What happens to wood in a furniture machine shop?

In a furniture machine shop, wood that has already been seasoned and converted to standard thicknesses undergoes several mechanical processes to prepare it for assembly.1

The primary operations performed in the machine shop include:

• Dimensioning and Shaping: The wood is sawed to specific sizes, planed, molded, grooved, or rebated as required.1
• Precision Cutting: When multiple parts must be identical, they are clamped into forms with the proper contour. These forms are then guided against high-speed rotating knives on shapers and routers to ensure consistent shaping.1
• Carving: Intricately shaped pieces, such as furniture legs, are processed on multiple-spindle carving machines. These machines use a follower point to trace a master model, directing high-speed knives to duplicate the design on multiple blanks simultaneously.1
• Jointing: The shop handles various joinery techniques, including tenoning, dowelling, and dovetailing.12
• Sanding: Exposed and rounded parts are smoothed using various specialized equipment, such as edge belt sanders, pneumatic drums, or buffers equipped with shredded sandpaper.1

After initial assembly, pieces may return to the machine shop for final adjustments, such as shaping edges or sanding joints that were inaccessible before the parts were joined.1