There are two major categories in which wood and its products are available:
i. Natural solid timber like logs
ii. Engineered timber products like plywood, boards, veneers, laminates etc.
i. NATURAL SOLID TIMBER
What is solid natural timber?
Mature trees are selected by a forestry worker appointed by Govt. Only older trees are chosen, allowing younger trees to grow to maturity. Then, these tree trunks are cut and processed as per need and size.
The tree logs are converted into commercially feasible sizes. It is easy to provide carpentry joints in solid timber.It is 100% recyclable material. However, depending upon the type of the tree, it is generally hard,stiff and has high strength and durability. The age of timber furniture is the longest i.e. more than 50 years
ii. ENGINEERED TIMBER PRODUCTS
• Veneer
• Plywood
• Laminates
ii a . Veneer
Veneer refers to thin slices of wood, usually thinner than 3 mm (1/8 inch),that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat panels such as doors, tops and panels for cabinets, parquet floors and parts of furniture.
Beading
Veneer beading is a thin layer of decorative edging placed around objects, such as jewelry boxes.
Types of veneers
1. Raw Veneer
2. Paper backed
3. Phenolic backed
4. Laid up
5. Reconstituted Veneer
6. Wood on wood
ii b. Plywood
Plywood is a sheet 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 boards which includes medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and particle board (chipboard)
Size commonly used
The most commonly used thickness range is from 1⁄8 to 3.0 inches (3.2 to 76.2 mm). The sizes of the most commonly used plywood sheets are 4 x 8 feet (1220 x 2440 mm)
Types of Plywood
1. Softwood Plywood
2. Hardwood Plywood
3. Tropical Plywood
4. Aircraft Plywood
5. Decorative Plywood
6. Flexible Plywood
7. Marine Plywood
ii c . LAMINATES
Leading Brands in Laminates
Leading Laminate Brands in India are Sunmica,Formica,Greenlam Laminates,Merino
Types of laminates:
– HPL : High pressure laminates- Commonly fixed by carpenters over plywood while making the furniture.
- LPL : Low pressure laminates- It is directly bonded to Particle Boards or Fiber Boards
Standard Size Available
Standard size : 8'x 4‘ o Special sizes : 3’ x 7’ and 5’ x 12’