Art and craft of making furniture from fine woods
It is designated by the term of cabinetmaking to the art and craft of making furniture from fine woods such as ebony, from which it purposely took its name.
The properties of the ebony tree Ebony history
Ebony is a wood that comes from the homonymous tree and is characterized by having a great height, ranging between 10 and 12 m. and by arranging alternate and lance-shaped leaves. Its flowers are greenish and its fruits are round. The wood is heavy and very solid, very black in the center and whiter towards the bark area.
So, the characteristics of the wood make ebony a highly valued tree for the wood it boasts.
Its use dates back to antiquity, to the 8th and 7th centuries BC, in Mesopotamia, where remains of paintings and furniture made of this wood that belonged to the royalty of those times were found.
Woodworking specialty that manufactures quality pieces with valuable details
We could say that just as there are some practices that have branches or specialties, within carpentry, cabinetmaking turns out to be a very popular and sought after specialization that is dedicated to manufacturing furniture made of ebony and also other fine woods as we indicated above.
Less sophisticated furniture is generally produced in carpentry, while cabinetmaking is characterized by the creation of furniture of great finesse and delicacy, often unique in terms of production and design because it is usually applied to them as finishes, carvings, marquetry, turning, among others.
In addition to ebony, the cabinetmaker works with other highly valued woods such as walnut, oak, fir, ash, cypress, olive and yew, among others.
Cabinetmaker, the professional cabinetmaker
Meanwhile, the person who is professionally dedicated to making furniture with fine woods such as ebony is called a cabinetmaker.
But beware that not just any carpenter or someone who has developed the trade of such can dedicate himself to cabinetmaking and this is basically because cabinetmaking implies in-depth knowledge of fine woods, how to work them and also some geometric knowledge related to the layout is also essential for know how to make them correspondingly on wood.
For this reason, anyone who wants to dedicate himself to this art must need a great training in the workshop of a teacher in the field before doing so.
Likewise, the physical space, the workshop in which a cabinetmaker carries out his work, is called cabinetmaking.
