Making something "Green"

[Brian Penning]

I have someone who wants a dining table made "Green".
Green--meaning no toxic substances (glues, varnishes, etc)
Thoughts?
Frankly I'm not sure where to go with this.

[Jacob Reverb]

Green--meaning no toxic substances

Better not make it out of walnut, I guess, or a lot of other hardwoods.

This kind of trend-driven dopiness annoys me to no end. http://northlandphoto.com/campfire/images/smiles/shakehead.gif


______________________
It's time to outlaw matter. There are just too darn many chemicals in it.

[Keith Christopher]

Use hide glue and screws. Take their 'green' money and then have the client get a clue.


Better not make it out of walnut, I guess, or a lot of other hardwoods.

This kind of trend-driven dopiness annoys me to no end. http://northlandphoto.com/campfire/images/smiles/shakehead.gif
______________________
It's time to outlaw matter. There are just too darn many chemicals in it.


OMG I couldn't agree more. *strong urge to rant, MUST AVOID A RANT*

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

(I have a good snout for a lot of things.)
I'd send them towards Ikea.

My snout tells me that whatever solution the "greenies" find accpetable. they'll end up stiffing you in the end.

Sounds like a "no pay" to me...

[John Keeton]

Don't turn on the lights in your shop, as it adds to the "carbon footprint." In addition, most of the tools in your shop were made with industrial pollution - even the handtools.

Best to stick with flint for chopping and carving, and sand it with sandstone, finish with pine rosin.

But, the next and best piece of advice is to pick your most aggressive competitor, and recommend they go see him/her. That should keep your competitor occupied for awhile - giving you a chance to actually make a living selling a fine piece of furniture to someone that lives in the real world.

[Jerome Hanby]

I know this is a radical idea, but you could give the customer what they want. Wouldn't some of the oils (Tung, BLO,...) meet their definition of green? Didn't sound like they were dictating your tools or procedures, just the finish. They would end up with a piece of furniture that they have to work a bit to maintain and maybe next time they'll trust your judgment about what's best and safe.

[Mike Wilkins]

Get some FSC Certified lumber(with its additional cost), use any of the water based glues, use a natural finish(such as shellac or no finish at all), and make sure to charge them for the added aggravation.
Personal opinion time: Some of this 'green' hype is just that; marketing ploys to relieve folks of their cash.

[John M Bailey]

It is impossible to make anything "green" out of wood. To make it out of wood requires the removal of a living tree from natural cycle, therefore disrupting the delicate balance of nature's fragile system.

[Rod Sheridan]

Brian, Jerome and Mike have some good suggestions.

It's possible to make furniture that is more environmentally friendly than standard furniture.

The use of hide glue will meet your requirements, as well as making the furniture repairable at a later date. (Reuse rather than discard).

Shellac/wax finishes are maintainable by the owners for generations.

Wood from certified sustainable sources will also help.

In some respects most of us on the forum are partially there already, we're building long life cycle furniture from domestic solid wood, which is a sustainable resource.

Some tweaking to the finishing process and it's not difficult to become greener.

Glad to hear that your customer is making some forward thinking decisions.

Regards, Rod.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I think Rod has it right: Build them a quality piece that will last generations, not an Ikea piece that will last a year - THAT'S being "green".

Maybe they assume all furniture available is this particle-board, over-harvested, toxic-finished, mostly-plastic "junk" that you see in the stores. Show them what a solid wood heirloom piece looks like.

Using hide glue is a silly idea - the environmental impact of you having to drive to the store and buy it, then throw away 2/3 of the bottle when you never have a need for it again, certainly outweighs the impact of using a few squirts of TBII.

[Rod Sheridan]

Using hide glue is a silly idea - the environmental impact of you having to drive to the store and buy it, then throw away 2/3 of the bottle when you never have a need for it again, certainly outweighs the impact of using a few squirts of TBII.

Dan, I had assumed that he'd be "green enough" to stop by the store on his way by, thus reducing his footprint.:D

regards, Rod.

