Coconut Crabs and Everything What Is Related It

Coconut crabs are the biggest anthropodas in the world. Can you even imagine that they can reach up to 8.8 lb (4kg) in weight? You might ask me: Why do they call coconut crabs? The answer is clear. They cover their body with shredded coconut. Sometimes they climb up the coconut tree  and they are trying to drop the fruit from the tree. It takes days for them to do that. But you know it`s not their favourite dish.

What is the difference between usual crabs and king crabs (coconut)?

If you are entomologist, I think you already know it. But if not, read this. The difference isn`t very essential. It lies in their infraorder. Usual crabs belong to infraorder "Brachyura" and coconut crabs belong to infraorder "Anomura". Talking about leg-span, its common size is 2-2.3ft (60-70 cm). But their leg-span can reach up to 3.3ft (1 meter). Really, I`m not kidding.

Where you can find them?

You can find them on different islands in the Indian Ocean. Earlier they can be founded in Africa and Australia. But not nowadays, because they extinct. They are naturally occurring in two colours: red and blue. In animal world as well as in human exists competition. And our king crabs protect their soft abdomens with a help of mollusc shells. They created for terrestrial survival. If you throw them into the water they will drown. Their lungs aren`t designed for underwater life. They are fond of eating fresh fruits. Fresh flesh, seeds, piths of fruits and figs are their favourite sweets.

Can you eat coconut crab?

Environmentalists condemn me but coconut crab meat is very tasty. It`s a delicacy on many islands and not for free. It taste similar to lobster and crabmeat. You can cook it by boiling or steaming. Also you can try to cook coconut crabs in coconut milk. As I have already mentioned, coconut crabs are edible. If you like to joy yourself with something tasty eat crabs with beer. If you ever been on island Guam, you know that there are great amount of crabs. Frightening scene.

On some islands they are naturally occurring very rare. That`s why on such islands they are protected by local laws. Mature coconut crab can live during 60 years. You will be surprised, coconut crabs eat not only flesh, seeds and pith of fruits. Can you imagine coconut crab eating Polynesian rat?

Some fascinating facts:

- Coconut crabs are very patient. They can work on opening coconut with a help of their claws during several days;

- They jump from coconut tree instead of climb down. At least they fall from 18.8ft (4.5 meters);
- Sometimes it is called palm thief because they like steal shiny things from tents and houses;
- Coconut crabs can lift weight up to 64lb (29 kg);

- They can eat slow animals. For example, sea turtles;

- They have very small last pair of legs and use them to clean the breathing organs;

- Sometimes they climb up the coconut tree to escape predators and heat;

- They live exclusively on land, even up to 3.7mi (6 km) from the ocean;

- The largest population of coconut crabs is on Caroline island;

- They detect enemies on ground vibration;

- Coconut crab attacks the person if it is threatened;

- The largest coconut crab can reach up to 3.3ft (1 meter) long from head to tail;

It`s unbelievable and I can hardly believe it. But there exists such opinion, that they are responsible for Amelia Earhart`s disappearance. She disappeared after her try to make circumnavigation flight of the globe in 1937. And there is assumption that coconut crabs ate her corpse. But it`s really funny. How they can did it? They did it with a help of their pincers? Funny!

From which parts consists their body?

Trunk;
Opisthosoma;
Forepart;
Cephalic lobe;

If you are fond of pets

Coconut crabs are sold as pets in Germany and Japan. You should buy special cage for them to prevent escape. And to maintain special temperatures in coconut crab`s cage. Remember coconut crabs like to burrow during the day. So you should have 36 inches (91.5 cm) of surface material on the bottom of the cage.

- www.coconut-info.net

Coconut Water - Knowing It`s Useful Properties

Coconut water is the pellucid liquid substance the young, green coconut fruit contain inside of them. Ripe fruits contain way less liquid substance than immature coconuts. The coconut liquid should not be confused with the coconut milk - the white liquid obtained from the grated coconut flesh, called the coconut meat.

At its nuclear stage of development, the water functions as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut. During further growing, at the cellular stage, there occurs the development of the endosperm, which later deposits into the flesh of the coconut meat.

The sugar, vitamin and minerals, proteins and antioxidants content makes the fruit water one of the most useful drinks which favors lots of health benefits. The fresh bottled coconut water available in many tropical areas and countries like India, Africa, South America has been long enjoyed by a lot of people as an alternative to different beverages like sodas, various juices, smoothies etc. 

This refreshing, replenishing drink is now getting highly popular among sportsmen. Many of them prefer this coconut liquid to other sports drinks. They claim that it restores their energy and powers, revives the vigor of the body better than any drink they have ever consumed.

The water also possesses low calories content, contains a high level of potassium (more than it is in four bananas). The cytokinins content is instrumental in cell growth and division. The substance provides an electrolyte balance, replacing the fluid and salts lost from the body during, say, strenuous training.

