The impeccable lacquer finish
 

     The manufacturers of Rosewood furniture oriental design have been using the centuries old Chinese predecessor-NATURAL LACQUER. It might take a little longer to apply, but it is much deeper and more beautiful than synthetic equivalents.
     NATURAL LACQUER is an exudate from the “Lacquer tree” which is indigenous to China. It is collected in much the same way as latex, is partially evaporated in the sun, and is very expensive.
      After the final scraping and shaping of the first coarse sanding, a lacquer-based filler is applied to fill the characteristic open grain of Rosewoods. This takes eight hours to dry. The furniture is again sanded and a second application of the filler is made which is in turn sanded when dry, with successively finer grade abrasives. The first layer of lacquer is then applied to seal the grain. After sanding with flour paper, if the colour of the wood is to be changed, aniline dye is painted on and rubbed down. Then the polishing begins with successive application of clear lacquer. This will be after a minimum of four coating, a total of seven applications of lacquer.
     The finish that results from all this hard work has some remarkable properties, not only is it heat-proof, but it is not permanently marked by a wet glass or hot wet pan. The surface is not as hard as a Polyurethane lacquer, but small scratches will polish out.
     Above all, the natural quality of the finish allows it to mature with age and wear, so that when the products of today become the antiques of the future, the sun-bleached gold of Rosewood will be enhanced by the patina of the natural lacquer.


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An introduction to
 
Thai Rosewood Furniture Oriental Design
  Raw Material
  The Furniture is made by Rosewood which is a common Western name of FA-LEE as called by the Chinese. The common local name is PRADU or PRADUAK in Thai.
    GENUS - PTEROCARPUS
SPECIES - MACROCARPUS
  It has the same GENUS as the PALISANDER or BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD but different species.
    COUNTRY OF ORIGIN : THAILAND
  Rosewood is a high class wood of furniture, it has beautiful grains, very stable and durable, quite expensive and increasingly rare.
 
TREATMENT OF MOISTURE CONTENT IN ROSEWOOD
       With the aid of modern technology, the wood is kiln dried with hot boiling steam for about 21 days in the chamber. The moisture content in the wood is brought down to about 5-6% equilibrium moisture content, but since the relative humidity in Thailand is about 80% throughout the year, moisture will tend to escape back into the wood while it is in production and the moisture content in the finished goods before export is about 10% which is internationally acceptable.
     However, in parts of the world where heater is used in the house extensively, we recommend that they should control the moisture content in their house to be at least 30-40% by using a humidifier, otherwise when the moisture in the air is below 10%, the moisture that is still in the wood will dry out and cause shrinkage.
 
Production
  The production of Rosewood furniture oriental style can be divided mainly into two sections :-
1. The preparation of raw materials, by using modern technology and machinery, the parts of each individual joints are cut, this section consume about 30% of the total production work.
2. Assembling or carpentry work, after all parts are ready from the machine, it will be assemble mainly by handwork which take longer time and this is where the skill of true craftsmen are required.
 
Comments
  “The Chinese three-way mitred double locking mortise and tenon with floating panel” would horify a furniture production engineer because of extreme difficulty in mass producing it. The floating panel is cut from a single piece of wood usually about 9 mm. in thicknness and is tongued and grooved into the rails. To support it and prevent any tendency to curl, transverse braces are dovetail grooved into the underside and then tenoned into the long rails of the frame. This assembly is found in all panels, be they table tops, door panels or seat frames.
 
Carving
  High speed routers are used to rough cutting after the carving designs were prepared by the master, but from then on, all the carving work is done by hand with carving gouges and chisels.
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Copyright 2003 Vanacharoen Co.,Ltd.
Manufacturers & Exporters
1954-62 New Petchaburi Road, Bangkok , Thailand
Telephone : (66)2-3144-071-4 Fax : (66)2-3144-075
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