Pancyprian TS Wood & Furniture III cheat sheet

Moisture content (MC%) = (wet mass − oven-dry mass) / oven-dry mass × 100; kiln-dried furniture timber is normally specified at 8–12% MC for indoor use in Cyprus.

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) falls as relative humidity falls; wood in a centrally heated room can drop to 5–7% MC, so timber dried to 8–10% may shrink further after delivery.

Movement rule of thumb: tangential shrinkage is roughly twice radial shrinkage; a flat-sawn board therefore cups with the concave face away from the heart.

Density governs strength and fastener holding: hardwoods such as oak, beech and ash (approx. 650–750 kg/m³ at 12% MC) out-hold softwoods such as pine, spruce and fir (approx. 400–550 kg/m³).

Cyprus-grown species include Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia), Aleppo pine, cypress and olive; olive and cypress are dense, dimensionally restless and best used for small components or decorative work.

Defects to reject: spiral grain, reaction wood, checks, shake, knot clusters, fungal stain and insect frass; blue stain indicates sap-stain fungi and does not necessarily reduce strength but is rejected on appearance.

Panel products: MDF takes profiles and paint well but swells irreversibly when wet; particleboard has lower screw-holding than MDF; plywood is strongest along the face-grain direction and is chosen where cross-grain stability is needed.

Adhesive compatibility: PVA (D3) for interior joinery, D4/PU for humid or exterior conditions, UF for interior panel laminating, contact adhesive for laminates and edging.

First-angle projection places the view from above below the front view and the view from the left on the right; third-angle does the opposite - confirm which convention the drawing uses before machining.

Scale notation 1:5 means a 100 mm real dimension is drawn at 20 mm; always state units and scale on the title block.

BS 8888 / ISO 128 line conventions: continuous thick for visible outlines, dashed for hidden detail, chain dotted for centre lines and cutting planes, thin continuous for dimension and projection lines.

A cutting-plane line with arrows and letters (A–A) defines a section view; hatch lines at 45° indicate cut solid material, and adjacent parts are hatched in opposite directions.

Dimensioning rules: never dimension the same feature twice, dimension to the functional datum, and avoid dimension lines crossing; tolerances are given as limits or as ± values.

Workshop layout principle: sequence machines in the order of material flow (storage → crosscut → rip/surface → jointing → assembly → finishing), keeping 800–1000 mm clear around machine infeed and outfeed.

A cutting list must give species, finished size, quantity, grain direction, edge-banding and allowance for machining (commonly 3–6 mm on width and thickness, 10–20 mm on length for end trimming).

Sharpening angles: bench plane blade 25° primary with 30° micro-bevel; chisel 25° for paring, 30° for chopping; card scraper burnished to a 45° hook.

Plane setup order: flatten the back, hone the bevel, set the cap iron 0.3–0.8 mm from the edge for tearout control, then set blade projection for the depth of cut.

A Japanese pull saw cuts on the pull stroke with a thinner kerf and less set than a Western push saw, giving cleaner cuts in dense hardwoods.

Circular saw: blade projection should be 3–5 mm beyond the workpiece; the riving knife must be within 3–8 mm of the blade and set below tooth height; never remove the guard.

Router feed direction: climb-cutting (feed in the direction of bit rotation) is used only for light finishing passes; conventional feed against rotation gives control and is standard for edge profiling.

Jigsaw blades are selected by TPI and tooth type: down-cut blades for veneered faces, up-cut for fast stock removal; orbital action speeds rough cutting but roughens the underside.

Drill speed rule: peripheral speed falls with diameter, so large bits run slower; use brad-point bits for clean holes in timber and reduce pressure as the point breaks through to avoid breakout.

Planer thicknesser: set infeed table level with the cutter circle at top dead centre; outfeed table set 1–1.5 mm lower per pass is a common maximum for a surface planer.

Surface planing requires the grain to run with the feed; reverse grain causes kickback and tearout - reverse the board or take lighter cuts.

Table saw: riving knife aligned to the blade within 1 mm, fence parallel to the blade within 0.1–0.2 mm over the table length, crown guard in place; blade height set just above stock.

Spindle moulder: cutter block must be round and rated for the spindle speed; feed against rotation, use a power feeder or pressure combs for short stock, and keep hands at least 300 mm from the cutters.

