Kiln dry in the woodworking industry.

Kiln dry is a room for drying wood that equipped with tools and facilities for manipulating the air temperature, air humidity and the air flow. The drying process is fully controlled by arrange the air circulation, humidity and temperature. The wood can be dried in shorter time, without any problem with the environmental conditions such as: humid or wet weather. Almost all of commercial wood is dried in a kiln dry.

Pre drier kiln.

It is the kiln that is used to dry the wet wood to the moisture content about 25%. It can be used to do the pre-drying before the wood go to the kiln dry to achieve the standard low moisture content (moisture content 6% to 10%). The pre-drying process can be done with air drying or sheds drying but the commercial pre-drier requires more complex facility than the air drying. Pre-drier kiln in commercial operations is a large building equipped with: heating tool, fans and vents to keep the ideal conditions for drying process during the whole year. Automatic controls were installed to monitor the temperature of the air. The room temperatures ranges from 75°F to100°F, relative humidity ranged from 60% to 90%.

Pre-drying is used by the woodworking industry to prepare the wood to dry before entering the kiln. Pre-drier kiln will give the maximum benefit to dry the hard wood. Buildings and facilities that is built could be a substantial capital investment, but it will reduce the energy consumption in the kiln dry. 

 

The advantages of pre-drying are:

•  Give the brighter color of the wood.

•  Give more uniform wood MC.

• Minimize the defects due to the drying process.

• Reduce the drying time in the kin dry.

Dehumidifier kiln dry.

It is a low temperature kiln dry, but capable to dry the wood to the maximum level. Dehumidifier kiln dry is able to dry the wood to the  moisture content at around 5%. It operates at relatively low temperatures, around 160°F and small heat energy is used. The drying process will run slower compared with the kiln dry with high temperatures. The dehumidifier kiln dry is using the water condensation (the same principle with the conditioning system) to retrieve of water vapor in the kiln chamber. The explanation can be viewed in this diagram below:

 dehumidification kiln dry. 

picture is from :http://fennerschool-associated.anu.edu.au/fpt/drying/dehum.drying.html

• The air from the drying chamber is pumped to the evaporator coil on a cold, where the water in the air is condensed.

• The condensed water is removed from the system.

• The heat from the air and water condensation evaporates the refrigerant in the evaporator coil.

• The refrigerant then passed through a compressor where it re-absorbs more heat.

• Refrigerant heat is passed back to the condenser where heat is transferred back and the cool refrigerant is used to condense water from the air.

Vacuum Kiln dry.

Vacuum kiln dry using a low pressure to accelerate the evaporation of water. Vacuum kilns can reduce the drying times than the conventional or dehumidification kilns. A major limitation of the vacuum kilns caused by the chambers sizes. The small chamber limits the kilns capacity. It cannot dry large quantities at one time.

It still heat to speed the drying process, where it quite difficult to be facilitated.  Some systems use electric blankets in contact with each piece of lumber, while some use heat coils or microwaves.

All of these systems are much more expensive to run when compared to dehumidification or conventional kilns. Operating costs and initial cost are much higher than the dehumidification kiln and steam kiln dry. The handling costs are much higher because of the smaller loads. The vacuum drying only can be considered when the thicker hardwoods are dried.

Solar dry kiln

The kiln is used the heat energy for drying comes from solar collectors. Depending to the chosen design, humid air can be removed through vents or condensed in the solar collectors at night. Drying times is dependent upon the weather, and thus unpredictable. In hot climates they can degrade lumber due to excessive drying. In colder climates they are unreliable and slow. Solar kilns often use electric fans to circulate air through the lumber and it become expensive due to the long time drying time.  

The solar kiln dry may be relatively inexpensive in some tropical area, where the weather is hot with more sunlight is much more available.

Steam kiln dry

It is the facilitation for drying wood is widely used commercially in the woodworking industry. It is a conventional kiln dry that uses the hot air to drying the wood. The air with higher temperature will hold more water. In a steam kiln drying, the steam generating boiler is built to be used to heat the air during the drying process. The fans are used to circulate the air at high speed until 400 f.p.m. The temperature of air drying can reach 180 °F and can be adjusted by adjusting the flow of the hot air. Temperature and humidity can be fully controlled in accordance with the schedule for drying, size, condition and species of wood. Heat to the boiler can be supplied from gas, oil or wood waste-fired.