The coconuts are usually picked from the palm tree when they are young and green. To collect the-water it is necessary to drill a hole in the shell of the fruit and then let it drain out into a jug or any other vessel. Coconuts fallen off from the tree are prone to decaying and no longer can be used in food.

Coconuts for drinking can be found sold in many places.

Mainly these fruits are the Asian coconuts. First, it is necessary to get rid of the green shell. The rest should be packed in plastic.

There are lots of street vendors selling fresh coconut fruits. Often to assure the customers that the water is fresh, the green husk of the fruit is removed by a vendor right on the spot. You can also find the water packed in cans, bottles and some other packages. The water of the coconut tastes sweet and nutty.

Consuming coconut water and including it into the diet can help reduce the sodium level and increase that of the potassium. It is a great source of nutritious properties. The substance can serve as a hangover remedy. The liquid is also a perfect means of hydrating the organism. For that matter, this water is a good thirst quencher. 

Though some sources state that if you want to stay hydrated, you have to drink large amounts of the coconut liquid and only in this case the consumption of this liquid will be effective. Despite of the low calories content, however, you should be careful. You should in no way abuse it since consuming it several times a day, the calories would deposit and you would gain weight. The nutritionists recommend to drink it moderately.

Even though the health benefit of the coconut water is obvious, all the fuss over its properties is rather disputable.

The marketing campaign is somewhat overacting toward its healing properties.

The water is presented in a favorable light making it a universal cure in the customers` eyes. Some aspects of the water qualities like the ability to reduce nausea and help prevent kidney failure should still be studied.

- www.coconut-info.net

Coconut Water Diet and Its Benefits For Weight Reduction

Coconut water is the best natural food for all those who are looking to reduce weight. It tastes delicious, and is commonly used as a natural dehydrating solution. You can consume at anytime you like. It is the best recommended drink after heavy workouts and exercises. Presently researchers are trying to find the effectiveness of coconut water on weight reduction.

Coconut water is a 100% natural beverage. If you are looking forward to trying an organic drink, then this delicious one comes with a number of health benefits. Although, it is a refreshing beverage, often its importance of coconut water diet in one's diet is neglected.

Water from coconut is quite often as coconut milk. The fact is that they not are different. Coconut milk is good for you, but they are high on calories. The coconut on the other has zero percent calories, fats, and sugar content in them. 

What exactly is coconut water?

First of all, to understand the importance of this natural drink you need to know what it is. Coconut water is the liquid present inside a green young coconut. It is scientifically known as endosperm. As soon as a coconut starts maturing, the water in it is absorbed inside the husk and gets converted into meat. 

Now, once you are aware of what coconut water is, we are sure that the next question that will come to your mind is what it tastes like. In plain and simple words, it tastes delicious. Pure and unflavored coconut water is very mild in taste and quite satisfying as well. It is not exactly sweet, but is the best thing to have after your heavy workouts.

How is coconut water beneficial for weight reduction?

Coconut water is not at all a magical drink, which will give you instant results. You need to consistently have them in order to reap its benefits.

In order to maintain healthy functioning body system, it is necessary that you intake proper amount of water every day. This will help you maintain the rate of metabolism as well as it will keep you hydrated during workout sessions. Most of us are aware about this fact, and yet we do not pay any heed.

Moreover, we include a variety of healthy supplements and spend a lot of money on them, but miss out on the consuming water. What we do not understand is that the natural beverages such as coconut water can serve most of the purposes and are cheap.

This water helps you in reducing weight, without compromising with your health. It has low calories, which helps you in controlling your weight. It is estimated that an 8.5 oz of serving consist of only 45 calories. That is pretty less and good, isn`t it? There is no sugar present in it, which makes it low on calories.

It is observed that a single serving of coconut water contains less than 15 grams of natural sugar, whereas other athletic beverages available in the market contain more than 30 grams of added sugar. Therefore, it can be ascertained that coconut water diet is much healthier. 

In addition to its great taste, rehydrating electrolytes and digestive benefits, coconut has much more to offer. Though it is not yet scientifically proved that coconut water helps in weight reduction yet it is accepted as an effective replacement for soft drinks and other beverages.

- www.coconut-info.net

Coconut Water For Weight Loss - How It Helps In Reducing Excess Fat?

People go to gyms, diet, and even change their lifestyles to reduce weight. However, many fail to achieve the desired results with those methods. As an alternative, you can follow natural ways of burning fat.

You could rework on your eating habit, cut down on unhealthy eating, and indulge in natural fruits and vegetable. Gradually you will start becoming healthy. Consuming coconut water on a regular basis is one of the natural ways for reducing fat in the body.

Drink coconut water for weight loss and to achieve brighter skin. Coconut water has medicinal value and it helps in maintaining good health. Regular consumption helps in reducing excess body fat and protects body from dehydration. This fruit grows in the tropical areas, but is consumed in every part of the world.

