If your furniture is solid wood or not , is one of the major and timeless questions concerning wood .

Many people experienced or not , woodworkers or just wood “lovers” , may have experienced the bad moment in which they have been bought a wood , which wasn’t wood .

No matter how experienced you are and how many years you have on your “shoulders” in your woodworking activity , making a bad wood choice , is always a possibility .

The certain “thing” is this : You cannot be 100% certain for the quality of the wood , just only from its looks . There are more than 1400 different varieties in our awesome planet and to make a mistake is very easy .

Seing only the grain of the wood , its feeling and how it looks can give you higher possibilities to be right , but not 100% certain .

But , “things” aren’t so bad .

How to tell if a Piece of furniture is solid wood ?

If you have only a piece – part of furniture and not a complete one , you should check its weight( solid wood is heavy ) and the general shape and continuity of the grain , which it should be continuous with zero discontinuities till the end of the piece , no matter of the design the wood piece has .

What is considered Solid wood ?

When we say solid wood we literally mean , a wood piece that we supply strictly from only one tree , it’s one piece in all of its mass without any other attachments of any kind and it has the same uniform density regardless of some hollow spaces and discontinuities , which is a natural thing .

How to tell if your Cabinets are Real wood ?

The natural continuity of the grain , the bigger weight of any other cabinet that looks like real wood but it’s not , the natural smell of wood , the warmth feeling the real wood unveils in the eye and touch , are some of the most basic criteria to identify real wood .

How to tell the Difference between Wood and Laminate cabinets ?

The way bigger weight the real wood has , the natural smell and the continuity of the grain are some of the most basic criteria to identify the real wooden cabinets , against the laminate cabinets or a mixture of real wood and laminate , a case which is so popular in the stores .

If you don’t manage to have an opinion of a professional or a highly experience carpenter , you should be very careful to your choices and the above criteria are immortal guidance “lighthouses” .

What is the Difference between Wood and Solid wood ?

The solid wood is taken entirely by only one tree , it’s strictly one piece with the same density and properties for all of its mas , while when we say wood generally it can be a mixture of several and different wood pieces(even if there can be real wood) , providing a non uniform result .

How to tell the Difference between Solid wood and Laminate ?

The king of the criteria to identify the solid wood and the laminate is the weight of the wood pieces or project you have , with secondly the presence of the natural smell the solid wood has , while the synthetic laminate(with glues , resins , et.c) doesn’t , even if it may contain wood fibers or recycled wood iniside it .

Even if the laminate may contain real wood in some percentage , it also contains glues , resins and other chemicals and in no way it can reach the weight of the real wood or the natural smell of it .

How to Identify solid wood ?

The solid wood which is taken by only one tree and it’s an only one piece in all of its mass , it has bigger weight of all the possible wood mixtures and duplicates and it’s the only one which smells like natural wood .

The solid wood’s bigger weight of all , the natural smell and the uniformity of its grain cannot be beaten by anyone .

How to tell if furniture is Solid wood or Veneer ?

The veneer wood is a thin real wood sheet we take from real tree trunks by peeling – slicing the trunk with a razor style machine and if it’s not glued along with other veneers to create MDF boards , it’s the same as the solid wood , as a sheet version of it in order to create MDF’s , et.c .

What is more Expensive , veneer or solid wooden furniture ?

The solid wooden furniture is more expensive and always will be than veneer made furniture , or any other mixture of several types of real wood , of real wood and synthetic wood , of synthetic wood , of engineered wood , or whatever else .

How to Identify veneer ?

The veneer (which is real wood ) is taken by slicing – peeling the trunk of a tree with a razor style machine , it’s a thin sheet of real wood and it’s a real solid wood , with all of the properties of the real wood which are the weight , the smell , the uniform grain and the beautiness of the real wood .

Many sheets of veener glued together are making the plywood we all know and other engineered wood products .

How to tell the Difference between Real wood and Engineered wood ?

The way more bigger weight of real wood , the natural smell , the uniformity continuity of its grain , the beautiness and the warmth feeling the real wood unveils , cannot be reached of any type of engineered wood , which it’s an artificial wood type made in factories .

Does Engineered wooden furniture , look like Real wood ?