Although drying of wood products will add value to their products and reduce transportation costs, but the drying operation can be expensive operation in terms of energy used. Many timber mills use the wood waste as fuel for boilers to reduce costs.

High temperature dry kiln (kiln dry with high temperatures)

It is conventional kiln dry which operates at high temperature. It works to dry the wood with a high speed and is widely used for drying the soft wood where appearance is not a problem. The temperatures at about 200 °F to 240 °F and the speed at 800 f.p.m. can be set to the air drier. The ventilation openings are usually closed because the relative humidity control is not important.

In the high temperature kiln, the wood can be dried in large quantities in just few days. Soft wood that are used for interior such as sengon, jabon, or other cheap wood can be dried with this dry kiln. However, only a few hardwood species is be able to be dried in this way.

Stress on the wood

The woods will shrinkage when it dries. Outer surface of the wood will shrink faster than the inside and causing the pressure in the timber. Depreciation will also occur at different rates related to the direction of wood grains. The variation of the shrinkage can create problems in the wood panel such as: warping, checking, splitting, etc.

When the pressure is quite big and can cause damage to the wood, then the operator can do some manipulations to reduce the pressure on the timber.  Wetting the wood surface with water in to some species and reduce the air drying temperature can be done to control the drying process. In some cases of hardwood, the drying can occur faster than softwood. In both cases, the surface of the wood will swell slightly, to eliminate the pressure at the wood surfaces. For some uses, such as wood for construction where appearance is not important, then some damage at  the surface could be not an  issue.

Drying the wood naturally.

Drying the wood is very important process in the woodworking industry. Every pieces of wood that is used in the woodworking industry should be quite dry and meet certain of standards moisture content. But the fact is, the drying process for the wood is a high energy consuming process.

The fact is every pieces of wet wood will always release its water content when it is placed in the open air. The process of water releasing from the wood will be occurred naturally until a balance between the wood moisture content and the relative humidity of the surrounding air is reached. With this principle then we can dry the wood without any energy consumption. We can maximize the drying speed by arrange the speed of the air convection to the wood pieces.  

Air drying.

 
This method refers to stack to the wood and expose outside and let the water from the timber to release to air. The efficiency of the drying process is controlled by proper arrangement of the stacking and the orientation of the wood stack.

• The proper stacking of the wood planks.

The lumber must be stacked properly to ensure there is good air flow in between the wood pieces. A concrete block can be used as the bottom of the wood pile, the wood planks can be laid as railway tracks orderly to the top. Use the stickers to support and separate each layer of wood. The similar size stickers are needed to get the well ordered wood stacking. The sticker arranged aligned one above the other and placed at a distance 36" or less to avoid the wood warping.  The edge of the wood planks should be based on the sticker. A roof to protect the wood from rain and direct sunlight can be directly placed on the pyre by using big blocks. The roof can be tilted to support water precipitation. Finally, the load is required to hold the roof remains in place.

• The placement and lay out of the wood stack.

The wood stack must be placed on a dry surface such as concrete or asphalt where there is no stagnant water. Stack the wood on the black asphalt can significantly increase the rate of wood drying process compared to the bare soil. The grass or vegetable earth should not be chosen due to the high humidity of the grass that will affect the drying process. The shorter and smaller stack will increase the rate of drying process. The velocity of air flow will determine the drying rate, thus the wood should be stack in the open place, free from buildings, trees or other objects that could block the air flow.
Air circulation through the timber can be run by the natural convection. Hot and dry air would hold water from wood surfaces. As dry air moves over on the wood surface, the water will evaporate from the wood surface. Through the process of evaporation, the air became moist, cooler and thus heavier. The heavier air moves down to the bottom of the pile by the gravitation. If the air can move freely, then the cold air and moist air will soon be replaced with the hotter and drier form its surroundings. Therefore, the height of the base should be reasonably enough to allow enough space at the bottom to keep the drying process running well.
The final moisture content is determined by air temperature, relative humidity of the environment, and drying time. If a long time is used and the equilibrium time is fulfilled, then it will bring the moisture content of wood to a point of equilibrium with the relative humidity of the environment. Usually the wood moisture content from 20% to 30% will easily be achieved with this system.

the wood stacking in air drying 

(picture is from: drying the wood)

Drying Sheds.