Band saw: blade tracking centred on the wheel, guides set 0.5–1 mm behind the tooth gullets, tension set by blade width; a narrower blade gives a tighter radius.

Drill press and mortiser: chuck removed with the correct key or drift, never by hand; set depth stop before the first cut and clamp the workpiece.

Machine guards, brakes and emergency stops must be function-tested before each shift; cutter blocks and saw blades are changed only with the isolator locked off.

Dovetail geometry: tails and pins typically at a 1:6 slope for softwoods and 1:8 for hardwoods; the half-pin at each edge should be about half a full pin width.

Mortise-and-tenon proportions: tenon thickness about one third of the rail thickness; haunch the tenon on a reduced rail to prevent the mortise showing on the face.

Biscuit and domino spacing: centres at roughly 100–150 mm for edge joints in 18–20 mm board, with biscuits set 8–10 mm from the surface to avoid telegraphing.

Dowel joint: diameter about one third of the stock thickness, spacing 4–6 diameters, with glue grooves or flutes to prevent hydraulic locking.

Carcase construction: use a stopped or through housing for shelves, and remember that a solid-wood frame-and-panel door needs a panel 2–3 mm smaller than the groove depth all round to allow movement.

Assembly sequence rule: dry-fit, mark orientation, glue up in the order that closes the most joints first, check diagonals for square, then clamp without crushing the grain.

Fastener selection: screws hold best in cross grain and need a pilot hole about 0.8–0.9 of the screw core diameter in hardwoods; confirmats and cam fittings suit knock-down flat-pack construction.

Grit sequence for bare timber: 80 → 120 → 180 (→ 240 on hardwoods), sanding with the grain; skip a grit and the scratches show through the finish.

Raised grain is removed by dampening the surface and sanding lightly after it dries, before the first coat.

Finish build: sanding sealer or thinned first coat, then 2–3 full coats, cutting back with 320–400 grit or 0000 grade between coats.

Penetrating oils (tung, Danish) leave the grain visible and are repaired locally; film finishes (lacquer, polyurethane, acid-catalyst) give better protection but need full removal to repair.

Adhesive open and clamp times: PVA open time is roughly 5–10 minutes, clamp 30–60 minutes; PU foaming adhesive cures with moisture and expands, so clamp pressure must be adequate.

Surface energy matters: oily hardwoods such as teak and olive need degreasing with solvent before gluing or finishing; otherwise bonds and coats fail.

Spray finishing requires extraction and suitable PPE; acid-catalyst lacquers need supplied-air respiratory protection, not a simple dust mask.

Ergonomic working heights: dining table 720–750 mm with seat height 430–450 mm; desk 720–750 mm; kitchen base worktop 850–900 mm, with a 150–200 mm gap between seat and underside of the table.

Standard carcass dimensions: 18 mm board, 560–600 mm base unit depth, 300–350 mm wall unit depth, 720 mm base unit height before the worktop.

Anthropometric rule: design to the 5th percentile for reach and the 95th percentile for clearance, so the smallest user can reach and the largest fits.

Golden-section and thirds proportions are used to set drawer stack and door divisions; visual weight belongs at the base for stability.

Upholstery: seat foam 35–40 kg/m³ for seating, 25–30 kg/m³ for backs; webbing or serpentine springs at 100–150 mm centres give even support.

Fabric choice: Martindale rub counts of 20,000–25,000 suit domestic general use, 30,000+ contract; pattern repeat must be added to the cutting allowance for each panel.

Interior fittings: drawer runners rated by load (e.g. 25 kg standard, 40–50 kg heavy duty), soft-close hinges adjusted in three axes, and 3 mm clearance for door swing and reveal.

Hardwood dust is a recognised carcinogen (nasal cancer); exposure limits are enforced, so on-tool extraction plus local exhaust ventilation is mandatory at sanding and machining stations.

Wood dust is explosive above roughly 40 g/m³ in air; ducting must be earthed, and housekeeping must prevent accumulation above 1 mm on surfaces.

Noise action levels: 80 dB(A) lower exposure action value, 85 dB(A) upper value requiring hearing protection and health surveillance.

COSHH-style assessment ranks hazards by risk = likelihood × severity; substitute, then engineer controls, then administrate, and use PPE last.

