Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
In a recent issue of FFW a chair was featured that had been built using some four or five species of wood. The wood was painted so grain was not an issue. Is there a particular reason for incorporating so many wood species.
What am I missing?
Replies
Sometimes it's an economic reason. I've read that in early federal pieces this practice was quite common for the woodsmiths of that time. They just used whatever they could find and painted over it. Maybe somebody was just cleaning out their shop. On the other hand , take a Windsor chair for example , you would use different species wood for their specific inherent properties.
If it was a Windsor, there are at least three species of wood used to build it. A soft wood for the seat like pine or poplar for ease of shaping. The legs and undercarriage are maple, cherry or birch for strength and crisp turnings. The bow and spindles are red, white oak or hickory for flexibility and bending. Each is selected for its particular properties. Windsor’s were always painted to unify the piece and is part of the design.
Thank you for the enlightment. The piece was in fact a Windsor; not having experience with chairs; the use of different species for its properties had not occured to me but, makes perfect sense.
I'll keep this in mind for the future.
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