When lot of wood is needed to be dried, then a drying shed can be built to do better control for the drying process. Drying shed can be made in a very simple construction with the same principle with the air drying. It is a warehouse or a roofed big building with floor of concrete or asphalt. The big room inside must be enough to stack the wood to facilitate the naturally drying as the air drying. The warehouse can be equipped with some fans to blow or suck the air in and out to the room. Warehouses can also be equipped with  portable walls that can be raised or lowered, opened or closed to maximize the air movement. The better adjusting to the air flow rate will make the drying process be more efficient.

Since no heat is added then, the final moisture content is determined by air temperature and relative humidity of the environment. As in the natural air drying, the moisture content of 20% to 30% is easy to be achieved.

The advantages of the naturally drying.

• The low costs of construction and operational.

•  Less risk of wood damage caused by too quickly drying

• The final moisture content is accordance with the environmental conditions in the area.

The disadvantages of the naturally drying.

•  Long time drying process is needed.

• Increase the risk of insect and fungal attack

• The less control to the drying process.

Tortoise finish

Tortoise shell finish

Tortoise is an animal that is very well known. It is unique and special with hard shell on its back. The tortoise back has a distinctive shape and appearance. The uniqueness of the tortoise apparently has inspired designers to create furniture models with tortoise looked. The appearance of the tortoise is expressed and created by the finishing that is then called with the tortoise finish.
Tortoise finish is the finish that mimics the appearance of tortoise. It is the type of antic finishing that needs lot of hand works with special techniques. Here in this article we will share the finishing process to produce a tortoise finish.

The finishing process for tortoise finish.

1. Stain and wash coat application

Tortoise appearance is created with the combination of solid color or paint color with heavy antic effect with glaze or pad stain application thereon. The stain used is the base coat, paint or toner to make solid color as the base color of the finish. We need the base coat or toner with light color, such as: light brown, cream or off white base coat as the base color. The light base coat will be combined with the glaze with darker color to produce an interesting and lively looked tortoise finish.
Spray wet the base coat evenly to the wood surface, wait for about 30 minute to dry. We will get a rough surface, since the raised and stiffen of the wood fibers as the result of the base coat applications. Therefore, we need to sand the base coat layer. Use a # 280 or # 240 grade sand paper to sand the base coat layer to cut the stiffen wood fibers. 

One layer base coat usually is not enough to evenly cover the wood surface. The repeat the base coat application; apply the second base coat by wet coat spray, and wait to the base coat to dry.  Sand the base coat layer when it is dry. The second base coat layer is much more smooth then the first one, since most of the wood fibers are already cut off by the first sanding. Make sure that we sand the second base coat well, and the smooth surface is obtained.
After we get the base coat layer with smooth surface then we can layer a wash coat. The wash coat application is purposed to relieve the sand mark form base coat sanding. The sanding mark and rough surface will affect the glaze coloring; then we need to make sure that we well sand the base coat and layer the wash coat evenly. Wait until the wash coat layer dried check surface of the wash coat, make sure we got the wash coat layer with smooth surface, and the base coat with the right color.

2. Glaze application

The glaze application is the main step to produce the tortoise looked. Use the glaze with the color that is quite contras but still well blend with the color of base coat. Remember that the final finish color will be the combination from the color of base coat with color of the glaze. Glaze with a dark brown color such as V.D.B. or Burnt umber can be used on the cream or light brown base coat to produce an interesting tortoise finish.
Dry brushing the glaze with stippling technique evenly on the wash coat layer, do the highlights to the glaze layer. The tortoise effect is made in this finishing step, then do the glaze application correctly. It may take long time since it is fully hand work. Always check and control the color and effect resulted. But the glaze is very flexible and easy to be applied in this way; we can always wipe or reduce the glaze layer with steel wool every time we need. You can visit our previous post : stippling the glaze.  Make sure we got the right effect and color in this step. Wait for about 1 hour to let the glaze layer dry, then layer it with a sealer coat.

Let the sealer to dry, then check the color and effect we got. We may need to add some more glazes to get the right color and effect. Apply the glaze with the same color and technique as the first one. Let it dry and check the color we need. Make sure we got the finish effect we want.

3. Sealer application

Sealer is needed to give the film built and to make the smooth surface for the top coat application. Apply a layer of sealer by wet spray coat after we got the right color and antique effect from the glaze. Let it dry, and sand the sealer layer well. Use the # 280 or # 320 sandpaper to sand the sealer.

4. Top coat application

The top coat is the last layer in the finishing. Make sure the sealer is already well sanded, and the smooth and flat surface is obtained. Check the color of the finish; make sure we get the right color and effect. If necessary we can add some color with pad stain or glaze on the sealer layer. Then apply a layer of top coat as the final coat. Spray the top coat evenly to overall surface, make sure we do a even coat layer.