Coconut Water and Weight Loss programs

To lose weight, stop consuming aerated drinks or cold drinks that are too rich with sugar. These bottled drinks are not healthy. Try and avoid packaged juices that are sold in the market. Always choose fresh fruit juice. This will not only keep you fit, but will also help in reducing extra fat.

Coconut water helps in boosting the metabolism of the body. It helps in maintaining adequate body weight. When the metabolism is slow, the body has a tendency to gain weight. This liquid accelerates the process and improves the digestive capacity of an individual.

- Hydrate body.

- The human body needs vitamin B, which helps in cell metabolism and improves immunity. The coconut water is a rich source of vitamins and minerals which helps the body to stay healthy and active and when you put little effort by exercising, you will quickly lose weight.

- The water of this fruit helps in controlling diabetes as well. Diabetes and excessive hunger are a cause of weight gain. The coconut water limits hunger and reduces weight gain.

- It is free from fat or cholesterol

- Helps in converting fat into lean muscle.

- It is rich in potassium, minerals, and essential vitamins, which keep the body fit and healthy and reduces excess weight or limit the scope of gaining weight due to unhealthy eating or low metabolism.

- Drink a glass of coconut water with lime juice. This helps in improving digestion and losing weight.

- Drinking the juice of this tropical fruit also helps in proper functioning of the thyroid gland.

Coconut is a tropical fruit, which has fluid inside it. This liquid is fresh and is best if it is consumed from the green unripe coconut. It can be directly consumed from the fruit by making a hole on top. In tropical countries for centuries people have been consuming

Coconut Water for Weight Loss

Today, many gym or health clubs recommend drinking coconut water after a heavy workout session. Stop spending on expensive artificially flavored drinks as you will consume more sugar than you have burnt during work out. These drinks are high in calorie content, but drinking coconut water will control excess calorie intake.

This drink also helps the body to remain active. You will not feel fatigue or tired. The vitamins and potassium help in rejuvenating the cells and enhance the metabolism of the body. If you drink a glass of coconut water in the morning on an empty stomach you will get adequate energy for the workout and also you will not feel tired after your daily work at the office. You will be surprised to see the amount of work you can perform in a day. Thus, you will be fit and you will not gain extra fat as well.

- www.coconut-info.net

SOLID WOOD

Solid wood is a term most commonly used to distinguish between ordinary lumber and engineered-wood, but it also refers to structures that do not have hollow spaces. Engineered wood products are manufactured by binding together wood strands, fibers, or veneers with adhesives to form a composite material. Engineered wood includes plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and fiberboard. The fact that a product is made from solid wood is often touted in advertisements. However, using solid wood has advantages and disadvantages.

Comparison with Engineered Wood

Perhaps the greatest advantage of solid wood is that the wood is the same all the way through, so repairs are relatively easy. Repairs to veneer are much more difficult and sometimes impossible.

Solid wood furniture is strong enough to easily satisfy all furniture applications, and it can last for centuries. Society is still questioning whether furniture made of plywood (often made from pine) can do the same. Plywood and other engineered wood products used to make furniture are typically covered with a veneer such as Cherry.

It is common today for furniture manufacturers and retailers to advertise such veneered plywood furniture as made of "wood solids with cherry veneers". Most customers believe that to mean solid planks of less expensive woods such as poplar, etc., with expensive woods such as cherry used for veneers. However, "wood solids" is a term of art. The "wood solids" are simply plywood, or another engineered wood product.

In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission doesn't allow furniture to be advertised as made of "solid wood" unless all exposed surfaces are in fact solid wood. Solid wood is expensive. Engineered wood (often advertised as wood solids) is not.

Solid Wood vs Hollow Wood

One of the most frequently made hollow wood structures are hollow core doors. Hollow core doors are much lighter than solid wood doors, cheaper and are easier to install. However, sound travels more freely through them, which can be a problem if the house is noisy or the occupants desire a lot of privacy. Also, hollow core doors should not be used as doors to the outside because they can more easily be broken open by robbers. Solid wood doors-are slightly more fire resistant because the fire has to burn through more material , however, using a steel door will increase fire resistance by a much larger margin.

- Wikipedia 

ANIMAL GLUE

An animal glue is an adhesive that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue.

Animal glue in granules

These protein colloid glues are formed through hydrolysis of the collagen from skins, bones, tendons, and other tissues, similar to gelatin. The word "collagen" itself derives from Greekκόλλα kolla, glue. These proteins form a molecular bond with the glued object.

Stereotypically, the animal in question is a horse, and horses that are put down are often said to have been "sent to the glue factory". However, other animals are also used, including rabbits and fish.

History

Early Uses

Animal glue has existed since ancient times, although its usage was not widespread. There is evidence that the Neanderthals used glues in their paints to guard their works from moisture, and some horse tooth glues can be dated back nearly 6000 years, but no written records from these times can prove that they were fully or extensively utilized.

