Oak has all the characteristics required to make the finest furniture, and it is this that has led to its immense popularity for hundreds of years, and so much so today. Oaks are hardwoods, meaning they are strong and hard, yet easy to work with, making them very useful for construction and furniture making. There aren’t many other hardwoods that can compete with the flexibility it has, and once dry and weathered, it has the ability to be used for everything from interior paneling and railroad ties to boat building and whiskey barrels.
A dense wood with a coarse, heavy grain, as it ages it slowly darkens to a rich honey brown. These characteristics make it not only suitable for furniture, but also a preferred material for building fine pieces that will be cherished for years to come.
American white oak and red oak, and English oak of the European variety are the most common types used in the manufacture of furniture, as its properties allow it to be flexible and molded into all kinds of shapes required in the design. Of furniture.
The best thing about this type of wood is that it can be manipulated into shapes very easily, which means that it is immensely popular with designers and can be found in all types of furniture. Manufactures premium legs and shafts for straight back dining chairs and rocking chairs made of wood; it can also be steam bent, which is when steam is applied to allow it to slowly bend into the required curved shape often used for barrels and oak barrels amongst other things.
Compared to other types of wood, oak is very resistant to dents and gouges, and requires some force to damage, and even if it does take some due to general wear and tear, it just improves the look! A hard wood, it can be difficult to drive nails into, so you’ll find that most solid oak furniture is secured with dowels and glue, wood dowels, or pocket wood screws, which are actually stronger than nails. .
After it has been cured, dried, and smoothed, oak becomes an exceptionally strong material that would take a lot of effort to damage, break, and mark unless a lot of force is used. Because of this, it is fashionable to turn it into a series of objects and articles, from decorations and decorative pieces to chests of drawers and sideboards. It can also tolerate a heavy load without sagging or bending, which makes it perfect not only for furniture, but also for shelving, stair treads, and hardwood floors in particular, as it can handle a lot of foot traffic.
Pay attention to how the piece is put together, a good quality solid oak cabinet made by a skilled craftsman will have dovetail joints on the drawers and be made of solid wood throughout. If you see a part you like, look it over carefully before you make a purchase, make sure the back of the unit and drawer bottoms are solid as well, as these are the places where manufacturers might try to save money by veneering oak instead. in these areas.
Pull out the drawers and they should slide smoothly, make sure there are no gaps at the joints, and sets such as multi-part dining room furniture should be stained the same color and matched once you start looking at a few pieces. Soon I will get to identify the quality.
It can cost a lot of money to buy high-quality 100% solid oak furniture, but the look it can give a home is well worth it. Add one item at a time to your collection, for example, dressers and buffet sideboards, as quality is important and they make great heirlooms, so you want something that is both admired and beautiful to look at. If you can afford it, think about getting a custom made piece, take your time to brainstorm before getting estimates.
