Varieties of furniture boards and their scope

Various types of wood panels are successfully used in the production of furniture and interior items. It is worth understanding in more detail what it is, what types of wood furniture panels exist, how they are classified.

Furniture board is a sheet material, most often from solid wood, which is combined in the form of individual bars or elements into a single piece. It can also be made from chipboard or fiberboard, with voids inside to lighten the total weight of the structure. In Russia, the traditional material for it is inexpensive conifers, less often products made of harder birch and oak are found. The main area of ​​application of such sheets is furniture production, construction, decoration.

The shield manufacturing technology has been used for over 100 years. Initially, the compression when gluing the elements was carried out using clamps. Today, powerful presses are used in production. Mass production began in the 70s of the XX century.

The characteristics of the material are as follows:

• square or rectangular shape;
• the width of the bars is 10-50 mm;
• length - 2-5 m;
• thickness - 18-40 mm (up to 80 for multilayer);
• width - 200-1200 mm;
• material moisture level - 6-12%;
• surface grinding quality - 80-120 units.

Furniture panels are manufactured at woodworking enterprises. For production, raw materials are used in the form of edged or unedged sawn timber from deciduous and coniferous wood. It is sorted based on the requirements for a specific type of final product. In some classes, the use of knotty elements or bars with resinous pockets is unacceptable.

The process of creating glued board material is divided into certain stages.

1. Drying of the selected sawn timber.
2. Trimming and sorting of workpieces.
3. Cut to width. At this stage, defective areas are often cut out that are not suitable for the furniture board.
4. Machining. The workpieces must acquire the specified geometric parameters.
5. Assembly along the length with the addition of glue.
6. Final complete set. After that, the product is sent to the press.
7. Checking the seams.
8. Calibration and grinding of the finished material.
9. Cut the resulting array into separate panels, according to the specified dimensions.

The classification of furniture boards can be carried out according to different criteria. Among the most important differences are material of manufacture. It can be type-setting products made of solid wood, laminated chipboard. By type of finish the material can be veneered or laminated. The moisture-resistant version is glued, then treated with moisture-proof materials, sometimes it is additionally covered with a heat-shrinkable film.

By the method of gluing, there are two categories of furniture board.

• Whole lamellar... In it, glued laminated timber is connected along the length. Each plank runs from edge to edge and is a solid piece of wood. The main advantage of this method of gluing is the aesthetics and durability of the formed module, it looks uniform.Such shields can be decorated with a glazing coating, they look like a solid array.

• Spliced... In this method of gluing, the lamellae are connected along the length and width, there are much more seams, sometimes microthips are additionally used for closer contact of all elements. This method has disadvantages associated with the heterogeneity, variegation of the structure. At the same time, the spliced ​​shield has a higher bending strength and is suitable for creating load-bearing structures.

Wooden furniture boards may have different methods of face processing. Round or groove-selected, milled version most often they suggest choosing when making individual products. For subsequent processing, shields made of hardwoods are better suited - maple, oak, soft needles most often go to elements that are simpler in shape.

Classification of types of furniture boards by their decorative components most in demand in the furniture industry.

Here, several categories are distinguished at once, which determine the uniformity of color and the location of the fibers relative to each other.

• Radial... The most uniform in appearance option, the lamellas are parallel to each other, the color is natural, without sharp transitions. The fibers in the structure run radially, the deviation in the width of the individual strips should not be more than 20 mm.

• Natur... This class of furniture boards is characterized by a homogeneous structure, but the inclusion of light "eyes" up to 3 mm in diameter is allowed. There are no strict requirements for the directionality of the fibers.

• Select... A class in which the surface can be heterogeneous in color and size of lamellas. Wood fibers are most often located in different directions. In select class shields there are noticeable defects - curliness, knots.

• Rustic... The most variegated version, sometimes it is made of wood of different species. Despite not the highest quality, rustic is especially loved by designers. Externally, the finished slab resembles laid parquet; often it just needs to be varnished or waxed for protection in order to obtain an attractive decorative solution.

This classification is not entirely official, but it applies to both production and sales. Buyers should take it into account so that from the very beginning they do not waste time looking for those options that do not correspond to the tasks set.

Furniture boards made of elite wood are focused on the manufacture of furniture, countertops. The surface pattern can be uniform or variegated - each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of oak shields is high density - from 730 to 780 kg / m3. Moreover, they are quite massive, solid and durable.

In this case, manufacturing takes place according to standard technology, but using more valuable raw materials - natural hardwood, which significantly increases the operational properties of the material. One side or both can be smooth. Hot pressing using resins provides sufficient bond strength. But if formaldehydes are used, such a board can no longer be called furniture.