Machine safety hierarchy: fixed guard, interlocked guard, then jigs and push sticks; a push stick keeps hands at least 300 mm from the blade.

Finishes and solvents need fire-rated storage, closed containers and earthing when decanting; rags soaked in oil or solvent are a spontaneous-combustion risk.

Waste hierarchy: reduce offcuts by nesting the cutting list, reuse for jigs and small parts, recycle clean timber, and dispose of treated or painted timber as controlled waste.

Cost per unit = material cost + labour cost + machine/overhead cost + finishing cost + waste allowance; waste is typically 10–15% on solid timber and 5–10% on panel products.

Labour cost = time (hours) × hourly rate; include setting, machining, assembly, sanding and finishing time, not just cutting.

Board-foot and square-metre conversions: 1 m² of 18 mm board = 0.018 m³; timber priced per m³ must be converted to linear or piece cost before quoting.

Tolerance rules: ±0.5 mm on machined component length, ±1 mm on assembled carcase diagonals, squareness checked by comparing diagonals (equal diagonals = square).

Measuring instruments: steel rule to 1 mm, vernier calliper to 0.02 mm, moisture meter to ±1–2% MC; calibrate against a reference before critical work.

Quality control checkpoints: incoming timber MC and defects, first-off component approval, in-process dimension checks, final assembly squareness, finish adhesion and hardware function.

Acceptance sampling: for a batch, inspect a sample and accept or reject against the drawing tolerance; record non-conformances and the corrective action taken.

Moisture content (MC%) = (wet mass − oven-dry mass) / oven-dry mass × 100; kiln-dried furniture timber is normally specified at 8–12% MC for indoor use in Cyprus.

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) falls as relative humidity falls; wood in a centrally heated room can drop to 5–7% MC, so timber dried to 8–10% may shrink further after delivery.

Movement rule of thumb: tangential shrinkage is roughly twice radial shrinkage; a flat-sawn board therefore cups with the concave face away from the heart.

Density governs strength and fastener holding: hardwoods such as oak, beech and ash (approx. 650–750 kg/m³ at 12% MC) out-hold softwoods such as pine, spruce and fir (approx. 400–550 kg/m³).

Cyprus-grown species include Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia), Aleppo pine, cypress and olive; olive and cypress are dense, dimensionally restless and best used for small components or decorative work.

Defects to reject: spiral grain, reaction wood, checks, shake, knot clusters, fungal stain and insect frass; blue stain indicates sap-stain fungi and does not necessarily reduce strength but is rejected on appearance.

Panel products: MDF takes profiles and paint well but swells irreversibly when wet; particleboard has lower screw-holding than MDF; plywood is strongest along the face-grain direction and is chosen where cross-grain stability is needed.

Adhesive compatibility: PVA (D3) for interior joinery, D4/PU for humid or exterior conditions, UF for interior panel laminating, contact adhesive for laminates and edging.

First-angle projection places the view from above below the front view and the view from the left on the right; third-angle does the opposite - confirm which convention the drawing uses before machining.

Scale notation 1:5 means a 100 mm real dimension is drawn at 20 mm; always state units and scale on the title block.

BS 8888 / ISO 128 line conventions: continuous thick for visible outlines, dashed for hidden detail, chain dotted for centre lines and cutting planes, thin continuous for dimension and projection lines.

A cutting-plane line with arrows and letters (A–A) defines a section view; hatch lines at 45° indicate cut solid material, and adjacent parts are hatched in opposite directions.

Dimensioning rules: never dimension the same feature twice, dimension to the functional datum, and avoid dimension lines crossing; tolerances are given as limits or as ± values.

Workshop layout principle: sequence machines in the order of material flow (storage → crosscut → rip/surface → jointing → assembly → finishing), keeping 800–1000 mm clear around machine infeed and outfeed.

A cutting list must give species, finished size, quantity, grain direction, edge-banding and allowance for machining (commonly 3–6 mm on width and thickness, 10–20 mm on length for end trimming).

Sharpening angles: bench plane blade 25° primary with 30° micro-bevel; chisel 25° for paring, 30° for chopping; card scraper burnished to a 45° hook.

Plane setup order: flatten the back, hone the bevel, set the cap iron 0.3–0.8 mm from the edge for tearout control, then set blade projection for the depth of cut.

