x̄ - > Woodworking

    Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood and includes cabinet making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals shows that many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working with these materials. Among early finds of wooden tools are the worked sticks from Kalambo Falls. Clacton-on-Sea and Lehringen. 

    The spears from Schöningen provide some of the first examples of wooden hunting gear. Flint tools were used for carving. Since Neolithic times, carved wooden vessels are known for example, from the Linear Pottery culture wells at Kückhofen and Eythra. Examples of Bronze Age wood-carving include tree trunks worked into coffins from northern Germany and Denmark and wooden folding chairs. The site of Fellbach-Schmieden in Germany has provided fine examples of wooden animal statues from the Iron Age. Wooden idols from the La Tène period are known from a sanctuary at the source of the Seine in France. 

    Ancient Egypt There is significant evidence of advanced woodworking in ancient Egypt. Woodworking is depicted in many extant ancient Egyptian drawings, and a considerable amount of ancient Egyptian furniture has been preserved. Tombs represent a large collection of these artifacts and the inner coffins found in the tombs were also made of wood. The metal used by the Egyptians for woodworking tools was originally copper and eventually, after 2000 BC bronze as ironworking was unknown until much later. Commonly used woodworking tools included axes, adzes, chisels, pull saws, and bow drills. 

    Mortise and tenon joints are attested from the earliest Predynastic period. These joints were strengthened using pegs, dowels, and leather or cord lashings. Animal glue came to be used only in the New Kingdom period. Ancient Egyptians invented the art of veneering and used varnishes for finishing though the composition of these varnishes is unknown. Although different native acacias were used, as was the wood from the local sycamore and tamarisk trees, deforestation in the Nile valley resulted in the need for the importation of wood, notably cedar, but also Aleppo pine, boxwood, and oak, starting from the Second Dynasty. Ancient Rome Woodworking was essential to the Romans. It provided material for buildings, transportation, tools, and household items. 

    Wood also provided pipes, dye, waterproofing materials, and energy for heat. Although most examples of Roman woodworking have been lost. Pliny, while not a botanist, dedicated six books of his Natural History to trees and woody plants, providing a wealth of information on trees and their uses. Ancient China The progenitors of Chinese woodworking are considered to be Lu Ban and his wife Lady Yun from the Spring and Autumn period. Lu Ban is said to have introduced the plane, chalk-line, and other tools to China. 

    His teachings were supposedly left behind in the book Lu Ban Jing. Despite this, it is believed that the text was written some 1500 years after his death. This book is filled largely with descriptions of dimensions for use in building various items such as flower pots, tables, altars, etc., and also contains extensive instructions concerning Feng Shui. It mentions almost nothing of the intricate glue-less and nail-less joinery for which Chinese furniture was so famous. Modern-day With the advances in modern technology and the demands of industry, woodwork as a field has changed. 

    The development of Computer Numeric Controlled Machines, for example, has made us able to mass-produce and reproduce products faster, with less waste, and often more complex in design than ever before. CNC wood routers can carve complicated and highly detailed shapes into flat stock, to create signs or art. Rechargeable power tools speed up the creation of many projects and require much less body strength than in the past, for example when boring multiple holes. Skilled fine woodworking, however, remains a craft pursued by many. There remains demand for hand-crafted work such as furniture and arts, however, with the rate and cost of production, the cost for consumers is much higher. 

    Materials Historically, woodworkers relied upon the woods native to their region, until transportation and trade innovations made more exotic woods available to the craftsman Woods are typically sorted into three basic types: hardwoods typified by tight grain and derived from broadleaf trees, softwoods from coniferous trees, and man-made materials such as plywood and MDF. Hardwoods, botanically known as angiosperms, are deciduous and shed their leaves annually with temperature changes. Softwoods come from trees botanically known as gymnosperms, which are coniferous, cone-bearing, and stay green year-round. Softwood is most commonly found in the regions of the world with lower temperatures and is typically less durable, lighter in weight, and more vulnerable to pests and fungal attacks in comparison to hardwoods. They typically have a paler color and a more open grain than hardwoods, which contributes to the tendency of felled softwood to shrink and swell as it dries. 

    Hardwoods have a wide variety of properties, making it easy to find a hardwood to suit nearly any purpose, but they are especially suitable for outdoor use due to their strength and resilience to rot and decay. Within the USA fir, also known as Douglas fir, is inexpensive and common at local home centers. It has a characteristic straight, pronounced grain with a red-brown tint. However, its grain pattern is relatively plain and it does not stain well, so fir is commonly used when the finished product will be painted. While commonly used for building, this softwood would also be suitable for furniture-making. 

    Common hardwoods used for furniture Ash This hardwood is relatively easy to work with and takes stain well, but its white to light brown color with a straight grain is visually appealing on its own. However, ash is much more difficult to find than other common woods, and will not be found at the local home center. Larger lumber yards should have it in stock. Mahogany A hardwood, mahogany has a trademark reddish-brown to deep-red tint and is known as one of the great furniture woods". However, mahogany is not typically grown in sustainable forests, and thus runs a steep price at local lumberyards. 

    Because it has almost no grain and is notably soft Basswood is particularly popular with beginner carvers. It is used in many lower-cost instruments like guitars and electric basses. A vise is a form of the clamp, temporarily or permanently mounted as required. A woodworking vise is a vise specialized to the needs of a woodworker; numerous types have evolved Chisels are tools with a long blade, a cutting edge, and a handle. Used for cutting and shaping wood or other materials than the jigsaw or more delicate scroll saw, also regularly used in woodworking.