These types of natural wood have a beautiful pattern, are strong and durable enough. Have linden trees there is an advantage in the form of the content of special natural antiseptics, making it resistant to decay and other biological damage. Larch not afraid of contact with moisture. Alder beautiful, fairly firm and dense. Furniture panels made of wood of these species are often used in interior decoration.

Softwood furniture panels - some of the most affordable... In addition, they are lightweight, moisture-resistant, due to their high resin content. The density of the material is rather low - no higher than 520 kg / m3.

This exotic material is produced in limited quantities and is highly regarded by lovers of Asian aesthetics. Bamboo furniture boards have good flexibility, they can be used to create structures with complex geometry... Due to their rarity, they are expensive, but they look very original, so they invariably remain in demand.

Classic MDF and chipboard boards can also be classified as furniture boards. But the raw materials for their production are far from always environmentally friendly. Their mechanical and physical strength is also noticeably inferior to their analogs from the massif. MDF boards are considered a more elite material, they are more valuable.

There is an approved division of all types of furniture boards into classes.

• C... Lowest grade with a large number of defects. There may be up to 75% sapwood, a large number of knots that do not fall out, surface dents, chips and cracks. The purpose of the products is mainly technical.
• B. A variety tolerant of few defects. If these are knots, there should be no more than 2-3 pieces per 1 m2. The presence of curls is possible, sapwood should be present in volume up to 10%. This is a high-quality material that can carry significant functional loads.
• A. Furniture boards of this class may have slight variations in color and structure of components. Small numbers of healthy knots are possible, but generally undesirable.
• 0 or "extra". The highest grade of products, the requirements for it are the most stringent. There should be no defects, the color and structure of the fibers after gluing are always uniform, the joints are hardly noticeable. The pattern of such shields is poorly expressed, it seems as if it is a solid slab of wood.

The range of dimensions of furniture boards depends on their purpose... The most popular widths range from 200 to 600 mm with a thickness of 16 to 20 mm. The length of small-sized panels varies from 900 mm to 4000 mm. There are also options for the width of 0.3 and 1.1 m.The thickness of such shields is 40 or 50 mm, the length is from 1 to 6 m.

You need to understand that dimensional characteristics are not regulated by the requirements of GOST. Manufacturers can set the optimal parameters themselves. For example, medium-sized panels are considered the most popular option. Large-format panels 5000 × 1200 mm are used in the decoration of large areas. The construction includes all options, the length of which exceeds 2 m.

The color scheme of furniture boards depends on what kind of wood was used for their manufacture. The following colors are considered the most popular:

• wenge;
• white - it is found in maple, pine;
• nut;
• cherry with a characteristic reddish tint;
• Brown;
• brown;
• Ivory;
• alder - in nature it has up to 30 tones of wood.

These are the most requested options. In addition, the furniture board can be tinted, painted, brushed.

The use of furniture boards is in demand mainly in the production of tables and worktops, facades of kitchen sets and cabinets. By their structure, they are close to solid wood. Products can be milled, carved. Of the subtle varieties beautiful carved screens for radiators or screens are obtained. Thick go to the creation of stair treads, window sills, door leaves, shelving and storage systems.

The use of furniture board is in demand in the field of interior decoration. Here, the unusual structure and pattern of spliced ​​materials, reminiscent of parquet, are used. Floor with this finish can be varnished, waxed and treated. Wall decoration or the formation of partitions can also be carried out using furniture boards.

When choosing a suitable furniture board, you should adhere to certain rules. Even a dissimilar material can be beautiful and functional if it is made according to all the rules. When examining the shield, you need to pay attention to a number of important parameters.

• Product class. Shields without knots are marked with the mark "extra", they use the best materials, there are requirements for the selection of lamellas. Class B / B spliced ​​with non-toxic adhesive. It allows small knots to be included in the array.
• Bonding method... All-laminated panels are considered to be furniture, spliced ​​ones are more often used in the manufacture of loaded structures.
• Price... Coniferous wood products are the cheapest. The premium segment includes oak, beech, bamboo. Average cost, but quite sufficient strength and decorativeness for hardwood materials - maple, cherry, alder.
• Uniformity... Serious manufacturers use wood of the same species for the manufacture of furniture boards. If the structure of the fibers is very different, the material is unlikely to be considered good quality.
• Appointment... If you plan to make a door leaf, window sill, stair treads from the panels, you can not overpay for solid lamellas and choose a type-setting option. For countertops and facades, a high-quality panel with almost invisible traces of gluing will be more preferable.