Reclaimed wood tables- Modern manufacturing methods
Modern manufacturing methods for reclaimed wood tables can be quite interesting to watch. They involve new technologies mixed with tried-and-true methods from the past. Investing in the latest manufacturing techniques, allows companies to produce a consistent product at a reasonable price. Some companies put a very high premium on reclaimed wood tables because of the difficulty in working with recycled wood. We have been able to reduce our prices through efficiencies in manufacturing, passing along those savings to our customers.
All wood destined for a reclaimed wood table top starts in the same place; the rip saw. Rough lumber is put through a machine called a rip saw to clean up the edges of the lumber in preparation for the next step. The recycled wood is fed by a belt though this saw that has multiple circular saw blades set to an exact size. The lumber comes out the other side of the machine with parallel edges.
Once the ripped lumber is all processed, it goes through a machine called a molder. This machine takes the rough lumber and shapes it on all four sides to the desired dimensions. The molder is a very accurate machine producing a very fine finish.
Once the reclaimed wood is molded, it goes to a machine that defects the lumber for imperfections. The operator has a piece of chalk and marks the lumbers defects that are not acceptable in a table top. This chalk line is visible to an automated eye that tells an automated saw where to cut. The marked lumber goes down a cut line and the saw does the rest of the work.
After all of the lumber is defected, it goes to the glue line. A conveyer takes the pieces of wood over a glue spreader and places just the right amount of glue onto one surface. The glued pieces are placed onto a 45 degree slanted table for assembly. Once the table size is achieved, a shuttle moves the whole assembly to radio frequency glue press.
In the actual gluing process, a large plate of steel "sandwiches" the wood. Hydraulic force from the top and from the sides is applied to keep the table flat, and the joints tightly fitting. Once the force is applied, micro waves are applied through the steel plates that react with the water within the glue. The glue is cured almost instantly. After several minutes of "cooking" the wood, the table blank is shuttled to a waiting area for the glue to cure fully.
When the tables have fully cured from the RF press, they are taken to the sander. The sander has three heads of progressively finer grits to create an ultra smooth finish. The smoothness of the raw wood directly impacts the quality of the finish coat for the top of the table. The better the preparation of the wood, the smoother the finish on the top of the table.
Once the table is out of the sander, it goes directly to a large panel saw. This saw is controlled by a computer that cuts the reclaimed wood slab to our exact dimensions. If a round table is desired, the wood slab goes to a CNC cutting station that can cut out virtually any shape. Once the table has been sized to its final dimensions, all of the edges receive a treatment to take away all of the sharp edges. This is done by hand with a router. Rounding over the edges is a very important step for safety as well as comfort.
After the table has achieved its final shape, it is sent to a finisher. Our state of the art finish is applied in a factory using a technique call UV curing. The table goes through a series of rollers that apply a light sensitive finish that cures instantly when exposed to UV lights. This is the same technology used to make pre-finished flooring. We use the same durable finish for our tables because we know it will stand up to the abuse of a commercial environment and repeated wipe-downs. Once the table has been finished, it is packaged up and sent out to the restaurant or home that ordered it
All wood destined for a reclaimed wood table top starts in the same place; the rip saw. Rough lumber is put through a machine called a rip saw to clean up the edges of the lumber in preparation for the next step. The recycled wood is fed by a belt though this saw that has multiple circular saw blades set to an exact size. The lumber comes out the other side of the machine with parallel edges.
Once the ripped lumber is all processed, it goes through a machine called a molder. This machine takes the rough lumber and shapes it on all four sides to the desired dimensions. The molder is a very accurate machine producing a very fine finish.
Once the reclaimed wood is molded, it goes to a machine that defects the lumber for imperfections. The operator has a piece of chalk and marks the lumbers defects that are not acceptable in a table top. This chalk line is visible to an automated eye that tells an automated saw where to cut. The marked lumber goes down a cut line and the saw does the rest of the work.
After all of the lumber is defected, it goes to the glue line. A conveyer takes the pieces of wood over a glue spreader and places just the right amount of glue onto one surface. The glued pieces are placed onto a 45 degree slanted table for assembly. Once the table size is achieved, a shuttle moves the whole assembly to radio frequency glue press.
In the actual gluing process, a large plate of steel "sandwiches" the wood. Hydraulic force from the top and from the sides is applied to keep the table flat, and the joints tightly fitting. Once the force is applied, micro waves are applied through the steel plates that react with the water within the glue. The glue is cured almost instantly. After several minutes of "cooking" the wood, the table blank is shuttled to a waiting area for the glue to cure fully.
When the tables have fully cured from the RF press, they are taken to the sander. The sander has three heads of progressively finer grits to create an ultra smooth finish. The smoothness of the raw wood directly impacts the quality of the finish coat for the top of the table. The better the preparation of the wood, the smoother the finish on the top of the table.
Once the table is out of the sander, it goes directly to a large panel saw. This saw is controlled by a computer that cuts the reclaimed wood slab to our exact dimensions. If a round table is desired, the wood slab goes to a CNC cutting station that can cut out virtually any shape. Once the table has been sized to its final dimensions, all of the edges receive a treatment to take away all of the sharp edges. This is done by hand with a router. Rounding over the edges is a very important step for safety as well as comfort.
After the table has achieved its final shape, it is sent to a finisher. Our state of the art finish is applied in a factory using a technique call UV curing. The table goes through a series of rollers that apply a light sensitive finish that cures instantly when exposed to UV lights. This is the same technology used to make pre-finished flooring. We use the same durable finish for our tables because we know it will stand up to the abuse of a commercial environment and repeated wipe-downs. Once the table has been finished, it is packaged up and sent out to the restaurant or home that ordered it