Yes , you can find engineered wooden furniture to look like real wood in a very high grade( never 100% ) , if it’s made by very good manufacturers , but the beautiness and feeling( and more ) of the real wood cannot be reached by anyone , no matter what machines it has .

Nature is nature and can be beaten only by nature elements .

Is Solid wood furniture Good or Bad ?

The solid wood is good in all cases and the best choice you can have if you want to get furniture that will last forever with the right maintenance and have something that will relax your brain and soul just by looking at it .

Remember , wood and woodworking are first of all deep emotions and this is priceless .

What is Cheaper engineered or solid hardwood ?

The engineered wooden funriture and creations will always be cheaper than the solid real hardwood and any other real and solid wood type , no matter the variety of choices you can have getting an artificial ordered to your taste , wood piece .

Is MDF Better than solid wooden furniture ?

No the MDF isn’t better than the solid wooden furniture concerning the beautiness , the warmth , the properties and the emotions of the real solid wood , but it’s cheaper , lighter and it can be ordered to your exact preferences being in many cases more artificial durable than real wood .

The marine plywood is more strong than the natural wood with zero treatment in the sea conditions and in tough weather .

Is IKEA solid wood ?

In the majority of the times and countries the IKEA stores are active , they offer mostly engineered artificial wooden furniture and creations , targeting the more cheaper solutions , but this isn’t an unbreakable law of course .

Every continent has different approach i suppose .

Is there an App to tell you what Kind of wood something is ?

Yes , there is the Xylorix app in which you can do several things and it’s very useful .

How to Check solid wood ? ( extended criteria )

1) The wooden furniture’s weight .

The first and very important criterion( along with wood’s grain ) to identify and have your first opinion for your furniture’s wood is : the weight of the wood .

Be very careful and have you attention in the highest focus . The engineered wood which seems like wood , cannot have the weight of the solid real nature’s wood . No way .

This is the first you should watch and begin your “checking” of the furniture you have in front of you . No other engineered type wood can be as heavy as a furniture made from real solid wood .

***The Engineered wood types are :

a) MDF ( medium dennsity fibreboard ) .

b) HDF ( high density fibreboard ) .

c) OSB ( oriented strand board ) .

d) Particle Board .

e) Plywood ( physical wood layers glued together ) .

f) Veneer .

If you want to remember the types of wood , see them in HERE .

The first thing an experienced carpenter does when he wants to make a wood furniture purchace is , lifting the furniture .

I’ve seen those very experienced woodworkers , to lift all the furniture they like to buy , “abandon” the lighter pieces and focus to the heavier ones . Then , they make more intense looking .

The solid real wood is heavy , the heavier of All others .

So if you want to buy a wooden table , chair , small library , desk , et.c and you have many choices in front of you , choose the heavier ones .

Then you’ll do more advanced search , but left aside the light ones and focus to the heavy pieces . After that you’ll have to do some more looking to your future buy .

2) The furniture’s grain – texture .

After the heaviness , you should watch and check the wood’s grain .They must have a “continuity” to all the length of the wood surface you check and don’t be “interrupted” .

This means that the wooden surface is made by the same wood part/material of the tree .

All the wood parts of your furniture , should “obey”, this texture continuity . The wood legs , the back , the big surfaces , the bottom , all . Your furniture may have many wood parts , but these parts should be from the same wood part/material , in all of its mass .

Grab your furniture in your hands , turned it upside down and look it in all of its dimensions and levels . The upper , the sideways , the lower surfaces , the drawers , everywhere .

Some wooden areas , may be from different parts , but check how these parts are joined together .

You should also see where these different parts came together and the quality of their continuity , giving to the entire furniture , continuity .

The real solid’s wood grain is something unique and it cannot be copied by other type of engineered wood .

You can feel it in your hands and when you touch real wood , the energy it has , is unique .

Many times the wood constructors , cover the sideways of a wooden surface with veneer . The Veneer gives many different aesthetical results and sometimes times is used .

If the wooden furniture has venner in its sideways , it will have an horizontal grain pattern and you should also check if the veneer is from the same wood type and the matching is perfect .

