1 lardw,.(,d Record— V 



& Panel Section 



Backs and Faces of Panels 



Discussion oi tlie Use ot the Same kiiul ot Wood in i^oth PI 



aces. 



25 



I I 11. FUR!VITURL: man Kad sou out for one ol 

 is late productions in walnut panels to illustrate 

 )me points under discussion about the decora- 

 tive features in face veneering. After the face work had 

 been examined and talked about, a turning of the panel 

 brought to attention the fact that the back as well as the 

 face was made of walnut veneer. This started a dis- 

 cussion about the use of the same wood on the back 

 as on the face, and brought out a point that is worthy 

 of attention. 



Consistency in appearance is one of the first things 

 that come to mind, a harmony between back and front 

 that is comparable with solid work. But this was not 

 the point the furniture man brought forward, though 

 he admitted that this matter counts. The point he made 

 was that by using the same wood for the back of the 

 panel that was used in the face there was less tendency 

 for the panel to warp and get out of shape. It was 

 a mechanical point, one of consistency in face and back 

 woods for the sake of maintaining an even balance in 

 strains and shrinkage. 



Considered merely as a matter of mechanics, the point 

 is well taken. Built-up panels, while they will neither 

 warp nor shrink so much as solid panels, do shrink 

 some, and they do manifest some disposition to warp, 

 and cause some trouble. This is more likely to occur 

 when the back is made of a different wood from the 

 face, especially if it is a wood differing radically in texture 

 and shrinking qualities. 



It does not matter so much about the intervening 

 center or filler, for it is generally reversed so that its 

 swelling and shrinking tendencies are at right angles to 

 the face wood. The front and the back, if properly 

 balanced as to thickness, and well put on, will dominate 

 the matter of warping, as both commonly run the same 

 direction, and presumably will balance or counter-balance 

 each other in the matter of strains and shrinkage tend- 

 encies. But there are other things to consider beside 

 the purely mechanical. The difference in timber value 

 is one important item. If it were not for this we might 

 make up panels entirely of the same wood to have con- 

 sistency of texture and thus make better work in gluing, 

 and obtain substantially a solid wood effect because the 

 whole body would be of the same timber. But most 

 of our fine face veneer comes from wood too valuable 

 for use as fillers and backs, and here the rub comes. 



In some of our native woods, like gum, birch and 

 oak, it is quite commonly practicable to select the better 

 and finer figured for face work, and to obtain plenty 

 of the same wood for centers and backs without adding 

 materially to the cost of the work. This is more par- 

 ticularly true of gum and birch. In oak of such quality 



as is cut into vcnccr we have a value enough above some 

 other woods to make a call for centers at least of other 

 stock. In the rotary cut oak one may get enough seconds 

 from which to make backs without adding excessively to 

 the cost as compared with using other wood, and where 

 this can be done it is unquestionably advisable, both 

 for consistency in appearance and for better mechan- 

 ical balance. When we come to quartered oak, how- 

 ever, there is quite a difference. Only stock of best 

 quality and practically clear is cut into flitches for quar- 

 tered oak veneer, so the product from these contains 

 a very small percent low enough in grade and value to 

 justify use for backs. Even sheets with defects can be 

 worked to smaller size and have the defects trimmed 

 out and then be worth much more for faces than for 

 backs. 



When we come to walnut, mahogany and other woods 

 of especially high merit, commercial value is involved 

 that may easily outweigh the mechanical advantage of 

 using the same wood for backs and face. There are 

 many instances in the making of furniture of extra qual- 

 ity that is high in price where the use of this higher 

 priced wood in backs may easily be justifiable. But 

 that is a limited use, and for the larger quantity of panel 

 production, including the use of such face woods, it 

 should be practical to make good use of less expensive 

 woods for the fillers. 



From a mechanical standpoint the solution of this 

 question hinges on finding other woods comparable 

 with the face woods in the matter of shrinkage and 

 warping tendencies. We need, for example, something 

 to back up walnut and mahogany that will form a sort 

 of mechanical balance with it. To some extent the 

 same is true of oak, though here we have chestnut to 

 help out if it is plain oak, while if it is quartered oak 

 the shrinkage element is so reduced that it should be 

 fairly easy to match it with whatever will serve to back 

 up and match walnut and mahogany mechanically. In- 

 stead of being a matter of finding woods, it seems to be 

 more a matter of so drying and treating the readily 

 obtainable woods that they will be less inclined to shrink 

 when used for backing. The finer face woods, walnut, 

 mahogany and quartered oak, have but little tendency 

 to shrink when prepared for use as face work, so when 

 we can get other woods reduced to this state it should 

 be practical to meet the mechanical requirements with 

 any of several woods common in the veneer industry. 



Finally, thickness enters as a factor. The highly figured 

 face wood is generally used very thin, and now face 

 wood regardless of figure in walnut and mahogany will 

 generally be used thin to conserve the supply. This 

 means quite a change in the matter of maintaining me- 

 chanical balance in built-up work. In many cases it 