Patio furniture

Patio is an outdoor space that is used for relax, recreation or dining. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard or a paved area between a residence and a garden.  Patio is like a park or garden as open space as a place to relax, while enjoying the sunshine.

 patio folding table

Patio furniture

As a special room, the patio is also needed furniture to support the people’s activities there in. Patio furniture is very much the same with garden furniture.  It has a very similar task. If we mention about patio furniture it can be meant by the garden furniture, while the garden furniture always can be used to be patio furniture. As exterior furniture, patio furniture is needed to be specially made since he has to withstand the sunlight, rain, and outdoor weather and climate.
The patio furniture usually has simple model and shape, and brings the atmosphere of relaxed and natural. The bench, lenjer, seat, or even chair and table are made in the special design to support the relaxing activities..
Patio furniture is outdoor furniture, then he needs a strong and durable material to withstand the outdoor weather. The hardwood that is suitable for outdoor uses should be used such as: oak, teak, merbau, bengkirai, munggur, etc. The other exterior synthetic materials can be used such as: synthetic wicker, aluminum, iron, or stainless steel.

patio cooper table

Finishing for patio furniture.

As furniture for exterior uses the patio furniture need special finishing layer that be able to withstand the outdoor weather. The stain used must be deigned to the outdoor used; otherwise the color will fade soon. The coating used has to be special finishing materials for the exterior.
The transparent wood color is mostly used to bring the natural atmosphere. The finishing with oil finish, spar varnish or exterior PU or water based clear coating with light stain is good choice for this color. If the iron or aluminum metal or paint finish is used then the exterior paint (car paint) can be used finishing. 

 patio chair with outdoor finish

Tips in choosing the patio furniture.

•  Consider the size to the shape of the space available.

As a place to relax, the patio or garden needs relief room. The presence of furniture in the room should not too big or too full that can interfere the atmosphere of relaxing. Choose the furniture with the simple and practical model. The furniture that can be folded may be better choice, because it can be folded and stored when not in use so the spacious and roomy can be kept in the patio.

• Make sure the furniture is specially made for outdoor use

Patio furniture is used for outdoor, then that he must be specially made for outdoor uses. Make sure that the furniture is made using materials that are durable for outdoor uses. If the furniture is in the finished, then make sure that the exterior finishing material is used.

patio relax chair

Saws in the woodworking

Saw is the main tool for cutting wood in the woodworking industry. Saw is made of a thin plate or chain with sharp serrated teeth on. The saw uses the teeth to friction the wood to make the cutting. By this way it can cut the object with the straight and flat surface with less pressure as the blade. The saw cuts the wood little by little and can make a shape in accordance with the direction of the saw blade movement.

manual hand saw

• Manual saw

It is the simplest type of saw. It is a thin metal plate with teeth gear that serves as a cutting tool at one side. When it is used, the saw must be moved manually. This tool is the forerunner of all kinds of saws that are available today. The manual saws are made in different sizes to meet the needs of the woodworking and carpentry industry. The saw could be in the big size to cut the big tree. Now, the saw machines are available to replace the uses of big hand work to move the teeth blade. The manual saws now, most are in the small size for cutting or shaping the small size objects.
The jig saw is the simple development for the manual saw. The jig saw uses motor to drive the saw teeth to move automatically; the people work is to feed the work piece to the saw to be cut off.

 circular saw

• Circular saw

It uses a disc plate with saw teeth on the ring as the cutting tool. The object is moved toward the circular saw to let the circumstances truncated objects. The saw is powered by motor to rotate the disc with specific rpm.  The circular plate can be fitted in a table with various positions. In the panel saw, the circular saw is mounted straightly for cutting boards and panels. The circular saw with a tilted position can be used to create special oblique angle object. The portable saw with small size are also available for cutting the small objects.

panel saw

• Band saw

The band saw is the development of the jig saw. It uses a flexible metal shaped which rotating automatically by the power machine. The work piece is feed to the saw to be cut. The saw is available in various sizes and can be used to cut objects with big size and thickness. The big band saw is used in the rough mill to cut the log to make sawn timber.

  band saw

• Chain saw.

