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News & Events Mid-America News Show Calendar State Event Calendars Regular Features The Antique Detective Antique Detective Q&A Common Sense Antiques Refurnished Thoughts Traveling with Ken Good Eye Books for Collectors Directories & Classifieds The Finder: Unique Shops Lodgings Directory Museum Directory Aviation Museums Wineries in the Heartland Classifieds Web Links Archived Features Antiquing in Colorado Dealer Profile Archive Editor's Notebook Heirloom Recipes Helpful Hints for Collectors Is This An Antique? Past Cover Features Reflecting History 2005 Best Of Winners *Destinations 2006*	Discover Mid-America — May 2004 Primary Or Secondary: Why Different Woods? In almost any conversation or article regarding older or antique furniture, sooner or later the terms “primary wood” and “secondary wood” or “secondary woods” appear. Why is there a distinction between types of wood used in furniture construction, and can the different woods in a piece be used to help identify period or style of a piece? Primary woods are the ones used for the main body of a piece, the areas most likely to be seen. Primary woods are usually chosen for their visual characteristics rather than for their structural features. Mahogany is used because of its beautiful depth of color. Oak is chosen for its distinctive grain pattern. Veneers used as decoration are chosen strictly on appearance. Secondary woods, those used on concealed areas such as the backs and bottoms of chests and drawer sides, backs and bottoms, on the other hand, are chosen for a variety of factors. The most obvious of course is cost. For example, mahogany has been one of the most popular furniture woods since its introduction to England in the 1720’s. It was used extensively for early Queen Anne works in England and Europe and caught on in the American colonies a few years later. It was the wood of choice for Chippendale and the Georgian period pieces, but since absolutely no mahogany grows in Europe and was found only in limited quantities in the far southern reaches of the Colonies, virtually every board foot of mahogany used in furniture production had to be harvested in the tropics and imported by ship, a costly and time consuming process in the 18th century. A corollary to cost is availability. In addition to being expensive, mahogany was not always available, a common trait of imported items, so quantities had to be reserved only for visible applications. More easily obtainable wood had to be used for other parts of a piece. Sometimes technology has played a part in the choice of secondary woods. Around the turn of the 20th century, for example, the discovery of aniline dyes, which can be used to impart a deep color to a very hard piece of wood, allowed the use of indigenous woods such as birch to be used in visible locations in place of imported mahogany in the factories of the Midwest. Another factor in choosing a secondary wood is weight. Many of the primary woods such as walnut, oak and maple are relatively dense and heavy and present structural problems on occasion. A lighter secondary wood such as poplar or gum lends itself to more design variations and lower shipping costs in the long run. Secondary woods are also chosen for their workability and compatibility. Poplar and pine are much softer than walnut, maple or oak and are easily shaped with hand tools, an important consideration in the days before the Industrial Revolution. These soft secondary woods also speed construction and are easily colored when the need arises. These choice secondary woods also perform an important function in the application of veneer. The substrate for veneer needs to be smooth so as not to telegraph its details through the veneer and it needs to be stable over time so as not to distort the veneer. The choice of both primary and secondary woods can indeed sometimes be used to determine the origin of a piece. For example, while oak was the primary wood used in early Pilgrim construction in the Colonies in the early and mid 17th century, it was used almost not at all from the late 17th century to the late 19th century in the U. S. while being used extensively in England and Europe during this period. Oak was used not only as a primary wood but also as the secondary wood in England, but the secondary wood dimensions were reduced, i.e. drawer sides and bottoms were thinned to reduce the weight. A type of pine known as deal is also sometimes used in English furniture but not as frequently as thinner pieces of oak. During the great non-oak period in America, which encompasses late William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Federal, Empire and Victorian the favorite primary woods were walnut, mahogany, cherry and maple. Pine and poplar are the favorite American secondary woods since they are abundant and inexpensive and oak was used frequently used as a secondary wood in American Victorian construction. It was also used as the secondary wood for a large part of the great “Golden Oak” period in this country in the early 20th century. A lot of the beautiful quarter cut or “tiger’s eye” oak veneer so popular in this period was laid over an underlayment of flat cut oak. With the advent of so-called “lumber core plywood” early in the 20th century, the choice of secondary woods as veneer underlayment became less of an issue because the new construction technique was so uniform. It allowed the use of extremely low grade lumber in construction and saved higher grades for primary applications. In modern furniture production the use of particle board and high density fiberboard has replaced most secondary wood in back panels, surface underlayments, drawer sides, bottoms and backs and has reduced the question of secondary woods to one of glue blocks, wooden handles and packing crates. Fred and Gail Taylor’s video, “IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE” is available for $29.95 ($33.95 U.S. funds from Canada) from Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423-0215 or call (800) 387-6377. Comments, questions and suggestions for future “COMMON SENSE ANTIQUES” columns are gladly accepted at the same address, by email at FMTAYLOR@AOL.COM or by fax at (352) 563-2916. Fred's new book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is now available for $18.95 plus $2.00 S & H. Send check or money order for $20.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423. > Common Sense Antiques Archive — past columns	{rightside ad cell}
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Discover Mid-America — May 2004

Primary Or Secondary: Why Different Woods?

