This much wood is cut to make X number of solid wood chairs

This much wood is cut to make the same number of ply-bent wood chairs

Why ply bent furniture uses wood so efficiently

We live in a world of 6 + billion people..... Many fear our limited resources are not being used at sustained levels. Is it reasonable to expect these resources to be used most effectively, in the most efficient manner, with access for as many people as possible? Is it reasonable to try to keep our forests intact as much as possible?

Consider this.... Compared to ply-bent methods of furniture construction, solid wood manufacturing uses wood with a reckless disregard for resources. Strong statement? Consider this: Humans have been processing solid wood the same way since Mastodons roamed the planet, only our ability to process and consume these resources is faster.

Solid wood.....what a waste.....To produce a board measuring 1 inch thick, a tree is cut down and sawn to random lengths of 6 to 12 feet. Since trees are round and boards are rectangular, there is substantial waste. Imagine a square within a circle and everything outside of the square is trashed. Next, the board we want is rough-cut from the log, and the saw kerf wastes another centimeter down the length of the log every time it makes a board. Our 1 inch thick board must be rough cut to a little less than 1-1/2 inches thick, then dried, which causes slight warpage. To make our board flat and smooth, it must be planed, this trashes another 3/8 to 1/2 inch. We now have our 1 inch thick board, and already the waste is greater than the yield. The board is just a random width and length, and the piece of furniture is not even started!!! If the simplest stick chair is made, waste is another 25-30%, and if a piece of furniture has any curves or uses a low yield species of wood, like cherry or walnut, the waste factor is another 100% to 200%......or more. But it gets worse...have you looked in design magazines lately? Have you noticed the chunky wood look is ubiquitous? Many of those chairs use more than double the wood needed to support even the most gravity challenged human who ever lived. The look is neolithic, and meant to be. Somehow a primitive look is associated with simplicity, but unfortunately it is also a primitive use of material. In this century, it is a waste of resources. We really can do better... Maybe you are thinking, well....the wood is FSC certified....but this is like the rich in the middle ages buying penitence for their misdeeds. You may also be thinking....most of that waste, the sawdust goes toward making chip-board. The answer is some.... but to make chip-board, it is mixed with urea formaldehyde resin. No wonder we have sick building syndrome. Making solid wood lumber is a lose/lose proposition.

About Ply-Bent wood (very cool) To make veneer, logs are cut from from trees the same as above, however, these logs are cut to the length ordered by the customer. The log is put on a lathe, as it turns the bark is removed, then the veneer is peeled off the log with a VERY BIG knife. The veneer comes off the log sort of like paper towels come off a roll. Since the wood is already cut to the customers length and thickness, the veneer is then cut and spliced to the customers width as it comes off the log. The waste averages about 15% depending on the species of wood, the remaining wood (including the bark) goes to heating the kilns which dry the veneer and heat the physical plant in winter.

About the wood we use at Persing/Danko... The veneer we use is a northern hard maple. It is a high yield wood with only 10% waste from the cut log. Since the veneer we buy is already the size and thickness we require, our waste is minimal, running about 5% for our stick bent chairs, to 15% for our one-piece plywood chairs. But even this is reduced as we are now using the cut-outs from the plywood chairs to make our table legs.

So why doesn t everyone buy ply-bent furniture? Two reasons, first, ply-bent furniture costs a little more because making veneer is more labor intensive, and the furniture part needs to be made from lots of little thin layers. The second reason, (and it is the real the reason): solid wood has a 5,000 year head-start in terms of developing a vocabulary of shapes, styles and techniques. It is so rooted into all of human culture, arguments could be made for an archtypal presence in the human psyche. Ply-Bent furniture has been around a little over 100 years, and the availability to the general public has been probably half that. Moreover, the medium has been explored by just a few designers, among them: Aalto, Eames, and ........me. Peter Danko, 2000

Questions and Answers about Green Design and Danko/Persing furniture.

Q: Are the adhesives used in the wood-bending process water base?

