Adding Value to Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) Wood Furniture Surfaces by Different Methods of Transposing Motifs from Textile Heritage

The present paper is part of an ongoing research project carried out to find methods to transpose traditional motifs from Romanian textile heritage to furniture ornamentation, as an additional method of preserving the motifs besides conventional conservation. Modern technology, such as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) routing or laser engraving can revive furniture ornamentation, eliminating manual labor and long execution time. Three methods were applied to transpose a bicolored motif from a traditional Romanian blouse from Transylvania onto the surface of maple wood furniture. The first method utilized was nitrogen laser engraving, in which ten power settings between 10 W and 150 W were applied and color measurements were carried out on the resulting engraved surfaces. Following the International Commission on Illumination (CIELab) system analysis, two laser power settings were selected to engrave the ornament on a maple wood surface for an accurate reproduction. The second method employed a staining solution applied on flat wood surface, followed by routing the model on a CNC machine and further coating with lacquer. The third method consisted of CNC routing the model on the wood surface, then coloring the engraved ornament followed by surface sanding to remove color from the flat wood surface and, finally, lacquering. The ornaments transposed onto maple wood surfaces were aesthetically assessed, the technologies were analyzed, and the details of the processed ornaments were highlighted by Stereo Microscope investigation. The conclusions showed that each method adds value to the wood surface by original ornamentation and can be applied as furniture decoration.