If the furniture’s feeling is totally perfect( above-bottom-sideways) , you should be careful . It’s probably veneer . The real solid wood , no matter how well is its sanding , it hasn’t the industrial engineered perfection , made by the factory’s machines .

In a very expensive well created and elite wood furniture , you let it’s beautiness “free” and you don’t need to increase it , by using veneer .

Yes sometimes even in a solid furniture you can see veener ( to make curves or something like that ) , but this is the exception . If you “fall” in this case you’ll see that the level of the veneer and the whole furniture work , is very high .

The wooden furniture condition , should have a uniform look and if it has curves , the woodworking process , should be “surgical” perfect .

If the furniture has also carved details on it , it’s a very good sign , of being from real solid wood . You cannot make carvings in the veneer , or the MDF , or other industrial wood type .

3) The quality of wood Connections .

After the heaviness , the grain of the wood , you should check the wood connections . The elite furniture’s joints are in the highest level of joining . They very close to perfect matching . The woodworker should be very careful to this point .

In a top quality’s furniture you won’t see , pins , screws , staples , visible “messy” wooden glue and in general cheap joining solutions .

The wooden notches and dents must be “surgical” matched , with minimum allowance , between the wooden surfaces .

The quality of the matching should be visible easily from anyone and all this should “excrete” the aura of the solidity . The 2 surfaces must look like as one piece of solid and healthy wood .

See yourself the quality of the wood’s joining surfaces , in the drawers area . Drawers from real solid wood , have usually dovetail connections and this is a serious sign of real wood , also .

4) Furniture’s general Stability – Solid Construction .

Is your future furniture , stable in any surface or it sways ? Usually the good quality’s furniture is very stable and doesn’t sway in different floors . If you place your furniture in some of the store’s floors and you see it being very “shaky” , this is something to consider .

This is up to your judgement . If your wooden furniture has passed all the previous “tests” and it sways a little , maybe it isn’t something to prevent your buying .

If you “judge” , that it sways a lot more than the normal , make a re-check to the previous criteria and reconsider . Maybe you’ve missed something and this “shaking” , is a reminder .

5) The Varnish factor .

Are the top and elite and expensive wooden furniture been varnished ? For this there isn’t a “law” .

Many times ( not saying all of the times) yes , even the solid real wood furniture are varnished . The varnish protects the wood from the human activities on them and the manufacturers , prefere to varnish them .

Yes i don’t like the varnish “thing”and i like my wood to “breath” , but the majority of people want their furniture to have the protection of the varnish . So you may find very good furniture unvarnished , but most of the times the varnish exists .

In here you should check the quality of the varnishing process and the general looks .

Put on your furniture a glass of water , try maybe to make a mark with your finger or your nail on it and see the results . The good furniture must have good quality’s varnish and be able to mark it , should be a difficult “job” .

6) The Smell factor .

Of course as i said previously , most of the furniture you’ll find in the stores , they are varnished furnitures . Solid and more luxury and expensive ones , are not in many cases .

They have only a very thin layer of water soluble finish . So the varnish is blocking the smell of the wood and it’s very difficult the wood’s smell to overcome the varnish one .

But sometimes if you bring the wood very close to your nose and smell deep a couple of times , you may detect the wood’s smell . And of course this is very good and it’s a crucial sign that your furniture is made from real and solid wood .

The manufactured and engineered wood isn’t a real material , which exists in the real world . It’s made by us and of course smell as real wood . You may smell several chemical smells and other stuff , but you won’t smell wood .

Even if the wood “sandwiches” which have pieces of wood inside , they don’t have the pure smell of wood . The chemicals and glues we use to make these sandwiches , prevail the smell of the wood materials inside .

So if you your wood furniture has all the above criteria and it smells like wood , clearly and with purity , you are in a very good path to make a correct buy .

7) The Price of the wooden furniture .

As you can imagine , real solid wood’s furniture , are way more expensive , than the other ones . The opposite is impposible . The working hours and effort you need to create a furniture from real wood , are for sure more , than a machine which makes the engineered wood piece .

Usually the elite wood furnitures are made by hand , from very experienced carpenters . This costs . Sometimes , in some “simple” wood furnitures without sculpture designs on them , machines can cut and shape real wood .

