Craftsmen can smelt metal to mold it, melt plastic to shape it, and make marks on stone and marble to free the sculpture within. But how do they prepare wood for woodworking?
Woodworking is the crafting of taking wood and making furniture or art. It involves the use of a variety of tools, all of them meant to measure, sharpen, carve, shape, cut, and finish the wood.
To prepare for woodworking, a woodworker selects the best wood for the current project. There are two main categories of wood. A woodworker may choose hardwood, a type of wood which usually comes from an angiosperm, or fruit or flower bearing tree. Hardwoods, in general, are more durable, with less tendency to dent or misshape on impact. Hardwoods are also more expensive.
Softwoods, on the other hand, come from any species of gymnosperm, such as the cone bearers (pine or evergreens) or trees from the ginkgo family. Softwoods are cheaper than hardwoods, but are more prone to scratches and dents, and aren't as durable as their angiosperm-sourced counterparts.
There are certain characteristics woodworkers look for in wood. For instance, spalting, or discoloration due to fungal infection, is a desirable feature. Wood mustn't have interlocked grains, or multiple layers of grain typical of tropical hardwoods, which makes smoothening and working the wood difficult. Wood must also be free from moisture, which can crack, misshape, or split the wood, so woodworkers season the wood to strengthen it.
When they have selected the wood they want, woodworkers will measure it, mark the places where they want to place a certain carving or corner, or designate spots where accessories such as guides or hooks may be attached. The lattermost activity is most important for woodworkers who are designing furniture, such as drawers or cabinets, as the grain of the wood will affect how it will be cut; the way the wood is cut, in turn, will determine the strength and durability of the final product.
Woodworkers sharpen their tools before they begin working on the wood, as blunt instruments will create a less than satisfactory final product. To do so, they will use a dressing stone, a rough sharpening stone used to keep tools keen. Such sharpening instruments include grinders, or even diamond plates, to work around the rough, hard edges of wood. One sharpening method is called “scary sharp,” and it involves using sandpaper and a flat surface, such as glass.
Now that the tools are sharp, and the wood is marked, it’s time for woodworking to begin – and the art to emerge from what was once an ordinary plank of grains and spots.
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