The first known written procedures of making animal glue were written about 2000 BC. Between 1500–1000 BC, it was used for wood furnishings and mural paintings, found even on the caskets of Egyptian Pharaohs. Evidence is in the form of stone carvings depicting glue preparation and use, primarily utilized for the pharaoh’s tomb’s furniture. Egyptian records tell that animal glue would be made by melting it over a fire and then applied with a brush.

Greeks and Romans later used animal and fish glue to develop veneering and marquetry the bonding of thin sections or layers of wood. Animal glue, known as taurokolla in Greek and gluten taurinum in Latin, were made from the skins of bulls in antiquity. Broken pottery might also be repaired with the use of animal glues, filling the cracks to hide imperfections.

About 906–618 BC, China utilized fish, ox, and stag horns to produce adhesives and binders for pigments. Animal glues were employed as binders in paint media during the Tang Dynasty. Records indicate that one of the essential components of lampblack ink was proteinaceous glue. Ox glue and stag-horn glues bound particles of pigments together, acting as a preservative by forming a film over the surface as the ink dried. The Chinese, such as Kao Gong Ji, also researched glue for medicinal purposes.

Reemergence

The use of animal glue, as well as other types of glues, largely vanished after the Roman Empire until about 1500 AD – 1700 AD, when wooden furniture started to surge as a craft. During the medieval ages, fish glue remained a source for painting and illuminating manuscripts. Since the 16th century, hide glue has been used in the construction of violins.

Native Americans would use hoof glue primarily as a binder and as a water-resistant coating by boiling it down from leftover animal parts and applying it to exposed surfaces. They occasionally used hide glue as paint to achieve patterns after applying pigments and tanning to hides. Hoof glue would be used for purposes aside from hides, such as a hair preservative. The Assiniboins preferred longer hair, so they would plaster the strands with a mixture of red earth and hoof glue. It would also be used to bind feathers and equipment together.

Glue Industries

The first commercial glue factory opened in Holland circa 1700, manufacturing animal glue from hides. The United States’ first glue factory opened in 1899, established by the Milwaukee Tanning Industry. The L.D. Davis company thrived producing animal glue during the Great Depression after shifting its focus from stenciling, selling to local box makers and other users; L.D. Davis' animal glue formula for bookbinding remains in production. During the 18th and 19th centuries, ranchers disposed of old animals- horses in particular –to glue factories. The advent of synthetic adhesives heralded the collapse of the animal glue industry.

Modern Uses

Today, animal glues are sparsely industrialized, but still used for making and restoring objects, paintings, illuminated parchment manuscripts, and other artifacts. Gelatin a form of animal glue, is found in many contemporary products, such as gelatin desserts, marshmallows and pharmaceutical capsules and is used to reinforce sinew wrappings, wood, leather, bark, and paper.

This adhesive is mostly used as glue, sizing, or varnish, although it is not as frequently used as other adhesives because it is water-soluble. Other aspects, such as difficulty of storage in a wet state, requirement for fresh raw materials (the animal skin cannot be rotten or grease-burned), make this product more difficult to find and use. Factories now produce other forms of adhesives, as the process for animal glue is complex and tricky to follow. Animal glues will also darken with age and shrink as they dry, giving them the potential to harm wood, paper, or works of art. Too much handling and too many changes in temperature or humidity could cause further harm. Some companies, such as those in Canada, still produce animal, hide and hoof glues from horses. Recently, animal glue has been replaced by other adhesives and plastics, but remains popular for restoration.

Types and Uses

Animal glue was the most common woodworking glue for thousands of years until the advent of synthetic glues such as polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and other resin glues in the 20th century. Today it is used primarily in specialty applications such as lutherie, pipe organ building, piano repairs, and antique restoration. Glass artists take advantage of hide glue's ability to bond with glass, applying hide glue to glass. As the glue hardens it shrinks, chipping the glass.

It has several advantages and disadvantages compared to other glues. The glue is applied hot, typically with a brush or spatula. Glue is kept hot in a glue pot, which may be an electric unit built for the purpose, a double boiler, or simply a saucepan or crock pot to provide a warm water bath for the container of glue.

Most animal glues are soluble in water, useful for joints which may at some time need to be separated. Alcohol is sometimes applied to such joints to dehydrate the glue, making it more brittle and easier to crack apart.

Specific types include hide glue, bone glue, fish glue, rabbit skin glue.

