Rubber Wood for Furniture

Rubber wood is considered a "cheap" wood to make furniture. The rubber tree is mainly planted and cultivated for its latex, the raw material in the rubber industry. Rubber trees that have been unproductive then are cut and sold as timber wood. Until then, people noticed that rubber wood had physical properties that were suitable for the woodworking industry. Rubberwood is used in the woodworking industry to make various wood products, such as indoor furniture, flooring, parquet, strawboard, veneer, or plywood, which can be made with rubber wood. 

The treatment for rubber wood is actually quite complicated. The wood naturally contains latex, which must be removed before being used in the woodworking industry. The wood is also high-risk for the fungal and wood-eating insects attacked. The wood must be treated properly soon after being cut; otherwise, it will get a problem with a blue stain or an insect attack. The special processing that is known as the vacuum treatment is needed to release his latex and to preserve the wood with anti-insect chemical. The rubber wood boards are placed in the chamber room to be boiled with hot water for several minutes (about 15 minutes), then the hot water is sucked until all water is out from the room. The suction process is continued to let the latex out of the wood. After most of the latex is out, then the anti-insect solution is flowed to the chamber to fill in the wood pores and grain. The anti-insect solution will be absorbed with the wood to make the wood resist to the insect attack. The wet wood is then sent to the kiln dry to be dried to meet the standard moisture content for the woodworking industry.

Instead of his complex processing, the rubber wood has some good properties for woodworking industry furniture supply. The rubber wood is quite strong with a medium hardness, making it easy to be machined, drilled, and bored. The wood is also relatively inexpensive, has a light brown, white base color, and has a nice grain pattern. He has a deep and big texture of pores and grain, making it flexible enough to be combined with the common veneers in the furniture industry, such as oak, maple, ash, and even mango or mahogany. His light basic color, white to light brown, is a big advantage since it is flexible to be finished in many colors. 

rubber wood panel

 
Finishing for rubber wood. 
 

Despite his high flexibility for color selection, the proper finishing process for rubber wood is needed. The wood has high porosity with big pores and grain texture. The wood tends to be rough and absorb too much finishing material. Too wet stain application should be avoided since it will be risky to create the blotchy color problem. The glue sizing or sealer sizing can be used to reduce the risk of blotchy color. The rubber wood that already has been sanded with a smooth surface should not be left in open air for a long time because he will absorb the water from the air, which will raise the wood fibers and make the surface be rough again.

The big pores and grain can be stained or glazed to make the life and special finishing look. But if the close pores finish is chosen, then the filler application is needed to fill and close the pores. The filler with natural or light color can be applied as the first finishing process to reduce the absorption of stain into the wood pores, thereby reducing the risk of blotchy color. A wide range of color and appearance can be applied to the rubber wood. Finishing with a transparent color from the light color to the dark colors can be applied without any big issue. The clean-looking finish can be made as well as the antic finishing in any color.

The solid color finishes can also be applied to the rubberwood product. If the clean and close pores finish is needed, then we need to apply filler to fill the pores and grains. If the antique solid color finish is needed, then we can maximize its big grain and pores to make a more lifelike finish. The glaze, filler, or powder glaze inside the pores will make a "dramatic" finishing look.