FLOOR N MORE

Solid wood is a term most commonly used to distinguish between ordinary lumber and engineered wood, but it also refers to structures that do not have hollow spaces. Engineered wood products are manufactured by binding together wood strands, fibers, or veneers with adhesives to form a composite material. Engineered wood includes plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and fiberboard. The fact that a product is made from solid wood is often touted in advertisements. However, using solid wood has advantages and disadvantages.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of solid wood is appearance. Most people consider it more attractive than fiberboard, which is sometimes enhanced with a solid wood veneer or other overlays, such as formica or vinyl. It is also more attractive than oriented strand board, which is rarely used where it can be seen. Plywood has a similar look to wood, but its layered structure is visible on the ends.

Solid wood is stronger than fiberboard, but not as strong as plywood or oriented strand board. Many engineered woods disintegrate if gotten wet, unlike solid wood.

One of the most important disadvantages of solid wood is its significant cost. Engineered wood can be made from waste material like sawdust and chips, but solid wood requires large sections of wood that are relatively free from defects. Composite wood can also be made with trees that have soft or hard wood

Wood finishing refers to the process of embellishing and/or protecting the surface of a wooden material. The process starts with surface preparation, either by sanding by hand (typically using a sanding block or power sander), scraping, or planing. Imperfections or nail holes on the surface may be filled using wood putty or pores may be filled using wood filler. Often, the wood's colour is changed by staining, bleaching, ammonia fuming and a number of other techniques. Some woods such as pine or cherry do not take stain evenly, resulting in "blotching". To avoid blotching, a barrier coat such as shellac or "wood conditioner" is applied before the stain. Gel stains are also used to avoid blotching.

Once the wood surface is prepared and stained, a number of coats of finish may be applied, often sanding between coats. Commonly used wood finishes include wax, shellac, drying oils (such as linseed oil or tung oil), lacquer, varnish, or paint. Other finishes called "oil finish" or "Danish Oil" are actually thin varnishes with a relatively large amount of oil and solvent. Water-based finishes can cause what is called "raising the grain" where surface fuzz emerges and requires sanding down.

Finally the surface may be polished or buffed using steel wool, pumice, rottenstone and other polishing or rubbing compounds depending on the shine desired. Often, a final coat of wax can be applied over the finish to add a slight amount of protection.

French polishing is not polishing as such, but a method of applying many thin coats of shellac using a rubbing pad, yielding a very fine glossy finish.

Special tools used to apply wood finishes include rags, rubbing pads, brushes, and spray guns. The processes involved and the terminology for the materials used are quite different in Britain than the processes and terms used in the USA. For instance, the process of replicating the look and feel of traditional French polished wood is more commonly done in the UK by "pulling over" precatalysed lacquer, within 24 hours of spraying, whereas in the US a "rubbed" finish is more common.

Manufacturers who mass produce products implement automated flatline finish systems that run a on a conveyor belt that first begin by being sanded, then dust is removed, and the wood finish is applied via spray gun. The material then can enter an oven or be sanded again depending on the manufacturer’s setup. The material can also be re-entered into the assembly line to apply another coat of finish depending on the manufacture.

Two very common methods of automating the wood finishing process are: the Hangline approach and the Towline approach.

With the Hangline approach, wood items being painted or finished are hung by carriers or hangers which are attached to a conveyor system that moves the items overhead or above the floor space. The conveyor itself can be ceiling mounted, wall mounted or supported by floor mounts. A simple overhead conveyor system can be designed to move wood products through several wood finishing processes in a continuous loop. Typical wood finishing processes would include sanding, staining, lacquer and sealing. The Hangline approach to automated wood finishing also allows you the option of moving items up to the warmer air space at the ceiling level to speed up drying process.

The Towline approach to automating wood finishing uses mobile carts that are propelled by conveyors which are mounted in or on the floor. This approach is very useful for moving large, awkward shaped wood products that are difficult or impossible to lift or hang overhead, items such as four-legged wood furniture.

The mobile carts used in the Towline approach can be designed with top platens that rotate either manually or automatically. The rotating top platens allow the operator to have easy access to all sides of the wood item throughout the various wood finishing processes such as sanding, painting and sealing.

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Price include: Installation, Carpet take up and haul away, Subfloor(plywood), stain color of your choice, handscraping, distressing, polyurethene finish, and transition installation.

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All wood information mentioned in this page are taken from www.wikipedia.org the online free encyclopedia.