When we talk about real wood, we are talking about solid and non-solid wood. You could also describe solid wood as “a slice of tree”. We speak of non-solid wood when the wood is glued together in thin layers. Consider, for example, plywood, a beautiful material.

The advantage of solid wood is that you can process it into very large surfaces. So, for example, if you wanted a table with a seamless top of 600x800cm, that could in principle be made.
The processing of the wood into a leaf is briefly as follows:
The raw wood is sorted, planed and brought to the correct thickness in the thicknesser. Then the different planks are placed next to each other in the correct way (the annual rings alternate) and glued together.
Another advantage of solid wood is that you can sand the wood well if you wish and then choose the right finish.
The disadvantage of solid wood is that it is a labour-intensive material, and therefore expensive.
Non-solid wood, such as plywood, consists of thin layers of wood (veneer). At Arp we often use birch plywood or beech plywood.

The advantage of non-solid wood, also known as sheet material or plywood, is the stability and relatively low cost of the material. The cross-section of the plate has an attractive appearance, a beautiful striped pattern. The surface can also be covered with a wood veneer of your choice, for example oak.
The disadvantage of non-solid wood is the size limitation. This material is usually available in sheets of a maximum of 150x150cm or 300x125cm. Furthermore, the material can only be lightly sanded once; after all, a veneer saw is often only 0.6mm thick and then the next layer soon becomes visible.

Every tree is unique. It speaks for itself. But each type has its own specific properties. In strength/structure, stability and appearance. Below we give a brief overview of the types of wood that we work with most often.

European Oak has traditionally been the most popular type of wood when it comes to furniture applications because of its exceptional qualities. The oak forms a good basis for finishes such as oil, matt lacquer, colored pickling oil, but also for a covering stain in one colour. The oak that Arp often uses is Polish oak. It has a light colour, is calm in structure and is available knot-free. But of course it is also possible to choose "wild" oak with a lot of knots!

American Nuts is dark in color with a brown tint. The most beautiful finish as far as Arp is concerned is oil, which deepens the color. What is taken into account is that the color becomes lighter over time, under the influence of UV light.

American Cherry has a reddish color and here too we recommend an oil finish.

American Ash is a light type of wood with an open structure. Ash forms a good basis for finishes such as oil, matt lacquer, and colored pickling oil. Because ash has an open structure, the drawing of the wood is emphasized even more when it is finished with a colored stain.