Furniture Design & Woodworking Research Report

What a good one includes

• Detailed wood species profiles highlighting Janka hardness, tangential and radial shrinkage rates, and specific gravity to predict wood movement.
• Historical design analysis specifying authentic proportions, moulding profiles, and hardware styles characteristic of the target furniture era.
• Highly specific joinery recommendations detailing load-bearing capacities and optimal glue types for the chosen timber.
• Feeds, speeds, and tooling recommendations for workshop machinery or CNC routers tailored to the specific grain density of the wood.
• A step-by-step finishing schedule outlining grain fillers, dyes, sealers, and topcoats compatible with the timber's natural oils.
• Sustainable timber sourcing guidelines, including FSC certification details and regional lumberyard grading expectations.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Ignoring regional equilibrium moisture content (EMC), which leads to catastrophic wood movement, warping, or split joints once the piece is placed in its final environment.
• Failing to account for grain direction and seasonal expansion when designing complex mechanical joinery like breadboard ends or mortise-and-tenon frames.
• Overlooking chemical compatibility between specific wood extractives, such as high tannin content in white oak, and chosen hardware metal or finishing products.
• Relying on generic machining parameters rather than adjusting spindle speeds and feed rates to match the specific tearing and burning tendencies of highly figured woods.

Frequently asked questions