Hide Glue

Hide glue is used in woodworking. It may be supplied as granules, flakes, or flat sheets, which have an indefinite shelf life if kept dry. It is dissolved in water, heated and applied warm, typically around 60°C (140°F). Warmer temperatures quickly destroy the strength of hide glue. Commercial glue pots, simple water baths or double boilers may be used to keep the glue hot while in use. As hide glue cools, it gels quickly. At room temperature, prepared hide glue has the consistency of stiff gelatin, which is in fact a similar composition. Gelled hide glue does not have significant strength, so it is vital to apply the glue, fit the pieces, and hold them steady before the glue temperature drops much below 50°C (120°F). All glues have an open time, the amount of time the glue remains liquid and workable. Joining parts after the open time is expired results in a weak bond. Hide glue's open time is usually a minute or less. In practice, this often means having to heat the pieces to be glued, and gluing in a very warm room, though these steps can be dispensed with if the glue and clamp operation can be carried out quickly.

Hide glue at room temperature

Where hide glue is in occasional use, excess glue may be held in a freezer, to prevent spoilage from the growth of microorganisms. Hide glue has some gap filling properties,malthough modern gap-filling adhesives such as epoxy resin are better in this regard.

Hot hide glue

Hide glue that is liquid at room temperature is also possible through the addition of urea. An example of this type of mixture is Old Brown Glue,  created by W. Patrick Edwards, the director of the American School of French Marquetry. In stress tests performed by Mark Schofield of Fine Woodworking Magazine, liquid hide glue compared favourably to hot hide glue in average strength of bond. "However, any liquid hide glue over six months old can be suspect because the urea eventually hydrolyzes the protein structure of the glue and weakens it – even though the product was 'protected' with various bactericides and fungicides during manufacture."

Production

Animal hides are soaked in water to produce "stock." The stock is then treated with lime to break down the hides. The hides are then rinsed to remove the lime, any residue being neutralised with a weak acid solution. The hides are heated, in water, to a carefully controlled temperature around 70 degrees Celsius. The 'glue liquor' is then drawn off, more water added, and the process repeated at increasing temperatures.

The glue liquor is then dried and chipped into pellets.

Properties

The significant disadvantages of hide glue – its thermal limitations, short open time, and vulnerability to micro-organisms – are offset by several advantages. Hide glue joints are reversible and repairable. Recently glued joints will release easily with the application of heat and steam. Hide glue sticks to itself, so the repairer can apply new hide glue to the joint and reclamp it. In contrast, PVA glues do not adhere to themselves once they are cured, so a successful repair requires removal of the old glue first – which usually requires removing some of the material being glued.

Hide glue creates a somewhat brittle joint, so a strong shock will often cause a very clean break along the joint. In contrast, cleaving a joint glued with PVA will usually damage the surrounding material, creating an irregular break that is more difficult to repair. This brittleness is taken advantage of by instrument makers. For example, instruments in the violin family require periodic disassembly for repairs and maintenance. The top of a violin is easily removed by prying a palette knife between the top and ribs, and running it all around the joint. The brittleness allows the top to be removed, often without significant damage to the wood. Regluing the top only requires applying new hot hide glue to the joint. If the violin top were glued on with PVA glue, removing the top would require heat and steam to disassemble the joint (causing damage to the varnish), then wood would have to be removed from the joint to ensure no cured PVA glue was remaining before regluing the top.

Hide glue also functions as its own clamp. Once the glue begins to gel, it pulls the joint together. Violin makers may glue the center seams of top and back plates together using a rubbed joint rather than using clamps. This technique involves coating half of the joint with hot hide glue, and then rubbing the other half against the joint until the hide glue starts to gel, at which point the glue becomes tacky. At this point the plate is set aside without clamps, and the hide glue pulls the joint together as it hardens.

Hide glue regains its working properties after cooling if it is reheated. This property can be used when the glue's open time does not allow the joint to be glued normally. For example, a cello maker may not be able to glue and clamp a top to the instrument's ribs in the short one-minute open time available. Instead, the builder will lay a bead of glue along the ribs, and allow it to cool. The top is then clamped to the ribs. Moving a few inches at a time, the maker inserts a heated palette knife into the joint, heating the glue. When the glue is liquefied, the palette knife is removed, and the glue cools, creating a bond. A similar process can be used to glue veneers to a substrate. The veneer and/or the substrate is coated with hot hide glue. Once the glue is cold, the veneer is positioned on the substrate. A hot object such as a clothes iron is applied to the veneer, liquefying the underlying glue. When the iron is removed, the glue cools, bonding the veneer to the substrate.

Hide glue joints do not creep under loads. PVA glues create plastic joints, which will creep over time if heavy loads are applied to them.

Hide glue is supplied in many different gram strengths, each suited to specific applications. Instrument and cabinet builders will use a range from 120 to 200 gram strength. Some hide glues are sold without the gram strength specified. Experienced users avoid this glue as the glue may be too weak or strong for the expected application.

Hoof Glue

Hoof glue is also used today in woodworking, specifically cabinetry.

Rabbit Skin Glue

Rabbit-skin glue is more flexible when dry than typical hide glues. It is used in the sizing or priming of oil painters' canvases. It also is used in bookbinding and as the adhesive component of some recipes for gesso and compo.