A Japanese pull saw cuts on the pull stroke with a thinner kerf and less set than a Western push saw, giving cleaner cuts in dense hardwoods.

Circular saw: blade projection should be 3–5 mm beyond the workpiece; the riving knife must be within 3–8 mm of the blade and set below tooth height; never remove the guard.

Router feed direction: climb-cutting (feed in the direction of bit rotation) is used only for light finishing passes; conventional feed against rotation gives control and is standard for edge profiling.

Jigsaw blades are selected by TPI and tooth type: down-cut blades for veneered faces, up-cut for fast stock removal; orbital action speeds rough cutting but roughens the underside.

Drill speed rule: peripheral speed falls with diameter, so large bits run slower; use brad-point bits for clean holes in timber and reduce pressure as the point breaks through to avoid breakout.

Planer thicknesser: set infeed table level with the cutter circle at top dead centre; outfeed table set 1–1.5 mm lower per pass is a common maximum for a surface planer.

Surface planing requires the grain to run with the feed; reverse grain causes kickback and tearout - reverse the board or take lighter cuts.

Table saw: riving knife aligned to the blade within 1 mm, fence parallel to the blade within 0.1–0.2 mm over the table length, crown guard in place; blade height set just above stock.

Spindle moulder: cutter block must be round and rated for the spindle speed; feed against rotation, use a power feeder or pressure combs for short stock, and keep hands at least 300 mm from the cutters.

Band saw: blade tracking centred on the wheel, guides set 0.5–1 mm behind the tooth gullets, tension set by blade width; a narrower blade gives a tighter radius.

Drill press and mortiser: chuck removed with the correct key or drift, never by hand; set depth stop before the first cut and clamp the workpiece.

Machine guards, brakes and emergency stops must be function-tested before each shift; cutter blocks and saw blades are changed only with the isolator locked off.

Dovetail geometry: tails and pins typically at a 1:6 slope for softwoods and 1:8 for hardwoods; the half-pin at each edge should be about half a full pin width.

Mortise-and-tenon proportions: tenon thickness about one third of the rail thickness; haunch the tenon on a reduced rail to prevent the mortise showing on the face.

Biscuit and domino spacing: centres at roughly 100–150 mm for edge joints in 18–20 mm board, with biscuits set 8–10 mm from the surface to avoid telegraphing.

Dowel joint: diameter about one third of the stock thickness, spacing 4–6 diameters, with glue grooves or flutes to prevent hydraulic locking.

Carcase construction: use a stopped or through housing for shelves, and remember that a solid-wood frame-and-panel door needs a panel 2–3 mm smaller than the groove depth all round to allow movement.

Assembly sequence rule: dry-fit, mark orientation, glue up in the order that closes the most joints first, check diagonals for square, then clamp without crushing the grain.

Fastener selection: screws hold best in cross grain and need a pilot hole about 0.8–0.9 of the screw core diameter in hardwoods; confirmats and cam fittings suit knock-down flat-pack construction.

Grit sequence for bare timber: 80 → 120 → 180 (→ 240 on hardwoods), sanding with the grain; skip a grit and the scratches show through the finish.

Raised grain is removed by dampening the surface and sanding lightly after it dries, before the first coat.

Finish build: sanding sealer or thinned first coat, then 2–3 full coats, cutting back with 320–400 grit or 0000 grade between coats.

Penetrating oils (tung, Danish) leave the grain visible and are repaired locally; film finishes (lacquer, polyurethane, acid-catalyst) give better protection but need full removal to repair.

Adhesive open and clamp times: PVA open time is roughly 5–10 minutes, clamp 30–60 minutes; PU foaming adhesive cures with moisture and expands, so clamp pressure must be adequate.

Surface energy matters: oily hardwoods such as teak and olive need degreasing with solvent before gluing or finishing; otherwise bonds and coats fail.

Spray finishing requires extraction and suitable PPE; acid-catalyst lacquers need supplied-air respiratory protection, not a simple dust mask.

Ergonomic working heights: dining table 720–750 mm with seat height 430–450 mm; desk 720–750 mm; kitchen base worktop 850–900 mm, with a 150–200 mm gap between seat and underside of the table.

Standard carcass dimensions: 18 mm board, 560–600 mm base unit depth, 300–350 mm wall unit depth, 720 mm base unit height before the worktop.

