Reutilize The Wood Off-Cuts for Panels by Using Tongue & Groove Joints

In the world of furniture manufacturing, we often face problems of waste wood that its number significantly increasing from day to day and taken much more space for storage. There was often a dilemma whether continue to be saved, as it might be used someday or it should be disposed to keep workplace clean and well organized.

 

Ironically on the other hand, sometimes people waste material while in the same time they were starting to cut from fresh lumber to be the same size. Production operators often intentionally or even ordered by their superior for ripping the rest wood to a small size until it can't be used for other parts. Of course they did it secretly though should take overhead cost, as they worried being scolded by the manager or owner.

Do we know how to utilize the wood waste? One of a good idea is reusing waste wood to be made the boards or panels in certain size by using tongue & groove joint. Some furniture companies have been taken advantages of their cost reduction program up to 35% with this way.

Tongue & groove joint is made by grouping the off-cuts into a few standard sizes and then formed tongue & groove profile on both opposite longitudinal sides. Once the profile is done, the off-cuts ready to be laminated.

After becoming the new board, generally both face will be laminated with veneer so that the connections become stronger and more beautiful like a brand new panel. Lay people may not know if this panel was made from wood scraps. This panel could be used for the top panels, end panels, back panels, bottom panels, dust panels or face drawers. On the bed can also be used for the sideboard, headboard and tail board. On the table can be used for top panel and base panel.

Here are some things to be considered when creating a panel from the wood off-cuts:

1. Manage species as much as possible to be the species.
2. Manage moisture content of each part not more than 1%.
3. Set each part end grain in opposites orientation in order to reduce warping.
4. Consider all detail processes during lamination, such as cleaning first tongue & groove profile from dust or chips before gluing application, the entire contact surface must be flat mated when cold-pressed, the amount of glue on each contact surface should be sufficient and until squished out, pressing and drying time.
5. Note that lamination panel core and face veneer is conducted only if panel core has acclimatized for minimal 24 hours.
6. Consider all matters related to the process of hot press veneer with core panels, such as moisture content difference between veneer and core panel no more than 1%, the type and thickness of veneer on both faces must be equal, the amount of glue per square meter, pressure hot press , pressing time, cooling time, etc.