked by hand or tools, the quality of the grain, and how it responds to adhesives and finishes.
When the workability of wood is high, it offers a lower resistance when cutting and has a diminished blunting effect on tools.
Highly workable wood is easier to manipulate into desired forms. If the wood grain is straight and even, it will be much easier to create strong and durable glued joints. Additionally, it will help protect the wood from splitting when nailed or screwed.
Coarse grains require a lengthy process of filing and rubbing down the grain to produce a smooth result.
Another important factor is the durability of the wood, especially in regards to moisture. If the finished project will be exposed to moisture (e.g. outdoor projects) or high humidity or condensation (e.g. in kitchens or bathrooms), then the wood needs to be especially durable in order to prevent rot. Because of their oily qualities, many tropical hardwoods such as teak and mahogany are popular for such applications.
Woods with good working properties
Agba (G''ossweilerodendron'' balsamiferum)
Alder (''Alnus'' glutinosa)
Basswood (''Tilia'' americana)
Obeah (''Triplochiton'' scleroxylon)
Pine (''Pinus)''
Western cedar (''Thuja'' plicata'')''
Very durable woods
Teak (''Tectona'' grandis)
Iron (''Milicia excelsa)''
Jarrah (''Eucalyptus'' marginata)
Chestnut (''Castanea)''
Oak (''Quercus)''
Cedar (''Thuja)''
Woods used for carving
While many woods can be used for carving, there are some clear favorites, including aspen, basswood, butternut, black walnut, and oak.
Because it has almost no grain and is notably soft, Basswood is particularly popular with beginner carvers. It is used in many lower-cost instruments like guitars and electric basses.
Aspen is similarly soft, although slightly harder, and readily available and inexpensive.
Butternut has a deeper hue than basswood and aspen and has a nice grain that is easy to carve, and thus friendly for beginners. It is also suitable for furniture.
While more expensive than basswood, aspen, and butternut, black walnut is a popular choice for its rich color and grain.
Lastly, oak is a strong, sturdy, and versatile wood for carving with a defined grain. It is also a popular wood for furniture making.
Common tools
Each area of woodworking requires a different variation of tools. Power tools and hand tools are both used for woodworking. Many modern woodworkers choose to use power tools in their trade for the added ease and to save time. However, many choose to still use only hand tools for several reasons such as the experience and the added character to the work, while some choose to use only hand tools simply for their own enjoyment.
Hand tools
Hand tool
A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, and kni ...
s are classified as tools that receive power only from the hands that are holding them. The more common modern hand tools are:
*
Clamps are used to hold a
workpiece
A workpiece is a piece, often made of a single material, that is being processed into another desired shape (such as building blocks).
The workpiece is usually a piece of relatively rigid material such as wood, metal, plastic, or stone. After a ...
while being worked. Clamps vary in all shapes and sizes from small c-clamps to very large bar or strap clamps.
A
vise
A vise or vice (British English) is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a screw and lever.
A vise grip is n ...
is a form of clamp, temporarily or permanently mounted as required. A
woodworking vise
A woodworking vise is a type of vise adapted to the various needs of woodworkers and woodworking. Several types have evolved to meet differing primary functions, falling under the general categories of front and end vises, reflecting their ...
is a vise specialized to the needs of a woodworker; numerous types have evolved.
*
Chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...
s are tools with a long blade, a cutting edge, and a handle. Used for cutting and shaping wood or other materials.
* The
claw hammer, which can hammer, pry, and pull nails, is the most common hammer used in woodworking.
* A
hand plane is used to surface aspects of a workpiece.
* The
square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
is used to mark angles on any workpiece. An
adjustable square also includes a ruler. A
speed square can mark 90 and 45-degree fixed angles and any angle between 0 and 90 degrees using its long axis.
* A
tape measure
A tape measure or measuring tape is a flexible ruler used to measure length or distance.
It consists of a ribbon of cloth, plastic, fibre glass, or metal strip with linear measurement markings. It is a common measuring tool. Its design all ...
is a retractable or flexible ruler that has measurement increments as small as 1/32" or 1 millimetre.
Power tools
Power tools
A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed a ...
are tools that are powered by an external energy such as a battery, motor, or a power cable connected to a wall outlet. The more common power tools are:
* The
drill is a tool used to drill a hole or to insert a screw into a workpiece.
* A
palm sander
A random orbital sander (also known as a palm sander) is a hand-held power tool which sands in a random-orbit action. That is, in constant irregular overlapping circles. This technology was first commercially utilized in 1968 by Rupes Tools. Rand ...
is a small powered sander that uses either a vibration or orbital motion to move a piece of sand paper upon the workpiece making very fine modifications in smoothing your product.
* A
compound miter saw
A miter saw or mitre saw is a saw used to make accurate crosscuts and miters in a workpiece by positioning a mounted blade onto a board. A miter saw in its earliest form was composed of a back saw in a miter box, but in modern implementation c ...
, also known as a chop saw is a stationary saw used for making precise cuts across the grain path of a board. These cuts can be at any chosen angle that the particular saw is capable of.