Anthropometric rule: design to the 5th percentile for reach and the 95th percentile for clearance, so the smallest user can reach and the largest fits.

Golden-section and thirds proportions are used to set drawer stack and door divisions; visual weight belongs at the base for stability.

Upholstery: seat foam 35–40 kg/m³ for seating, 25–30 kg/m³ for backs; webbing or serpentine springs at 100–150 mm centres give even support.

Fabric choice: Martindale rub counts of 20,000–25,000 suit domestic general use, 30,000+ contract; pattern repeat must be added to the cutting allowance for each panel.

Interior fittings: drawer runners rated by load (e.g. 25 kg standard, 40–50 kg heavy duty), soft-close hinges adjusted in three axes, and 3 mm clearance for door swing and reveal.

Hardwood dust is a recognised carcinogen (nasal cancer); exposure limits are enforced, so on-tool extraction plus local exhaust ventilation is mandatory at sanding and machining stations.

Wood dust is explosive above roughly 40 g/m³ in air; ducting must be earthed, and housekeeping must prevent accumulation above 1 mm on surfaces.

Noise action levels: 80 dB(A) lower exposure action value, 85 dB(A) upper value requiring hearing protection and health surveillance.

COSHH-style assessment ranks hazards by risk = likelihood × severity; substitute, then engineer controls, then administrate, and use PPE last.

Machine safety hierarchy: fixed guard, interlocked guard, then jigs and push sticks; a push stick keeps hands at least 300 mm from the blade.

Finishes and solvents need fire-rated storage, closed containers and earthing when decanting; rags soaked in oil or solvent are a spontaneous-combustion risk.

Waste hierarchy: reduce offcuts by nesting the cutting list, reuse for jigs and small parts, recycle clean timber, and dispose of treated or painted timber as controlled waste.

Cost per unit = material cost + labour cost + machine/overhead cost + finishing cost + waste allowance; waste is typically 10–15% on solid timber and 5–10% on panel products.

Labour cost = time (hours) × hourly rate; include setting, machining, assembly, sanding and finishing time, not just cutting.

Board-foot and square-metre conversions: 1 m² of 18 mm board = 0.018 m³; timber priced per m³ must be converted to linear or piece cost before quoting.

Tolerance rules: ±0.5 mm on machined component length, ±1 mm on assembled carcase diagonals, squareness checked by comparing diagonals (equal diagonals = square).

Measuring instruments: steel rule to 1 mm, vernier calliper to 0.02 mm, moisture meter to ±1–2% MC; calibrate against a reference before critical work.

Quality control checkpoints: incoming timber MC and defects, first-off component approval, in-process dimension checks, final assembly squareness, finish adhesion and hardware function.

Acceptance sampling: for a batch, inspect a sample and accept or reject against the drawing tolerance; record non-conformances and the corrective action taken.

Moisture content (MC%) = (wet mass − oven-dry mass) / oven-dry mass × 100; kiln-dried furniture timber is normally specified at 8–12% MC for indoor use in Cyprus.

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) falls as relative humidity falls; wood in a centrally heated room can drop to 5–7% MC, so timber dried to 8–10% may shrink further after delivery.

Movement rule of thumb: tangential shrinkage is roughly twice radial shrinkage; a flat-sawn board therefore cups with the concave face away from the heart.

Density governs strength and fastener holding: hardwoods such as oak, beech and ash (approx. 650–750 kg/m³ at 12% MC) out-hold softwoods such as pine, spruce and fir (approx. 400–550 kg/m³).

Cyprus-grown species include Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia), Aleppo pine, cypress and olive; olive and cypress are dense, dimensionally restless and best used for small components or decorative work.

Defects to reject: spiral grain, reaction wood, checks, shake, knot clusters, fungal stain and insect frass; blue stain indicates sap-stain fungi and does not necessarily reduce strength but is rejected on appearance.

Panel products: MDF takes profiles and paint well but swells irreversibly when wet; particleboard has lower screw-holding than MDF; plywood is strongest along the face-grain direction and is chosen where cross-grain stability is needed.

Adhesive compatibility: PVA (D3) for interior joinery, D4/PU for humid or exterior conditions, UF for interior panel laminating, contact adhesive for laminates and edging.

