How To Tell What Type Of Wood Your Furniture Is

Wood has two kinds of grain a close grain and a coarse grain.

How to tell what type of wood your furniture is. Let s review the special characteristics of both popular types. If you want to refinish a piece of wood furniture or even wood trim the first thing you have to do is figure out what type of finish is on the wood. If you like any of the styles we just described you might like antique furniture.

The more common woods are used for less conspicuous structural pieces such as table and chair legs. Identifying your furniture s wood can sometimes be the deciding factor in figuring out if your furniture is worth being refinished or if it should be thrown away. A list of a few current furniture design types includes.

Can you tell what type of wood this table is. If the wood is a hard wood your fingernail will leave no mark. If the wood is a soft wood your fingernail will leave an indention.

The following criteria will help you determine if your old furniture is an english made antique. After you figure this out you ll know if you can apply the new finish you want over top or if the wood has to be stripped. Rare woods are used where appearance is important such as table tops.

If your piece has wavy or irregular grain patterns you may be dealing with burl wood and not just a certain wood type. At least a century old antique furniture is typically made from wood and has unique ornate details that allow dealers to easily date them. Another consideration is that many types of modern furniture are made with two or more kinds of wood to keep the cost down.

Bought at thrift store on west coast and is very heavy. Simply apply more oil finish after removing wax or furniture polish with mineral spirits or soap and water. See the chart below to find out just do the following.