In almost any conversation or article regarding older or antique furniture, sooner or later the terms “primary wood” and “secondary wood” or “secondary woods” appear. Why is there a distinction between types of wood used in furniture construction, and can the different woods in a piece be used to help identify period or style of a piece?

Primary woods are the ones used for the main body of a piece, the areas most likely to be seen. Primary woods are usually chosen for their visual characteristics rather than for their structural features. Mahogany is used because of its beautiful depth of color. Oak is chosen for its distinctive grain pattern. Veneers used as decoration are chosen strictly on appearance.

Secondary woods, those used on concealed areas such as the backs and bottoms of chests and drawer sides, backs and bottoms, on the other hand, are chosen for a variety of factors. The most obvious of course is cost.

For example, mahogany has been one of the most popular furniture woods since its introduction to England in the 1720’s. It was used extensively for early Queen Anne works in England and Europe and caught on in the American colonies a few years later. It was the wood of choice for Chippendale and the Georgian period pieces, but since absolutely no mahogany grows in Europe and was found only in limited quantities in the far southern reaches of the Colonies, virtually every board foot of mahogany used in furniture production had to be harvested in the tropics and imported by ship, a costly and time consuming process in the 18th century.

A corollary to cost is availability. In addition to being expensive, mahogany was not always available, a common trait of imported items, so quantities had to be reserved only for visible applications. More easily obtainable wood had to be used for other parts of a piece. Sometimes technology has played a part in the choice of secondary woods. Around the turn of the 20th century, for example, the discovery of aniline dyes, which can be used to impart a deep color to a very hard piece of wood, allowed the use of indigenous woods such as birch to be used in visible locations in place of imported mahogany in the factories of the Midwest.

Another factor in choosing a secondary wood is weight. Many of the primary woods such as walnut, oak and maple are relatively dense and heavy and present structural problems on occasion. A lighter secondary wood such as poplar or gum lends itself to more design variations and lower shipping costs in the long run.

Secondary woods are also chosen for their workability and compatibility. Poplar and pine are much softer than walnut, maple or oak and are easily shaped with hand tools, an important consideration in the days before the Industrial Revolution. These soft secondary woods also speed construction and are easily colored when the need arises. These choice secondary woods also perform an important function in the application of veneer. The substrate for veneer needs to be smooth so as not to telegraph its details through the veneer and it needs to be stable over time so as not to distort the veneer.

The choice of both primary and secondary woods can indeed sometimes be used to determine the origin of a piece. For example, while oak was the primary wood used in early Pilgrim construction in the Colonies in the early and mid 17th century, it was used almost not at all from the late 17th century to the late 19th century in the U. S. while being used extensively in England and Europe during this period. Oak was used not only as a primary wood but also as the secondary wood in England, but the secondary wood dimensions were reduced, i.e. drawer sides and bottoms were thinned to reduce the weight. A type of pine known as deal is also sometimes used in English furniture but not as frequently as thinner pieces of oak.

During the great non-oak period in America, which encompasses late William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Federal, Empire and Victorian the favorite primary woods were walnut, mahogany, cherry and maple. Pine and poplar are the favorite American secondary woods since they are abundant and inexpensive and oak was used frequently used as a secondary wood in American Victorian construction. It was also used as the secondary wood for a large part of the great “Golden Oak” period in this country in the early 20th century. A lot of the beautiful quarter cut or “tiger’s eye” oak veneer so popular in this period was laid over an underlayment of flat cut oak.

With the advent of so-called “lumber core plywood” early in the 20th century, the choice of secondary woods as veneer underlayment became less of an issue because the new construction technique was so uniform. It allowed the use of extremely low grade lumber in construction and saved higher grades for primary applications. In modern furniture production the use of particle board and high density fiberboard has replaced most secondary wood in back panels, surface underlayments, drawer sides, bottoms and backs and has reduced the question of secondary woods to one of glue blocks, wooden handles and packing crates.

Fred and Gail Taylor’s video, “IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE” is available for $29.95 ($33.95 U.S. funds from Canada) from Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423-0215 or call (800) 387-6377. Comments, questions and suggestions for future “COMMON SENSE ANTIQUES” columns are gladly accepted at the same address, by email at FMTAYLOR@AOL.COM or by fax at (352) 563-2916.

Fred's new book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is now available for $18.95 plus $2.00 S & H. Send check or money order for $20.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.

> Common Sense Antiques Archive — past columns

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