Chain saw is used chain where the saw teeth are mounted. The chain is rotated with the engine power when it is operated. By using the chain then more flexible movement can be held. The chain saw with relatively small size can be used to cut and penetrate the big and thick objects. But the using of chain make the teeth saw blade must be relatively large in the size. The result is it will generate more waste then the circular saw or band saw. The chain saw is widely used for cutting trees in the forest when a compact cutting tool but has the ability to cut the big objects is required.

 chain saw

Tips in selecting and using the saw.

• Customize the type and size of the saw according with the type and volume of work.

When we choose the saw, we must make sure it fit well with the work needed. Determine the type of work required and then calculate the volume of work, and then we can choose the most suitable type of chain saw according to the job required. Saw with a large size requires big power and also produce a lot of waste. The band saw or manual saw will give the least waste; otherwise the chain saw is the most waste

• Do a good maintenance.

The saw is actually a simple tool, but it is also dangerous. Little mistake result from any reason such as the careless handle or improper equipment setting can result in a severe injury. Therefore, the proper treatment is needed to keep the tools in good condition. Always check the tool condition before use it. The teeth are main tool for cutting, and then they should be kept to be sharp. In the automatic machine, then the blade has to be well engaged. The lose blade is very dangerous since it can hurt the people around him.

The Scandinavian Furniture Style

Scandinavian country

Scandinavia is a region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden who historically have similarity in the ethnology, cultural and language. But the Scandinavia often also refers to the some small countries around the three countries, the: Faroe Islands, Iceland and Finland which have proximity historical and geographical to the three countries. 
Geographically this area is located in the north land, close to the North Pole, so it has a more extreme climate than Southern European countries. In winter, the weather can be very cold with a very short day time, meanwhile in the summer time the weather is very hot with longer day time than the other European regions. The geographical and climate then has formed the Scandinavia culture to be different with the other European countries.

Scandinavian furniture

Scandinavian Furniture.

The geographical conditions and culture have also influenced the model furniture in this area. The Scandinavian has his own style and model furniture that is very well known as the Scandinavian furniture. Basically the Scandinavian furniture is identical to the simple form, practical and natural, bring the atmosphere of relax, calm and serene. The Scandinavian furniture style then spreads to many other countries and is accepted by the world furniture market as special furniture style.  
The furniture markets in various places accept this model as one of the special style in  furniture design. The Scandinavian furniture model is also adopted and used by many furniture designers as inspiration to make furniture. Now the Scandinavian furniture style is available in various countries with various modifications. Generally the Scandinavian furniture is picturing the contemporary, simple and bring the natural beauty. The style brings to the atmosphere of simplicity, elegance, relax, calm and serene.
 

Finishing for Scandinavian furniture.

scandinavian transparent finish

Basically the light colors and natural is the favorite finishing for the Scandinavian furniture. Dark colors are very rare used. The wood with light base color such as: oak, pine, maple, beech, are most used. Natural finishing with a light stain or no stain with application thin layer sealer and semi gloss top coat is the most common. But with the spreading and modification of this style, the darker wood such as: mahogany, rosewood, walnut, teak, etc. are also used.  The classic models with some antique effect are also could be found some.

Scandinavian antique paint finish

If the paint finish is used, then the soft and calm colors are used. The paint finish with white color, light green, light blue, light brown, salmon, cream paint are commonly found. As well as the transparent finish, the paint color can also be made with little antic effect. But however, the finish always impresses the simplicity and natural.

How to be save as Ikea supplier..

Ikea is very famous. It is big retail company of household products that have network spread all over the world. In the furniture business he is also well known as big player, his market share could be the biggest in Europe. The Ikea furniture is simple, inexpensive but has high quality to fulfill its function as household product.  The design made always base to the practicality and simplicity in handling both in the uses and in the manufacturing process. The price is the big concern, the construction is made with concerning to the efficiency in the production process.

Although made with simple, efficient and low price, but the Ikea products are made with strict control to meet the health and safety standards. All Ikea products must past series of tests to achieve the safety and health standards in accordance with European rules. The construction must be kept to follow the safety and security for the user. The substrate and finishing layer must use the materials that are safe and environmentally friendly. Ikea is one of the company that specifies the water based finishing materials for his product.

The Ikea products are sourced in various countries. The price is considered as the main consideration to outsource products. Now China could be still the biggest furniture maker for Ikea furniture. But along with the increasing of production costs in China, then Ikea began to look for some new places to outsource his product. The new furniture exporter countries such as: Vietnam, India, or Bangladesh and Indonesia are the alternatives. Although being made in many places, but the Ikea products are always manufactured with high standards of quality. The strict production processes are held to control the process from the beginning t the end to keep the quality. 