- Wikipedia 

VENEER HAMMER

A veneer hammer is a woodworking tool used in applying veneer.

Description and Use

A veneer hammer is used in conjunction with hot hide glue in applying veneer to a substrate. The term "veneer hammer" is somewhat misleading, as the "hammer" is used more like a squeegee than a hammer. The hot hide glue is applied to the substrate, then the veneer is laid onto the glued surface. The hammer itself has a dull blade, approximately three inches wide, on one side of the head, and a square shaped face on the other side. This head is connected to a standard handle, much like a regular hammer. The small square face is designed to push down on, exerting force to the blade side of the head.

The veneer is pushed into the glue with the wide blade, and the hammer is pushed or pulled, forcing out the excess hide glue. The sheer bulk of the metal head helps to cool the glue, causing it to grab and hold the veneer in place. The glue cures as it cools. The procedure is to work from the center, out towards the edges, forcing the hot excess glue out from under the veneer.

Often workers will apply the glue to the face of the veneer as well, using it as a lubricant for the hammer. By applying glue, therefore moisture, on both side of the veneer, the worker also avoid the curling of the veneer. This surface glue can be easily removed, using a cabinet scraper or cold water.

In areas where a good bond is not achieved, the glue can be reheated with a common household iron and reactivated. The veneer can be forced into the reactivated glue using the veneer hammer, and the area where the bond was poor, will become properly adhered to the substrate.

Workers often make their own veneer hammer, often having a wider "blade" than the commercially available ones. The blade can be made from metal or wood .The important factor is that the shape of the blade be somewhat tapered, permitting the required force to be applied directly under the blade.

The process is centuries old, possibly dating back to Egyptian times, as examples of veneered work have survived from that era.

- Wikipedia 

MULTILAMINAR WOOD VENEER

Multilaminar wood veneer uses plantation wood to reproduce decorative effects which are typical of quality wood species (often protected and rare). This aids the preservation of biodiversity and complies with the principles of Sustainable forest management.

Large sheets of veneer are produced on a machine similar to a lathe, these are dyed, spread with suitable adhesives, then compressed and bonded into thick (typically 70 cm) logs which are then sliced to create the end product. If the sheets are compressed between platens with an undulating surface, the slice will cross several layers to produce a patterned effect. Many different designs can be obtained by varying the platens, the dyes and the stacking order.

Although the product may be considered sustainable, it does have a relatively high carbon footprint, due to the numerous dyeing, laminating, pressing and slicing operations.

- Wikipedia 

FURNITURE

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., chairs, stools and sofas) and sleeping (e.g., beds). Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work (as horizontal surfaces above the ground, such as tables and desks), or to store things (e.g., cupboards and shelves). Furniture can be a product of design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflect the local culture.

A dining table with two chairs

Archeological research shows that Neolithicpeople used stone to build cupboards, dressers, beds, shelves and seats. Ancient funiturefrom the 8th-century BC includes tables and serving stands. The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak and ornamented. Furniture design expanded during the Italian Renaissanceof the fourteenth and fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs. The nineteenth century is usually defined by revival styles. The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism. One unique outgrowth of post-modern furniture design is a return to natural shapes and textures.

History

Furniture has been a part of the human experience since the development of non-nomadic cultures. Evidence of furniture survives from the Neolithic Period and later in antiquity in the form of paintings such as the wall Murals discovered at Pompeii : sculpture and examples have been excavated in Egypt and found in tombs in Ghiordes in modern-day Turkey.

Neolithic Period

A range of unique stone furniture has been excavated in Skara Braea , Neolithic village located in Orkney. The site dates from 3100–2500 BC and due to a shortage of wood in Orkney, the people of Skara Brae were forced to build with stone, a readily available material that could be worked easily and turned into items for use within the household. Each house shows a high degree of sophistication and was equipped with an extensive assortment of stone furniture, ranging from cupboards, dressers and beds to shelves, stone seats, and limpet tanks. The stone dresser was regarded as the most important as it symbolically faces the entrance in each house and is therefore the first item seen when entering, perhaps displaying symbolic objects, including decorative artwork such as several Neolithic Carved Stone Balls also found at the site.

Skara Brae house Orkney Scotland-evidence of home furnishings i.e. a dresser containing shelves.

Classical World

Ancient furniture has been excavated from the 8th-century BC Phrygian tumulus the Midas Mound, in Gordion,  Turkey. Pieces found here include tables and inlaid serving stands. There are also surviving works from the 9th-8th-century BC Assyrian palace of Nimrud. The earliest surviving carpet, the Pazyryk Carpet was discovered in a frozen tomb in Siberia and has been dated between the 6th and 3rd century BC. Recovered Ancient Egyptian furniture includes 3rd millennium BC beds discovered at Tarkhan as place for the deceased, a c. 2550 BC gilded bed and two chairs from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, and many examples (boxes, beds, chairs) from c. 1550 to 1200 BC from Thebes. Ancient Greek furniture design beginning in the 2nd millennium BC, including beds and the klismos chair,  is preserved not only by extant works, but by images on Greek vases. The 1738 and 1748 excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii revealed Roman furniture, preserved in the ashes of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius, to the eighteenth century.