A: Yes, the adhesive we use is water base and non-toxic. It is a Type II crosslinking adhesive, a hybrid of the Elmers white glue we all know about. We like it very much, itÕs water based properties make it easy to clean, and it has a low crosslinking temperature (about 145 degrees.) This lower temperature saves energy while molding and also requires a shorter cycle time that improves production. The water based adhesive we use in our wood bending process is better than the conventional Urea Resin Glue, but it costs more.

Q: Are the finishes used in your furniture water base?

A: Yes and No. For any customer who wants us to use a water base finish for a sizable job, say 25 or more chairs, we will be glad to do it. We experiment with water base finishes every year or so. The water based finishes are a little cloudy and less translucent, especially for the dark stains. They do not have as good a feel as the VOC base finishes. The consensus here is water base finishes would have a negative effect on the overall quality of our products. However, they are available on demand and we are keeping our eyes on the technology.

Q: Do the same specifications apply to the new tables as well?

A: The legs and support structures we make here, so the same water base adhesive is used. We out-source the tabletops, and our supplier is currently using the Urea Resin adhesive. Our supplier has used the water base adhesives and will use it for an upcharge if the volume is enough to justify a run.

Q: Are hardwoods in North America growing at sustained levels?

A: Yes. Currently in North America, hardwood forests grow 82% more volume every year than is harvested and lost to fire, wind, insects and disease. Visit: http://www.natlhardwood.org for more information.

Q: Is the wood that is used for these products from certified sustainable forests?

A: Yes and No. The veneers we use are from sustained, privately owned and professionally managed forests. However, it is not independently certified because there are so few veneer mills and they tend to be large. Consequently, the documentation process to follow each log in a veneer plant is unrealistic. Independent certification of forest products used for wood bending are simply a matter of time, but not yet. Solid hardwood is easier to certify because there are a great many more solid hardwood saw mills. Some mills become dedicated to producing certified wood or run a saw entirely dedicated to producing certified wood. The wood then becomes a niche market product. Nevertheless, the combination of efficiency and sustainability makes veneer a perfect green resource.

Q:Why do people associate plywood with lesser quality products?

A: They see plywood as the rough construction material found in lumber yards. Ironically, hardwood veneer for ply bending is more expensive than solid wood because it is labor intensive. Some designers seem to understand this, most do not have a clue to the green properities of this material. The bottom line is those of us who are interested in green design should be trying to encourage our customers to use more molded plywood. An early pioneer for the efficient use of materials in furniture manufacturing was Charles Eames. I am sure you are aware his philosophy was to produce beautiful furniture for the common man. He wanted to use a material everyone could afford which was an efficient use of resources. Ironically, the Eames philosophy backfired after a few years. The public did not want to use a material that was efficient, they wanted to use materials that reflected tradition (solid wood), and materials that signaled the owners ability to acquire furniture made from a precious material. Clearly, wood falls into the same pattern as the desire to own mink coats, diamonds, ivory....and the list goes on. It is pretentiousness, a human trait and a herd instinct to demonstrate our position in the social hierarchy. When are we humans going to demonstrate our position in the social hierarchy by making choices that reflect our intelligence?

Q: Why is there such a public outcry about the use of wood if trees are growing beyond sustained levels?

Q:Does veneer use wood as a resource more efficiently than solid wood?

A: So much so it is astonishing. The molded plywood products we manufacture use timber 8 to 10 times more efficiently than solid wood products.

Q: As the designer of these products what does Green design mean to you?

A: I would like to point out the vast difference between the solid wood market and the ply-bending market. There are hundreds of suppliers of hardwood, and sawmills in just about every little rural town. For veneer, we have found less than 5 mills in the US and Canada who cut 1/16" rotary hardwood veneer to meet our needs. Further, and to my great frustration, I have found only one mill in N. America who can cut this type of veneer longer than 60". Generating more interest in using ply-bent materials would be a very positive force for conserving resources. What we really need is more interior and industrial designers collaborating on projects, and using these materials in ways to generate a whole spectrum of styles and design motifs. Designs that would be exciting to the public.