First-angle projection places the view from above below the front view and the view from the left on the right; third-angle does the opposite - confirm which convention the drawing uses before machining.

Scale notation 1:5 means a 100 mm real dimension is drawn at 20 mm; always state units and scale on the title block.

BS 8888 / ISO 128 line conventions: continuous thick for visible outlines, dashed for hidden detail, chain dotted for centre lines and cutting planes, thin continuous for dimension and projection lines.

A cutting-plane line with arrows and letters (A–A) defines a section view; hatch lines at 45° indicate cut solid material, and adjacent parts are hatched in opposite directions.

Dimensioning rules: never dimension the same feature twice, dimension to the functional datum, and avoid dimension lines crossing; tolerances are given as limits or as ± values.

Workshop layout principle: sequence machines in the order of material flow (storage → crosscut → rip/surface → jointing → assembly → finishing), keeping 800–1000 mm clear around machine infeed and outfeed.

A cutting list must give species, finished size, quantity, grain direction, edge-banding and allowance for machining (commonly 3–6 mm on width and thickness, 10–20 mm on length for end trimming).

Sharpening angles: bench plane blade 25° primary with 30° micro-bevel; chisel 25° for paring, 30° for chopping; card scraper burnished to a 45° hook.

Plane setup order: flatten the back, hone the bevel, set the cap iron 0.3–0.8 mm from the edge for tearout control, then set blade projection for the depth of cut.

A Japanese pull saw cuts on the pull stroke with a thinner kerf and less set than a Western push saw, giving cleaner cuts in dense hardwoods.

Circular saw: blade projection should be 3–5 mm beyond the workpiece; the riving knife must be within 3–8 mm of the blade and set below tooth height; never remove the guard.

Router feed direction: climb-cutting (feed in the direction of bit rotation) is used only for light finishing passes; conventional feed against rotation gives control and is standard for edge profiling.

Jigsaw blades are selected by TPI and tooth type: down-cut blades for veneered faces, up-cut for fast stock removal; orbital action speeds rough cutting but roughens the underside.

Drill speed rule: peripheral speed falls with diameter, so large bits run slower; use brad-point bits for clean holes in timber and reduce pressure as the point breaks through to avoid breakout.

Planer thicknesser: set infeed table level with the cutter circle at top dead centre; outfeed table set 1–1.5 mm lower per pass is a common maximum for a surface planer.

Surface planing requires the grain to run with the feed; reverse grain causes kickback and tearout - reverse the board or take lighter cuts.

Table saw: riving knife aligned to the blade within 1 mm, fence parallel to the blade within 0.1–0.2 mm over the table length, crown guard in place; blade height set just above stock.

Spindle moulder: cutter block must be round and rated for the spindle speed; feed against rotation, use a power feeder or pressure combs for short stock, and keep hands at least 300 mm from the cutters.

Band saw: blade tracking centred on the wheel, guides set 0.5–1 mm behind the tooth gullets, tension set by blade width; a narrower blade gives a tighter radius.

Drill press and mortiser: chuck removed with the correct key or drift, never by hand; set depth stop before the first cut and clamp the workpiece.

Machine guards, brakes and emergency stops must be function-tested before each shift; cutter blocks and saw blades are changed only with the isolator locked off.

Dovetail geometry: tails and pins typically at a 1:6 slope for softwoods and 1:8 for hardwoods; the half-pin at each edge should be about half a full pin width.

Mortise-and-tenon proportions: tenon thickness about one third of the rail thickness; haunch the tenon on a reduced rail to prevent the mortise showing on the face.

Biscuit and domino spacing: centres at roughly 100–150 mm for edge joints in 18–20 mm board, with biscuits set 8–10 mm from the surface to avoid telegraphing.

Dowel joint: diameter about one third of the stock thickness, spacing 4–6 diameters, with glue grooves or flutes to prevent hydraulic locking.

Carcase construction: use a stopped or through housing for shelves, and remember that a solid-wood frame-and-panel door needs a panel 2–3 mm smaller than the groove depth all round to allow movement.

Assembly sequence rule: dry-fit, mark orientation, glue up in the order that closes the most joints first, check diagonals for square, then clamp without crushing the grain.