Early Modern Europe

Florentine cassone from the 15th century

The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak and ornamented with carved designs. Along with the other arts, the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and renaissance of culture in general, occurred in Northern Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs that frequently incorporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament. Starting in the eighteenth century, furniture designs began to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles that belonged primarily to one nation, such as Palladianism in Great Britain or Louis Quinze in French furniture, others, such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout Western Europe.

18th Century

During the eighteenth century the fashion was set in England by the French art. In the beginning of the century the Boulle cabinets were at the peak of their popularity and Louis XIV was reigning in France. In this era most of the furniture had metal and enamelled decorations in it and some of the furniture was covered in inlays of marbles lapis lazuli, and porphyry and other stones. 

19th Century

The nineteenth century is usually defined by concurrent revival styles, including Gothic, Neoclassicism, Rococo, and the EastHaven Movement. The design reforms of the late century introduced the Aesthetic movement and the Arts and Crafts movement. Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements.

The furniture maker by Ludwig Deutsch

Early North American

This design was in many ways rooted in necessity and emphasizes both form and materials. Early American chairs and tables are often constructed with turned spindles and chair backs often constructed with steaming to bend the wood. Wood choices tend to be deciduous hardwoods with a particular emphasis on the wood of edible or fruit bearing trees such as Cherry or Walnut.

Modernism

The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernis. Art Deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Wiener Werkstätte, and Vienna Secession designers all worked to some degree within the Modernist idiom. Born from the Bauhaus and Art Deco/Streamline styles came the post WWII "Mid-Century Modern" style using materials developed during the war including laminated plywood, plastics and fiberglass. Prime examples include furniture designed by George Nelson Associates, Charles and Ray Eames, Paul McCobb, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Eero Saarinen, Harvey Probber, Vladamir Kagan and Danish modern designers including Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen. Postmodern design, intersecting the Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s, promoted in the 80s by groups such as the Italy-based Memphis movement. Transitional furniture is intended to fill a place between Traditional and Modern tastes.

Red and Blue Chair (1917), designed by Gerrit Rietveld

Ecodesign

Great efforts from individuals, governments, and companies has led to the manufacturing of products with higher sustainability known as Ecodesign. This new line of furniture is based on environmentally friendly design. Its use and popularity are increasing each year.

Stainless Steel Table with FSC Teca Wood - Brazil Ecodesign

Contemporary

One unique outgrowth of post-modern furniture design is Live edge, heralding a return to natural shapes and textures within the home.

ASEAN History

Asian furniture has a quite distinct history. The traditions out of India,China, Pakistan, Indonesia (Bali and Java) and Japan are some of the best known, but places such as Korea, Mongolia, and the countries of South East Asia have unique facets of their own.

Sendai-dansu for kimono, zelkova wood, note the elaborate ironwork, handles on side for transportation, and lockable compartment

The use of uncarved wood and bamboo and the use of heavy lacquers are well known Chinese styles. It is worth noting that Chinese furniture varies dramatically from one dynasty to the next.

Traditional Japanese furniture is well known for its minimalist style, extensive use of wood, high-quality craftsmanship and reliance on wood grain instead of painting or thick lacquer. Japanese chests are known as Tansu, known for elaborate decorative iron work, and are some of the most sought-after of Japanese antiques. The antiques available generally date back to the Tokugawa era and Meiji era.

Types of wood to make furniture

All different type of woods have unique signature marks, that can help in easy identification of the type. There are hardwoods and softwoods. Both are used in furniture manufacturing, and each have their own specific uses. Most commonly, quality furniture is made out of hardwood which is made from oak, maple, mahogany, teak, walnut, cherry and birch. High quality wood will have been air dried to rid it of its moisture.

- Wikipedia 

WOOD VENEER

In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood, usually thinner than 3 mm (1/8 inch), that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat panels such as doors, tops and panels for cabinets, parquet floors and parts of furniture. They are also used in marquetry . Plywood consists of three or more layers of veneer, each glued with its grain at right angles to adjacent layers for strength. Veneer beading is a thin layer of decorative edging placed around objects, such as jewelry boxes. Veneer is also used to replace decorative papers in Wood Veneer HPL. Veneer is also a type of manufactured board.