Ikea furniture is simple and practice

To become supplier for Ikea product may be very interesting for many furniture manufacturing company. The big volume products with good payment make doing business with Ikea are very interesting. But if you want to become Ikea suppliers, the we must be careful. There are some stories about some furniture factories were bankrupt since he was left by Ikea. The demands to get good quality products with the lowest possible price, has made the Ikea furniture to be "disloyal" to the suppliers. Ikea could leave his supplier to find the “best price furniture”.

Here are some tips to be considered if you want to be Ikea supplier.

• Do a good calculation for the price.

Ikea will keep his product to be cheap, since then he will always find the cheaper price when he outsources his product. But we as furniture factories has keep work in the save way. Price calculations must be done correctly, because the slightest error in estimating the price would be fatal to the plant. In fact, not every factory are suitable for Ikea product. To meet its the standard price and quality, the a big, well organized and efficient production system is needed.

•   Always keep space for the other supplier,

Ikea is a great company and he always demand for high capacity factories. When he place order, he may ask for your full capacity. But course we as furniture manufacturer should not rely for just one buyer. The competition in the furniture business is very tight then we must to be aware of all possibilities that could happen. Keep the amount of our order in a balance, don’t let one company dominating our order. Provide production space to serve some buyers. Thus if something happens for one buyer, then there are still some other buyer to keep the business. Maximum 60% of our production can be dedicated to the Ikea furniture, and other spaces must diverse to other company.

• Keep the process and quality to meet the standard.

Ikea is big company; he is always commit to maintaining the quality of his products. If there are quality problem found, he did not hesitate to recall the products. It is very good for his buyers, but in the fact, Ikea will charge all problems arisen to its supplier. Then the supplier should be able to keep the quality of his products. Make sure the sample has been approved is used the production of reference. Any changes to the process must be discussed with Ikea. The good documentation is needed to avoid any disputes in the future.

Country finishing style.

Country furniture style is the style of furniture that refers to the furniture in the past when technology in the furniture manufacturer was not advanced as it is now. At that time the furniture was made traditionally with the simple tools. The wood was cut with a handsaw, and then formed by hand knives, and other hand tools. The leveling and smoothing the wood surface was done using: hand plainer, stone, glass. There was neither sandpaper nor sanding machine. The modern wood adhesive was not available yet, the wood gluing was done with adhesive from animal. The peg, or wood pivot were used to connected the big wood pieces.  

Now, the process of manufacturing furniture is very far forward. There are wide range woodworking machinery and tools are available to manufacture furniture in the factories. There are also available portable woodworking toll to be used in the small woodworking shop. The result is the furniture with uniform size, neat and consistent. Meanwhile the country furniture style has to mimic the appearance of the traditionally furniture which was handmade, with his imperfectness and inconsistency shape and sizes. Then to produce the country style products then the proper finishing process is needed. The country finishing is the finishing processes to make the furniture to become “country looked”. The country finishing is needed to comply the design to build the country style furniture. The country finishing is the tool to make the modern furniture to be looked traditional, handmade and old looked.

 country furniture finishing

Here are some special techniques and materials that are needed to do the "country style furniture".

• Physical distress

Physical distress is physically “destruction” to the furniture to create the impression of damaged, broken or imperfect. There are many physical distresses can be generated to make "country looked",. The physical distresses with rock, file, nail or hammer are mainly used to make the damage looked caused by the physical abused. The physical distress can also be used to form the traditionally impression since of the imperfect production process such as the unevenness surfaces, the imperfect shape etc. The distress with files, hand planner or chisel are used for this purpose. Distress can also be made to mimic the impression of damaged due to the rupture such as: cracking, open joint or the imprecision of the shape. We can use the knife, chisel or nail for this purpose. You can find more about physical distress in our previous article: physical distress for wood finishing

 heavy physical distress

• Glaze application

Glaze is the finishing material that is mainly used to form the appearance of old and ancient looked. Glaze is very important to emulate the country style for the furniture. The patina looked that caused from the long time process and reaction of wood with the air is easy to be duplicated by the glaze application. In the "country finishing", the glaze is also used to create dirty old looked effects such as: cow tail, antic, dry brush, spatter, etc. See our previous article : glaze application to make antique

There are special glaze also available to make more dramatic antique looked. Powder glaze is special glaze to make the dusty looked. The glaze with white color is also work well to make wash finish.

