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Nowadays, when people buy furniture, they always can't tell the difference between oak and rubber wood. Below, the editor of the top ten board brands analyzes the differences and characteristics of oak and rubber wood for you.
1. What is rubber wood
Rubberwood is a plant that produces latex. It's the trunk of the rubber tree, a subtropical species. After a rubber tree matures, it's tapped annually. A semicircular incision is made horizontally and slightly downwards through the trunk. The sap that flows out is the raw rubber, the raw material for rubber production. When the tree matures, its trunk can be used to make furniture.
2. What is oak?
Oak belongs to the Quercus acutissima family, Fagaceae. The heartwood is yellow-brown to reddish-brown, with distinct, slightly wavy growth rings and slow drying. The color, texture, characteristics and properties of red oak vary with its origin. Southern red oak grows faster than northern red oak and is usually separated by origin and sold separately in the south and north. Southern wood is reddish in color with color difference, making it suitable for darker painted products. Northern wood is light reddish to white in color and has a uniform color, making it suitable for light-colored products.
3. The difference between oak and rubber wood
Although oak and rubber wood are only one letter apart, they are very different as boards.
First of all, oak has obvious and beautiful wood grain. You can clearly see circles of annual ring patterns on the wood, which gives it a sense of reality that is close to nature.
Secondly, the natural color of oak is light yellow with a slight green tint. The color is deeper than that of rubber wood. Oak is relatively easy to stain and has high color fastness.
Secondly, oak's large, bold, and imposing knots lend themselves to rustic or vintage-style flooring. Furthermore, oak takes a relatively long time to mature and boasts a high density. The environment in which oak grows contributes to its stable properties and exceptionally dense and strong texture. Oak's inherent durability and strong resistance to decay make its stability and distinctive grain widely used in furniture and other applications.
Rubberwood, on the other hand, is light yellow-brown in color, with a uniform wood structure and a delicate feel. Furthermore, its smooth cut surface makes it easy to glue and paint. Knots are relatively few and small, and its overall color is warm and soft, creating a gentle feel. Furthermore, despite its lighter color, rubberwood is not easy to color. Some rubberwoods, for aesthetic reasons, are painted, covering up the original growth rings and making the pattern less distinct.
4. Get rid of the misunderstanding of furniture purchase and correctly understand rubber wood
With the continuous development of furniture industrialization, more and more wood species are used in furniture production to meet different decorative effects and consumer needs. However, due to people's limited understanding of wood and the lack of standardization of wood names, some manufacturers are vague about the wood used in their furniture, giving people the illusion that the furniture is of good quality and low price.
Consumers, often only discovering they've been duped after purchase, often use online information to disparage the wood used in their furniture, venting their frustration. Some businesses, seeking to enhance their own competitiveness, resort to derogatory language on online platforms, particularly regarding woods that could easily be confused with their own. This phenomenon of a mixed bag of good and bad is not uncommon.
There have been many cases of counterfeit oak furniture on the market. Occasionally, when encountering a slightly knowledgeable customer, the salesperson will cover up the issue by saying "oak is short for rubberwood", causing the consumer to buy furniture that does not match their actual needs, leading to the phenomenon of fake oak furniture on the market. In fact, oak and rubberwood are two completely different woods.
5. Advantages and disadvantages of rubber wood furniture
advantage
1. The growth cycle of rubber wood is not long, and it usually takes ten years to mature. The wood is widely available, so rubber wood furniture is not expensive.
2. Rubber wood furniture is not easy to crack in the dry areas of the north and is easy to maintain.
3. Rubber wood has strong plasticity during the furniture making process and is suitable for making furniture products with soft curves.
4. Rubber wood has a good texture, and the rubber wood furniture made from it has beautiful texture and uniform texture.
5. Rubber wood is light in color, easy to color, can accept all types of dyes and coatings, is easy to match the color tones of other types of wood, and has good paint coating performance.
6. Rubber wood has good wear resistance, and the furniture countertops made from it are durable.
shortcoming
1. Rubber wood has a peculiar smell and is prone to discoloration, decay and insect infestation due to its high sugar content.
2. Rubber wood is not easy to dry and is easy to bend and deform. The wood is easy to process, but the board is easy to deform during processing.
3. Rubber wood is a tropical tree species, and is one of the poorer tree species in terms of hardness, material, texture and performance.
6. Advantages and disadvantages of oak furniture
advantage
1. It has a relatively distinct mountain-shaped wood grain and the surface feels good to the touch.
2. It has excellent toughness and can be processed into various curved shapes as needed, which is quite beautiful.
3. It has a solid texture, a firm structure and a long service life. It is used in the production of many ancient door and window lattices.
4. It is of higher grade and suitable for making European furniture and Chinese classical furniture. It has a solid feel and the elegance and calmness of mahogany furniture, but its price is lower than that of mahogany furniture.
5. Oak has a fine texture, with more fillings in the pores, is not easy to absorb water, is corrosion-resistant, and has high strength. European and American countries use it to store red wine.
shortcoming
1. High-quality tree species are relatively rare. Currently, most are imported from Russia and the United States, with some also imported from Turkey, Austria, Germany, and Canada. They are also produced in many other regions of Europe and America, but the import volume is very small.
2. Imported oak lumber typically undergoes rigorous drying processes abroad, resulting in excellent stability. Some manufacturers also import logs directly from abroad and cut and dry them themselves. Currently, many professional oak furniture manufacturers in China produce oak furniture with high stability. However, due to the hard texture of oak, it is difficult to completely remove moisture. Furniture made without complete dehydration may begin to warp, shrink, and crack after a year or two.
3. The phenomenon of replacing oak with rubber wood is common in the market. If customers lack professional knowledge, it will directly affect the interests of consumers.