* A
table saw
A table saw (also known as a sawbench or bench saw in England) is a woodworking tool, consisting of a circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, that is driven by an electric motor (either directly, by belt, or by gears). The blade protrudes t ...
is intended to make long precise cuts along the grain pattern of the board known as rip cuts. Most table saws offer the option of a beveled rip cut.
* A
thickness planer
A thickness planer (also known in the UK and Australia as a thicknesser or in North America as a planer) is a woodworking machine to trim boards to a consistent thickness throughout their length.
This machine transcribes the desired thickness us ...
is used to smooth the surface of a board and make it the exact thickness across the entire board.
* A
jointer
A jointer or in some configurations, a jointer-planer (also known in the UK and Australia as a planer or surface planer, and sometimes also as a buzzer or flat top) is a woodworking machine used to produce a flat surface along a board's length. ...
is used to produce a flat surface along a board's length and to create a square (or 90°) edge between two adjoining surfaces.
*A
band saw
A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumb ...
is used to make both irregularly shaped cuts and cuts through material thicker than a table saw can manage. It is much more robust
than the
jigsaw
Jigsaw may refer to:
* Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves
* Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces
Arts and media Comics
* Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...
or more delicate
scroll saw
A scroll saw is a small electric or pedal-operated saw used to cut intricate curves in wood, metal, or other materials. The fineness of its blade allows it to cut more delicately than a power jigsaw, and more easily than a hand coping saw or f ...
, also regularly used in woodworking.
Notable woodworkers
*
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
*
Norm Abram
*
John Boson
John Boson was a cabinet maker and carver whose work is associated with that of William Kent. It is said that if he had not died at such a relatively young age then his place would have been assured in the history of furniture making in the Unit ...
*
Frank E. Cummings III
*
Henning Engelsen
Henning Engelsen (5 February 1918 – 8 September 2005) was a Norwegian woodcarver and illustrator.
Biography
Henning Engelsen was born at Sandefjord in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway.
He started his woodcarving career in 1947 in a small wor ...
*
Wharton Esherick
Wharton Esherick (July 15, 1887 – May 6, 1970) was an American sculptor who worked primarily in wood, especially applying the principles of sculpture to common utilitarian objects. Consequently, he is best known for his sculptural furniture a ...
*
Tage Frid
Tage Frid (30 May 1915 – 4 May 2004) was a Danish-born woodworker, educator and author who influenced the development of the studio furniture movement in the United States. His design work was often in the Danish-modern style, best known for h ...
*
Alexander Grabovetskiy
Alexander Grabovetskiy (born July 4, 1973) is a Russian-American Master wood carver.
Grabovetskiy was recognized as the 2012 International Wood Carver of the year, and his piece ''Wall Decoration'' was awarded first place. His work utilizes th ...
*
Greta Hopkinson
*
James Krenov
James Krenov (October 31, 1920 – September 9, 2009) was a woodworker and studio furnituremaker.
Biography
Jim Dmitri Krenov was born on October 31, 1920, in the village of Uelen
Uelen (russian: Уэлéн; Chukchi: , ''Uvèlèn''; Si ...
*
Mark Lindquist
Mark Lindquist (born 1949) is an American sculptor in wood, artist, author, and photographer. Lindquist is a major figure in the redirection and resurgence of woodturning in the United States beginning in the early 1970s. His communication of his ...
*
Sal Maccarone
Sal Maccarone is an American author, sculptor, designer and kinetic artist. He is best known as a master craftsman, and for his internationally distributed woodworking books such as ''Tune Up Your Tools'', and ''How to Make $40,000 a Year Woo ...
*
Thomas J. MacDonald
*
John Makepeace
John Makepeace OBE FCSD (born John Makepeace Smith; 6 July 1939) is a British furniture designer and maker. Makepeace was born in Solihull, Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. ...
*
Sam Maloof
Sam Maloof (January 24, 1916 – May 21, 2009)
''Press-Enterprise'', ...
*
David J. Marks
*
Judy Kensley McKie
Judy Kensley McKie (born 1944) is an American artist, furniture designer, and furniture maker. She has been making her signature style of furniture with carved and embellished animal and plant motifs since 1977. She is based in Boston, Massachuse ...
*
George Nakashima
George Katsutoshi Nakashima ( ja, 中島勝寿 ''Nakashima Katsutoshi'', May 24, 1905 – June 15, 1990) was an American woodworker, architect, and furniture maker who was one of the leading innovators of 20th century furniture design and a fathe ...
*
Jere Osgood Jere Osgood (born 1936) is an American studio furniture maker, and teacher of furniture and woodworking. He taught for many years in the .
Early life and education
Jere Osgood was born in 1936 and raised in Staten Island, New York. He studied ar ...
*
Alan Peters
Alan George Peters OBE (17 January 1933 – 11 October 2009) was a British furniture designer maker and one of the very few direct links with the Arts and Crafts Movement, having apprenticed to Edward Barnsley. He set up his own workshop in the ...
*
Matthias Pliessnig Matthias Pliessnig is an acclaimed furniture designer based in Brooklyn, New York.Rosecrans Baldwin April 23, 200Furniture DesignThe Digital Ramble New York Times blog whose work uses steam bent wood. His style is "kinetically contemporary" and he ...