Wood veneer RCA Dimensia console TV set

Veneer is obtained either by "peeling" the trunk of a tree or by slicing large rectangular blocks of wood known as flitches. The appearance of the grain and figure in wood comes from slicing through the growth rings of a tree and depends upon the angle at which the wood is sliced. There are three main types of veneer-making equipment used commercially:

• A rotary lathe in which the wood is turned against a very sharp blade and peeled off in one continuous or semi-continuous roll. Rotary-cut veneer is mainly used for plywood, as the appearance is not desirable because the veneer is cut concentric to the growth rings.
• A slicing machine in which the flitch or piece of log is raised and lowered against the blade and slices of the log are made. This yields veneer that looks like sawn pieces of wood, cut across the growth rings; such veneer is referred to as "crown cut".
• A half-round lathe in which the log or piece of log can be turned and moved in such a way as to expose the most interesting parts of the grain, creating a more textured feel and appearance; such veneer is commonly referred to as "rift cut."

Each slicing processes gives a very distinctive type of grain, depending upon the tree species. In any of the veneer-slicing methods, when the veneer is sliced, a distortion of the grain occurs. As it hits the wood, the knife blade creates a "loose" side where the cells have been opened up by the blade, and a "tight" side.

Historically veneers were also sawn but this is more wasteful of wood. Veneering is an ancient art, dating back to the ancient Egyptians who used veneers on their furniture and sarcophagi During the Roman Empire, Romans also used veneered work in mass quantities.

Producing wood veneers

The finest and rarest logs are sent to companies that produce veneer. The advantage to this practice is twofold. First, it provides the most financial gain to the owner of the log. Secondly, and of more importance to the woodworker, it greatly expands the amount of usable wood. While a log used for solid lumber is cut into thick pieces, usually no thinner than 1 1/8 inches (3 cm), veneers are cut as thin as 1/40 of an inch (0.6mm). Depending on the cutting process used by the veneer manufacturer, very little wood is wasted by the saw blade thickness, known as the saw kerf. Accordingly the yield of a rare grain pattern or wood type is greatly increased, in turn placing less stress on the resource. Some manufacturers even use a very wide knife to "slice off" the thin veneer pieces. In this way, none of the wood is wasted. The slices of veneer are always kept in the order in which they are cut from the log and are often sold this way.

Types of Veneers

There are a few types of veneers available, each serving a particular purpose.

• Raw veneer has no backing on it and can be used with either side facing up. It is important to note that the two sides will appear different when a finish has been applied, due to the cell structure of the wood.
• Paper backed veneer is as the name suggests, veneers that are backed with paper. The advantage to this is it is available in large sizes, or sheets, as smaller pieces are joined together prior to adding the backing. This is helpful for users that do not wish to join smaller pieces of raw veneers together. This is also helpful when veneering curves and columns as the veneer is less likely to crack.
• Phenolic backed veneer is less common and is used for composite, or manmade wood veneers. Due to concern for the natural resource, this is becoming more popular. It too has the advantage of being available in sheets, and is also less likely to crack when being used on curves.
• Laid up veneer is raw veneer that has been joined together to make larger pieces. The process is time-consuming and requires great care, but is not difficult and requires no expensive tools or machinery. Veneers can be ordered through some companies already laid up to any size, shape or design.
• Reconstituted veneer is made from fast-growing tropical species. Raw veneer is cut from a log, and dyed if necessary. Once dyed, the sheets are laminated together to form a block. The block is then sliced so that the edges of the laminated veneer become the “grain” of the reconstituted veneer.
• Wood on Wood Also called 2-ply is a decorative wood veneer face with a utility grade wood backer applied at an opposing direction to the face veneer.

Advantages of using veneers

Compared to wood, one of the primary advantages of using veneer is stability. While solid wood can be prone to warping and splitting, because veneer is made of thin layers of wood glued together, the chances of splitting or cracking are reduced. Further, the glue used provides additional strength, making the end result stronger than natural wood.

Some projects built using wood veneer would not be possible to construct using solid lumber, owing to expansion and contraction caused by fluctuation of temperature and humidity. Another advantage of veneer is sustainability-furniture made with wood veneer uses less wood than the same piece of furniture made with solid wood. Further, veneer may also be more readily available than solid wood as exotic hardwood lumber can be scarce and very expensive.

Ecological Characteristics

• Recyclability and renewability: Wood has the least impact on total energy use, greenhouse gasses, air and water pollution, solid waste and ecological resource use. Seventy percent less energy is required in the use of wood compared with any other building materials.
• Sustainability: Using veneer extends the use of a piece of timber. The wood that might be used in one solid piece a few visible cm wide can cover a far greater area when used as a veneer.
• Toxicity: Nontoxic; veneer stores carbon and also maximises the use of harvested wood.

Buying Veneers

Wood veneers are typically sold by the square foot. With the ability to join veneers, even small pieces are usable, resulting in very little waste. Many sources sell small packets of veneers that are sequence matched and are ideal for small projects. These make experimenting and practicing much more economical. It is also possible to buy plywood and other substrates with veneered faces for larger projects consisting of casework.

- Wikipedia