But the final shape , the connections and the finish of the furniture is made by human hands .

And this costs . Of course i should mention the higher price of the real wood to buy and all this are making the price of the true wood furniture , much more expensive .

8) The Quality of the Furniture’s Fabric .

If your wooden furniture has fabric on it , the quality of this fabric, says much for the quality of your wooden furniture . Is it a cheap fabric or an expensive one ?

Is it covered with good quality’s leather , velvet , et.c and how good is the job , the fabric tailor has done ?

Be very careful on this . You may found “situations” you don’t like and maybe will change your final buying opinion . The top quality’s furniture fabric , is measured , designed , cut , joined together with “surgical” attention .

Advantages and Disadvantages between Real – Solid Wood and Veneer/Engineered Furniture .

1) If you have your real wood in several places and you move it a lot , you should be aware of damaging it , from the tranfer .

2) Real wooden furniture , need more attention and care-maintenance , concerning the weather conditions ( moisture , high temperatures , big temperature fluctuations , et.c)

3) Laminate furniture haven’t the “personality” , the feeling , the smell , the warmth , the prestige of real solid wood’s furniture , even if they can handle betteer the moisture/ water / weather factors . They seem way more “cheaper” .

4) Real wood furniture have way more durability to external forces and some wood types are extremely hard and strong . They can last forever .

5) The veneer furniture is lighter than the real solid ones and they are easier to transfer .

6) If you damage veneer , you cannot make adjustments and fix it .

7) Usually the engineered furniture , are used for small periods of time , student rooms , et.c .

8) The veneer – engineered furniture doesn’t need maintenance .

9) After a while the chemicals and wood glues the factories use for the industrial wooden furniture , loses its properties and problems , begins .

Have you ever seen MDF – OSB – Particle boards , having “bellies” in their middle sections , caused by weight ?

This happens because the wood glue is losing its strength to hold together the small/medium wood pieces of the engineered board .

Last Tips & Advices .

Many times i go to the popular big markets , all cities have (IKEA , et.c) and when i go to the outdoor area , i see their outdoor and not only furniture .

Some of them are from “wood sandwiches” , some from plywood , some from industrial wood and some are from real/solid wood .

The industrial and other styles of furniture most of the times are very easy to identify .

But in the ones which are from real wood , i see so many different mixtures . Wooden tables and other creations having true wooden boards for their tops , but “feet” from plywood , or industrial one .

Furniture that they are all from true wood , but so thin and without great attention in their connections and because of that , not being so stable .

I see “countless” wooden furniture’s mixtures , because the factories are trying to combine the quality with the low prize . And of course this sometimes is very difficult .

So have the above criteria as your “lighthouse” to choose well , but you should be very flexible . Sometimes you may need to make some “discounts” to your preferences , according to the money you can give .

Because you may find a wooden table with good and real boards and its “feet” having not so good quality wood or maybe having no real wood at all .

But because its price is very good for you , you may decide to buy it anyway . So always have your “wood mind” “open” and your personal judgement sharp .

So if you make your quality checks using the above criteria , you should also know that we separate the wood in qualities . The wood the manufacturers use for the making of furniture is different from the other needs .

In the constructions we use normally pine and fir . For the furniture we use the most luxury wood .

Which Wood is expensive for making Furniture ?

1)Walnuts .

2)Beech .

3)Chestnut .

4)Mahogany .

5)Ebony .

6) Rosewoods .

7)Maple .

8) Tropical Wood types .

9) Teak ( fire resistant & durable ) .

10) Satin Wood .

11) Sal Wood .

12) Meranti .

13) White Cedar .

14) Mulberry .

If you are a completely beginner to the woodworking activity – hobby , or someone who you haven’t the wood as a hobby , but you are also beginner , it’s very difficult to choose good furniture .

You may see a very beautiful , BUT PAINTED technical wood and be confused . Of course if you follow the above criteria of weight , et.c your “life will be easier” , but sometimes enthusiasm , can lead you to mistakes .

If you are a total beginner ( which isn’t a bad thing of course ) , try to have with you a more experienced person to help you . Everyboby knows someone , who is a carpender , an experienced woodworker , a retired carpender , et.c .

Keep woodworking and give to your life happiness .