Characteristics and selection of beech furniture panels

Until recently, it was believed that the best furniture should by all means be made of solid wood, and models made of modern materials do not have the necessary properties and are even hazardous to health. However, the high quality of new generation materials produced using advanced technologies at woodworking factories refutes this opinion. An example of this is a furniture board - this product, in addition to external beauty, is valued for its technical and operational characteristics, especially if it is created using natural beech.

It is natural to choose only safe, environmentally friendly materials for your home and family. But the best natural products must also have high performance characteristics. These include furniture boards made of beech, which, in terms of their external beauty and texture, are not inferior to elements made of solid wood sheets, the so-called solid wood.

Beech furniture board is a material that is distinguished by an extremely beautiful natural ornament, and this determines its high demand in the manufacture of doors, stairs, furniture and various parts for interior and exterior decoration. The widespread production of beech shields began about 100 years ago, but the technological process of manufacturing the product has not undergone virtually any changes. It still consists of several important stages, including careful processing, cleaning, removal of defects and splicing of bars and lamellas, carefully selected in color and pattern.

Moreover, the slats and lamellas are glued along the length and width to obtain the desired size - this eliminates the threat of deformation. The result is a wear-resistant, durable product with a homogeneous wood structure and a beautiful smooth surface. Despite the fact that after drying, the beech is not very resistant to large temperature extremes, its other advantageous characteristics more than compensate for this disadvantage.

• Beech shields distinguish high strength, which determines long-term operation without loss of quality.
• Beech wood good for healthas it emits unique disinfecting essential oils and tannins that purify the air from pathogens. This allows you to use products for the manufacture of furniture in the bedroom and children's room.
• Wooden elements are produced in a large assortment in different sizes.
• Since the spliced ​​structure of the material provides for plasticity and eliminates internal stress, shields are rarely deforming.
• Light weight and moderate flexibility allow easy transportation of material and its additional processing.
• Adhesive base, used for splicing lamellas, is safe in composition.

Beech boards are similar in structure to glued beams - high strength and quality are due to gluing dried wood sheets under high pressure.

Products are divided into two main types:

• spliced ​​shields connected by pressing and gluing short plates no more than 60 cm long (glued by pressing along the length and width);
• solid timber shield - This is a material consisting of strips, the length of which is equal to the length of the shield itself (the lamellas are spliced ​​in width).

All beech furniture boards are subdivided into categories that provide for products of classes A, B, C, etc. The extra grade is the highest quality elements with a homogeneous structure, texture, and the absence of noticeable defects. Actually, this division applies to all products of the woodworking industry, including solid wood slabs.

The length of the glued products can vary from 900 to 3000 mm and more, the width - from 300 to 900 mm. The thickness of the shields, as a rule, is in the range from 18 to 40 mm. You can choose the right sizes based on your goals. For example, for the manufacture of a cabinet you will need elements with a width of 800–900 mm, taking into account the size of its facade and depth, for a cabinet - with a thickness of about 20 mm, but for storing heavy objects - 30 mm. If you need to make a shelf, a small thickness of 16 mm with a width of 250 to 300 mm is selected. The dimensions of the boards 700x1500 with a thickness of 10 mm can be used for interior decoration of the walls of the room.

Beech furniture panels have a noble appearance, are universal in technical qualities and are acceptable in cost, therefore they are used for different purposes. They are made of:

• interior doors, arches and partitions;
• panels for walls and ceilings;
• individual elements of stairs of any design (steps, bowstring, risers);
• window sills;
• carved decorations;
• racks, shelves for books and TV;
• cabinet facades, including kitchen ones;
• legs, seats, backs of chairs, armchairs, sofas, headboards, details of other upholstered furniture;
• surfaces of kitchen cabinets, dining tables.

Shields are especially convenient as a piece of furniture, since the master always has the opportunity to select the elements of the required size. If the beech furniture board is processed correctly, in compliance with the technology, then things created from it do not need restoration for a long time and look like new.

You can avoid disappointment after buying beech furniture boards, but for this you need to choose only high-quality products manufactured in accordance with existing standards and norms in a company with a good reputation. This already guarantees compliance with all the intricacies of the production process, the availability of modern equipment and excellent raw materials for future boards. The high quality of the material, that is, beech wood, is a prerequisite for the manufacture of boards, but no less important is the exact adherence to the technology: their processing, storage and drying.

There are certain criteria by which to choose furniture boards.

• Always pay attention to the moisture level of the wood. The beech must be properly dried, then the wooden element will be reliable and durable.
• The best material is obtained from lamellas and laths obtained by radical sawing of wood, and shields, the components of which are created as a result of tangential sawing, are likely to show low strength parameters.
• The buyer should also build on his own goals for which he purchases these products. If shields are needed to create pieces of furniture, then they should be of the highest quality and not have any flaws. Minor defects are allowed when the material is intended for doors or stairs - in this situation, minor cavities and knots do not play a role.

Proper care is the key to maintaining the structure of furniture boards in excellent condition for a long time. A material such as beech requires special attention.

• It is impossible to mount structures from these elements next to any heating devices and components of heating systems.
• Direct sunlight is harmful to a beech shield, therefore, it is better to plan the installation away from areas with constant daylight.
• To remove dust it is undesirable to use any aggressive chemicals with a chemical composition... You can wipe the furniture with a soft textile cloth dampened with water and dissolved soap.
• If the surface is dirty, then you can use special care products designed for wooden objects, and they must not contain abrasive particles that leave scratches or other damage.

It is worth remembering that the climatic conditions of the room also negatively affect the structure and appearance of the material, therefore it is important to regulate the humidity in the room and not to allow a large temperature difference. Beech furniture boards are used not only for creating furniture structures, but also for making doors and decorative interior items. You can work with the material even without special skills, especially since it is sold at an affordable cost.

For information on how to make a furniture board with your own hands, see the next video.