Working with Wood

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Introduction to wood-based panel products

Outlines the types available, their manufacture and general performance.

Edge sealants for wood-based boards

Protecting board edges is a vital part of board performance in humid conditions. This wood information sheet gives guidance on suitable materials.

Composting of waste wood dust

Composting is one option of treating the hundreds of tonnes of waste wood dust that are produced every year from sanding and cutting operations during furniture production. However, the majority of the wood waste dust produced is sent to landfill. With the Government’s Waste Strategy 2000 seeking to reduce the levels of waste being sent to landfill, composting is one option that that can make an effective contribution in reducing the current levels of waste wood dust being sent to landfill.

UV Pine - lacquer free coloration

Adding colour to pine the natural way

Recycling MDF

The amount of MDF waste produced at the furniture production stage is in the region of 180,000 tonnes per annum. The vast majority of this waste, almost 99%, is directed towards landfill. Unlike particleboard, which may be recycled to some extent to produce fresh particleboard, there are production problems concerning the recycling of MDF to produce fresh MDF board. Consequently, MDF is not currently recycled in order to produce fresh MDF.

Waste minimisation

The creation of waste involves buying a raw material then spending time, money and energy processing it, before paying someone else to take it away. Wood waste is the specific issue which is associated with the timber and furniture industries, but there are other important sources of waste such as solvent, energy, packaging and transport fuel.

Joinery performance: work with wood, not against it

There are two ways of looking at wood as a manufacturing material. One can select appropriate species and exploit its properties through good component design or, as happens all too often, one can consider wood's unique properties as a nuisance and a hindrance to the manufacturing process. This route leads to failures which could easily be avoided through greater understanding and care.

Adhesives for furniture

The rapid development of synthetic adhesives over the last few decades has virtually eliminated the natural animal glues used for centuries. Each adhesive type is now engineered to a particular operation – be it laminating, edgebanding or jointing. These new adhesives have had a marked effect on today’s furniture industry. In particular, the development of particle boards for cabinet making followed by the introduction of urea formaldehyde (UF) adhesives which are much better suited to automatic high speed production processes. Along with UF, the most widely used products are polyvinyl acetate (PVAC) and hot melt adhesives and within each range there are those best suited to different applications

Wood dust: measure to manage

Wood dust is an important health issue for the furniture industry. Duties exist to control exposure and monitoring forms an essential element of any programme of control

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