Do you include things like particle board, MDF, plywood etc? Is there a line? And if so, what is it for you?

  • ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    Solid wood has the same grain texture all the way through. Plywood, MDF, OSB, etc., are engineered wood. Basically, if it says ‘solid wood,’ my assumption is that what I see is what I get. If it’s plywood with a hardwood veneer, then it’s trying to trick me into thinking it’s something it’s not, and that doesn’t count. Although, technically, if a piece is made of plywood and doesn’t try to hide it, I guess you could argue it’s solid wood - because, technically, it is.

  • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Something is “solid wood” if it’s made from pieces of solid-sawn lumber. If it’s built up from rotary-peeled veneers, woodchips, sawdust, or pulp, then it is not solid wood.

  • NaibofTabr
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    1 month ago

    If it’s on a product like a piece of furniture, then it means any part not specifically labeled as “solid wood” is some sort of composite material.

    e.g. “solid wood table top!” = legs and frame are made of the cheapest shit we could find

  • WxFisch@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Solid wood is generally understood to be lumber or timber, that is pieces of wood sawn from a tree. This is distinct from engineered wood or manufactured wood products which include MDF, plywood, and OSB. Engineered wood is made of fibers or strands that are pressed or glued, there is more in the final stock than just wood (I.e., glue, lignin separated via heating and pressing).

  • AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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    1 month ago

    Particle board and plywood is made of sawdust and wood shavings. My definition of solid wood is something that came directly from a tree with the only major processing being cutting it into board, sheet, or similar.

  • Nik282000@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    The wood is continuous, from a single tree, from one surface to the other.*

    *Veneer is ok I guess, but I would rather see a cheap real surface than an expensive sheet of paper.

      • Nik282000@lemmy.ca
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        1 month ago

        Usually when something is called ‘solid wood’ but it has a veneer the underlying wood is real it’s just something cheap.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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          1 month ago

          Agreed. A mahogany veneer on top of bamboo doesn’t really count as “solid wood” in my book.

    • Nednarb44@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      Someone else may be, but I was/am genuinely curious as to what others thought. I have a pretty “purist” view myself and wanted to see if I was in the minority or not.

      • Boomkop3@reddthat.com
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        1 month ago

        I get the idea, but that was an honest answer. I usually refer to specific materials when working on a project, not a term to group a bunch of them. Either way works tho.

        But if you would like to know my preference, the name of the tree translates to “european spruce” according to wikipedia. It’s because it’s readily available here, and usable inside and outside without a lot of extra treatment

        • Nednarb44@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 month ago

          Yeah, when I build stuff, I always just say the timber it’s made out of, but I was talking with someone about an old dresser. They mentioned it was “solid wood”, but the case was made out of an old press board. Which led to this question. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t confused.

          • nyan@lemmy.cafe
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            1 month ago

            Sounds like the person you were talking to may have been the confused one. (In all fairness, if they have no great interest in wood, woodworking, or furniture, they don’t really need to know that engineered sheet goods don’t count as solid wood.)

          • Boomkop3@reddthat.com
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            1 month ago

            Ahh, context! Then I would probably think of oak, just because that’s what the few old dressers I’ve seen are made of. Although I would want to double check

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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    29 days ago

    In almost all contexts, “solid wood” means a piece of a tree cut to shape. No engineered wood products to include plywood, OSB, particle board/pressboard/chipboard, MDF, glulam, etc. I will make allowances for shop-made laminations as you might do when edge gluind panels, gluing up boards to make thicker posts than are available, or to ease bending/forming.

  • Acrimonious@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I have a suspicion and this comment section is confirming that. I briefly worked putting places together for short term rentals. Sometimes I had to put together IKEA furniture, other times it was “real wood” furniture. As in, the label claimed it was real wood. This “real wood” however always looked suspicious to me. The feel wasn’t there, the grain was barely convincing, no mention of any species, some “mistakes” seemed odd such as a random saw cut in an otherwise well finished piece. They were always manufactured somewhere in SEA. My guess is “real wood” has no clear definition as evidenced in this comment section and some people see it as an interchangeable term for good quality. So manufacturers can design something that looks like a solid white oak bench and charge premium for it. After all they’ve made no promises. If it were for instance engineered out of bamboo, it is in fact real wood Or can be defended as such.

    • Nednarb44@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      Yeah, that’s exactly it. Even if is made of saw dust, it’s (at least in part) real wood in some sense. I would agree that’s nonsense.