[Jim Bowers]

First you will need to find what green is to them. Is it a reduced carbon footprint? Biodegradable?, Low VOC's? I would use solid wood no plywood or engineered wood products. Use a wood that is harvested & milled within 500 miles. Use water based wood glue. Hide glues increase carbon footprint. If need hardware use wood or steel. Steel can be used because it is or can be recycled. Finishes you can use shellac or wax. However, look for a waterborne product that has little or no VOC's. These are LEEDS as well as AWI standards. If you need to use an engineered wood product straw board meets the requirements as a green product. It looks and machines just like MDF. Yes your costs will be higher and must be passed on. This is the current way commercial construction standards are met for casework and millwork when LEEDS standards are required.

[Mike Cruz]

Get some PT dimensional lumber and put 8 coats of poly on it. They'll love it.

[Matthew Poeller]

I rarely comment anymore on items since I am generally just a lurker but I felt compelled by this one.

I think that some of you have it right and you have to figure out what "green" means to them. They are asking you to make a "green" piece so they are not asking if your shop is green or if you follow "green" standards. So likely they are asking for a piece that is made form FSC certified lumber or bamboo or something of that nature. Then when you go to finish it you use low VOC stuff. I would bet that if you discuss that with them it will be enough. You are not going to have to go to great extents to make the piece out of 100% recycle barn wood with wooden pegs and trick joinery so that it holds together with no glue.

Turn on the TV over this weekend and watch a couple of shoes on HGTV like Red Hot and Green or Hammerheads and you will have a real good idea what your customers are watching and most likely the reason that they are asking for this.

You can go back and argue all day what green means and whether or not me using a cloth shopping bag is really green since it is made in china at a pollution factory and then sent over to the states on a boat that is spewing gases the whole way but that is besides the point. Green is whatever that person thinks it is.

THIS IS IN CAPS BECAUSE YOU ARE A BUSINESS AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. GREEN THINGS COMMAND A PRICE PREMIUM. PEOPLE BUY THESE THINGS TO MAKE THEMSELVES FEEL LIKE THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. THESE PEOPLE HAVE FRIENDS AND SINCE BIRDS OF A FEATHER....THEY WILL LIKELY TELL THEIR FRIENDS THAT THEY JUST COMMISSIONED THE NICEST GUY TO BUILD A GREEN PIECE OF FURNITURE AND THE REST WILL COME RUNNING. WHILE THERE ARE MANY COMMENTS ON THE BOARD THAT YOU SHOULD WALK AWAY FROM THIS I BET THAT IS WHAT YOUR MOST AGGRESSIVE COMPETITOR MAY HAVE ALREADY DONE AND NOW YOU HAVE A VERY NICE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY WHICH YOU MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND THE FULL SCOPE OF, JUST YET.

Oh wow, I just looked and noticed that you were in Canada. I am not going to but should increase the font size of the stuff in caps. I live in Buffalo, NY. I can ride my "green" bike to Canada, the owner of my company, my boss is Canadian and living where I do have conversations with my neighbors to the North all the time. From what I can gather the "green" revolution is even stronger in Canada than it is here in the states. You HAVE to jump all over this.

[Gary Herrmann]

In addition to FSC lumber,what about reclaimed lumber? Maybe some reclaimed virgin forest long leaf pine or redwood beams. But I agree with the other statements about getting their definition of green. Provide some examples like natural oil finishes and fsc or reclaimed lumber and you can probably steer them in a direction you want to go.

And don't forget to charge them a premium.

[Mike Heidrick]

Use reclaimed recycled lumber. That is green to me.

[Jacob Reverb]

The use of hide glue will meet your requirements

Not if you ask the horses or hogs! :p

[Dan Friedrichs]

Get some PT dimensional lumber and put 8 coats of poly on it. They'll love it.

+1! :D

The poly, of course, will keep the green inside for a long time, unlike less hard-wearing finishes which may allow the green to escape after some time... :D

[Joe Cunningham]

Use reclaimed recycled lumber. That is green to me.
That's actually a pretty good idea.

Hide glue and pegged joints, along with a water-based finish. Seems like it could be viable options, BUT make sure to run it by the client first.