The Furniture Woodwork Building Process
If you just want an item of furniture and are not interested in how it is made, return to the gallery as this section is not for you. However, if you wish to know how we go about making a sideboard read on. We had better start with the trees. We are in the happy position of being able to go to an estate forest and choose the tree we want. Most of our timber is grown in Cumbria or the South West of Scotland. It is then sawn into planks of different thickness and brought home to be air-dried.
This process takes between one and two years to get to this stage and then it goes to the kiln. Now I know this sounds exciting but the kiln is just a very well insulated box with a heater and smart dehumidifier. The temperature is taken up to 40 degrees C to reduce the moisture content of the timber from 40% (air drying took it down this far) to approx 9%. This process takes approximately three to four months depending on the thickness of the timber.
The wood is now ready to be made into your piece of furniture. (We do have kiln-dried timber in stock so you will not have to wait 14 months for your item of furniture) What next? We have by this time ascertained (a) exactly what your requirements are, (b) your timber preference, (c) sent you a drawing and a quotation. If our quotation has been accepted by you we will have received your deposit and you will have been given a delivery date.
Now it is time to get started turning these rough boards into a high quality item of furniture.
The framework is cut from the thick boards - usually 2" - and planed up to finish about 1 3/4". The individual sections are then jointed and assembled dry (no glue) to allow measurements to be taken for the panels, top, shelves, drawers etc. The 1" boards then come in to the workshop to be rough sawn to the approx. dimensions for the different component parts.
Now comes the interesting part of the process. We look at the rough sawn boards and decide which piece will go where. By using consecutive boards they can be book-matched to get the unusual grain patterns and mirror images that are a feature of our work.
All the pieces are then planed up and cut to the finished size. The mouldings are run on the framing and the panels are fielded (the curved bit on the edge). Everything is sanded down and the main frame is glued up. After the glue has dried the doors panels are made, fielded and glued up. Drawers are made using dovetail joints, sanded down and glued up. The drawers are fitted into the framing and the doors are hung. The top, plinth and internal shelves have to be made, sanded down and fitted.
Finishing Touches
Everything is then given a final sanding, using 240 grit, to give a lovely silky feel to the wood. Oops! we forgot to make and fit the Tongue and Groove boards for the back. A good going over with the vacuum cleaner is next to remove the dust, then, at long last, we are ready to oil the wood. It has taken about 3 weeks to get this far. The first coat of oil is brushed on.
The wood is so dry it soaks up a lot. The excess is dried off and left overnight to dry. This process is repeated twice more, using a cloth to apply the oil. It is then rubbed down with very fine wire wool before applying a further three coats of oil. Everything is then rubbed down with exceptionally fine wire wool and waxed. Almost there! Handles and our brass mark to fit and we are ready to put it aside for a week to let the wax settle. Another wax and buff up your new piece of furniture is ready.
Collections
You can collect it from our workshop or we will deliver (if this has been arranged at the time of your confirmed order). As you have seen, it takes time to make something uniquely different. We enjoy what we do and feel that this is reflected in the finished article. If you do not see what you want in the gallery it only means that we have not made it for you yet.
Richard