*
André Jacob Roubo
André Jacob Roubo (1739–1791) was a French carpenter, cabinetmaker and author. Roubo was born and died in Paris, and was the son and grandson of master cabinetmakers. Roubo wrote several highly influential books on woodworking, an achievemen ...
*
Evert Sodergren
*
Rosanne Somerson
Rosanne Somerson (born June 21, 1954) is an American-born woodworker, furniture designer/maker, educator, and former President of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). An artist connected with the early years of the Studio Furniture, her work a ...
*
Henry O. Studley
Henry O. Studley (1838–1925) was an organ and piano maker, carpenter, stonemason, and Freemason who worked for the Smith Organ Co. and later for the Poole Piano Company of Quincy, Massachusetts. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Studley is best kn ...
*
*
Wendy Maruyama
Wendy Maruyama (born ) is an artist, furniture maker, and educator from California. She was born in La Junta, Colorado.
Maruyama was influential in the early period of post-modern artistic furniture. She challenges the masculine environments w ...
*
Charles H. Hayward
See also
*
Boat building
Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires.
Construction materials and methods
Wood
W ...
*
Cabinet making
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...
*
Carpentry
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...
*
Ébéniste
''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony.
Etymology and ambiguities
As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equi ...
*
Fire hardening
Fire hardening, also known as "fire-danubing", is the process of removing moisture from wood, changing its structure and material properties, by charring it over or directly in a fire or a bed of coals. This has been thought to make a point, like t ...
*
Glossary of woodworking terms
This glossary of woodworking lists a number of specialized terms and concepts used in woodworking, carpentry, and related disciplines.
A
B
C
...
*
Green woodworking
Green woodworking is a form of wood craft or in broad terms, carpentry
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction o ...
*
History of construction
The history of construction embraces many other fields, including structural engineering, civil engineering, city growth and population growth, which are relatives to branches of technology, science, history, and architecture. The fields permit al ...
*
History of wood carving
Wood carving is one of the oldest arts of humankind. Wooden spears from the Middle Paleolithic, such as the Clacton Spear, reveal how humans have engaged in utilitarian woodwork for millennia. However, given the relatively rapid rate at which ...
*
Intarsia
Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The start of the practice dates from before the seventh century AD. The technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood (at times with contrasting ivory or bone, or mother-of-pear ...
*
Japanese carpentry
Japanese carpentry was developed more than a millennium ago through Chinese architectural influences from the 12th century. It is a form of ancient Chinese wooden architecture and woodworking joints that involves building wooden furniture wit ...
*
Lath art
Lath art is a form of woodworking folk art for making rustic pictures out of strips out of old "lath" from "plaster and lath" walls. Today it is commonly made from lattice, lumber stickers and weathered lobster traps. Beach scenes and rural scen ...
*
Luthier
A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...
*
Millwork
Millwork is historically any wood mill produced decorative materials used in building construction. Stock profiled and patterned millwork building components fabricated by milling at a planing mill can usually be installed with minimal alter ...
*
Marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...
*
Marquetry
Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...
*
Saw pit
A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, whi ...
*
Segmented turning
Segmented turning, also known as polychromatic turning, is a form of woodturning on a lathe where the initial workpiece is composed of multiple parts glued together. The process involves gluing several pieces of wood to create patterns and visua ...
*
Sloyd
Sloyd (Swedish ), also known as educational sloyd, is a system of handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865. The system was further refined and promoted worldwide, and was taught in the United States until the early 2 ...
, a system of handicraft-based education
*
Stave church
A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts a ...
*
Studio furniture
*
Tack cloth
Tack cloth (tack rag; tac cloth) is a specialized type of wiping cloth that is treated with a tacky material. It is designed to remove loose particles of dust, dirt and lint that would contaminate a surface that is to be painted, coated, laminate ...
*
Timber framing
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
*
Turning
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...
*
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
*
Wood glue
Wood glue is an adhesive used to tightly bond pieces of wood together. Many substances have been used as glues.
Types Animal glue
Animal glue, especially hoof glue and hide glue, was the primary adhesive of choice for many types of woodworking, ...
*
Wood Inlay
Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case fur ...
*
Woodturning
Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator ...
*
Woodworking workbench
References
References
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Naylor, Andrew
''A review of wood machining literature with a special focus on sawing'' BioRes, April 2013
History of Woodworking & Ancient Carpentry
External links
Videoabout the
Zafimaniry
The Zafimaniry are a sub-group of the Betsileo ethnic group of Madagascar. They live in the forested mountains of the southern central highlands southeast of Ambositra, between the neighboring Betsileo and Tanala peoples. There are approximate ...
peoples in Madagascar.
Videos about woodworkingpublished by Institut für den Wissenschaftlichen Film. Available in the AV-Portal of the
German National Library of Science and Technology
The German National Library of Science and Technology (german: Technische Informationsbibliothek), abbreviated TIB, is the national library of the Federal Republic of Germany for all fields of engineering, technology, and the natural sciences. I ...
.
Woodwork Magazine
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