Fastener selection: screws hold best in cross grain and need a pilot hole about 0.8–0.9 of the screw core diameter in hardwoods; confirmats and cam fittings suit knock-down flat-pack construction.

Grit sequence for bare timber: 80 → 120 → 180 (→ 240 on hardwoods), sanding with the grain; skip a grit and the scratches show through the finish.

Raised grain is removed by dampening the surface and sanding lightly after it dries, before the first coat.

Finish build: sanding sealer or thinned first coat, then 2–3 full coats, cutting back with 320–400 grit or 0000 grade between coats.

Penetrating oils (tung, Danish) leave the grain visible and are repaired locally; film finishes (lacquer, polyurethane, acid-catalyst) give better protection but need full removal to repair.

Adhesive open and clamp times: PVA open time is roughly 5–10 minutes, clamp 30–60 minutes; PU foaming adhesive cures with moisture and expands, so clamp pressure must be adequate.

Surface energy matters: oily hardwoods such as teak and olive need degreasing with solvent before gluing or finishing; otherwise bonds and coats fail.

Spray finishing requires extraction and suitable PPE; acid-catalyst lacquers need supplied-air respiratory protection, not a simple dust mask.

Ergonomic working heights: dining table 720–750 mm with seat height 430–450 mm; desk 720–750 mm; kitchen base worktop 850–900 mm, with a 150–200 mm gap between seat and underside of the table.

Standard carcass dimensions: 18 mm board, 560–600 mm base unit depth, 300–350 mm wall unit depth, 720 mm base unit height before the worktop.

Anthropometric rule: design to the 5th percentile for reach and the 95th percentile for clearance, so the smallest user can reach and the largest fits.

Golden-section and thirds proportions are used to set drawer stack and door divisions; visual weight belongs at the base for stability.

Upholstery: seat foam 35–40 kg/m³ for seating, 25–30 kg/m³ for backs; webbing or serpentine springs at 100–150 mm centres give even support.

Fabric choice: Martindale rub counts of 20,000–25,000 suit domestic general use, 30,000+ contract; pattern repeat must be added to the cutting allowance for each panel.

Interior fittings: drawer runners rated by load (e.g. 25 kg standard, 40–50 kg heavy duty), soft-close hinges adjusted in three axes, and 3 mm clearance for door swing and reveal.

Hardwood dust is a recognised carcinogen (nasal cancer); exposure limits are enforced, so on-tool extraction plus local exhaust ventilation is mandatory at sanding and machining stations.

Wood dust is explosive above roughly 40 g/m³ in air; ducting must be earthed, and housekeeping must prevent accumulation above 1 mm on surfaces.

Noise action levels: 80 dB(A) lower exposure action value, 85 dB(A) upper value requiring hearing protection and health surveillance.

COSHH-style assessment ranks hazards by risk = likelihood × severity; substitute, then engineer controls, then administrate, and use PPE last.

Machine safety hierarchy: fixed guard, interlocked guard, then jigs and push sticks; a push stick keeps hands at least 300 mm from the blade.

Finishes and solvents need fire-rated storage, closed containers and earthing when decanting; rags soaked in oil or solvent are a spontaneous-combustion risk.

Waste hierarchy: reduce offcuts by nesting the cutting list, reuse for jigs and small parts, recycle clean timber, and dispose of treated or painted timber as controlled waste.

Cost per unit = material cost + labour cost + machine/overhead cost + finishing cost + waste allowance; waste is typically 10–15% on solid timber and 5–10% on panel products.

Labour cost = time (hours) × hourly rate; include setting, machining, assembly, sanding and finishing time, not just cutting.

Board-foot and square-metre conversions: 1 m² of 18 mm board = 0.018 m³; timber priced per m³ must be converted to linear or piece cost before quoting.

Tolerance rules: ±0.5 mm on machined component length, ±1 mm on assembled carcase diagonals, squareness checked by comparing diagonals (equal diagonals = square).

Measuring instruments: steel rule to 1 mm, vernier calliper to 0.02 mm, moisture meter to ±1–2% MC; calibrate against a reference before critical work.

Quality control checkpoints: incoming timber MC and defects, first-off component approval, in-process dimension checks, final assembly squareness, finish adhesion and hardware function.

Acceptance sampling: for a batch, inspect a sample and accept or reject against the drawing tolerance; record non-conformances and the corrective action taken.