 "dirty looked" with glaze

• Stain application.

Stain is material for coloring the wood furniture. To make the country style finish, we can manipulate the stain application with some special techniques. The stain can be highlighted or rubbed off to make the ware looked. The stain can be applied in the uneven thickness by padding to make smudge looked. The stain can also be spattered or splashed to make spatter, dirty looked or watermark.

If the paint or base coat is used, then we can make the rubbed off, chipping or crackle effect to make the more dramatic old looked. 

 rubbed off paint finish

Touch up kits for wood furniture finishing.

Touch up is the correction to revise or repair minor problem. It is usually carried in the furniture factory at the end of the production process to handle the small imperfectness in the product. The finishing touch up can be done at the end of finishing process. Touch up is also needed at the packing to correct some finishing damaged in furniture products before it is packed. Touch up sometime is done in a furniture store or show room. The furniture product can be defect or damaged since the improper handling and if the problem is not too bad, then we may fix them with touch up process. Touch ups, of course only be able to fix the small defects; the furniture with bad damage has to to fixed at the furniture manufacturer or the woodworking shop.

Now, there are many touch up finishing kits has been provided by the finishing material industry to help the finishing industry. But we need the skillful people to do the touch process. The touch up is such as painting job that needs accuracy and patience. But however with the touch up kits available finishing touch up kit, there many small defect can be fixed. With the proper material and technique then many minor problem can be fixed, without have to be sent back to the finishing process which is costly, laborious and time consuming.

Some of the touch up kits in the wood furniture finishing.

• Touch up markers.

It is a touch up kit that very easy to be used, but help lot to fix the color problem at the small part. It is marker that is specially designed to color the light color or the uncolored part. Touch up marker can be easily used to address at the corners or edges that was rubbed off or peeled off due to the sanded trough or rubbed trough during the finishing process. The marker also works to fix the light color since of the friction and impact during handling.

The marker can also be used in the finishing process, to coloring the light part of the finishing because of uneven stain absorption, such as putty mark or glue mark. Touch up markers is available in various colors according to many finishing color.

 touch up marker

How to apply the touch-up marker.

Choose the marker with the best suits according to the color finishing in repair. Then paint the marker on the light part until it blend and well mix with the finishing color. Make sure that we portray a good and neat paint. Markers that are too thick and smudged will leave an ugly appearance. Wipe the mark with cloth or hand to smooth when he is still wet to reduce the thickness of the marker if needed. When the marker is dry, the marker can still be thinned by rubbed off with steel wool. We may need to do some trick to make the touch is well camouflaged with the finishing overall looked.

• Fill in stick.

It is a kind of putty that can be applied on sealer, coating or top coat layer. Fill in stick is a kind of wax putty that is easy to be cut, shaped and inserted to fill the hole, crack or gap. The fill in stick is available in various colors and can be selected according to the finishing colors.

 fill in stick

How to apply the fill in stick:

Select a stick with proper color, make sure it is well blended  with the finishing color. Insert the stick to fill in the gaps, cracks or holes. We can use a small knife to insert the stick and cutting at the top of the stick is to flatten the surface at the finishing layer. Some scuff sanding can be done to resurfacing the stick.
Fill in is applied on the sealer and top coat layer and is usually followed by another layer of coating application; sealer, top coat or paint. The fill in stick without another coating layer may be obvious since the uneven gloss with the overall finishing surface. It can be used to fix the inside and unexposed part.  

• Burnt in stick.

It is the material used to fill holes and cracks as well as fill in stick. It will blend better with the finish surface, but it requires heat to be melted and applied. Burnt in stick is available in various colors and equipped with a device for heating and melting the stick. The tool used is a small metal blade fitted with electric heating (such as solder in electronic shop). The solder is heated to melt the stick and insert it the gaps, holes or cracks. This stick requires relatively more difficult process but when he properly applied he would produce better match finishing looked.

How to apply the burnt in stick. 
 
Choose the appropriate color, heat the soldering tool. Place the stick at the hole, gap or crack than use the heat solder tip to melt the stick and to fill holes. Flatten the fill stick surface with the tool at this burnt stick still in the liquid state. And let the burnt stick is cool and harden.
When it is cold and harden, we still can flatten the surface by sand the uneven surface. The flat and even gloss can be created by rubbing the whole finish surface or recoat with another layer of top coat.