Made to measure birch shelves

From Pickawood UK you get custom-made shelves made of birch wood that you can configure yourself. The light and relatively soft solid wood comes from the hanging or downy birch (Betula pendula or Betula pubescens). There are other birch species, but they do not provide useful wood. The birch is a grateful tree because it is undemanding and thrives even on the driest, poorest soils. The downy birch copes well with the acid soil in swamp forests and bogs. The timber utilisation of these trees is considered very sustainable because they grow back quickly. They grow to a height of 20 to 30 metres, the trunks reach diameters of between 50 and 70 centimetres, sometimes a little more. A birch tree rarely grows older than 120 years; it stops growing in height at around 60 years of age. Then it can also be felled and used as solid wood.

Rather rare shelves made of birch wood

In this country, shelves made of solid wood are rarely made of birch, because in our latitudes this type of wood does not play such a large role as beech, oak, ash or pine. This means that with the birch wood shelf you are acquiring something of a rarity. In Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Russia, much more birch grows and is accordingly used on a larger scale. Our carpenters use solid birch wood and sliced veneers in the production of furniture, including the custom-made shelves. Otherwise, birch is mainly processed into plywood boards and as rotary cut veneer. The colouring of the shelves is very uniform (yellowish or reddish-white to light brownish), because birch sapwood trees are almost always without a colour core. This means that the sapwood and the heartwood have the same colour. What is fascinating about birch wood is its slightly silky sheen. The annual rings show clearly recognisable narrow late wood stripes, while the wood vessels are rather rare and small as well as scattered pores. Sometimes we see reddish-brown pith flecks in the birch wood, which make the pattern even more interesting. Among the hanging birches, there is a variety called flame or ice birch with a flame-like or ice-flower-like pattern, which is characterised by an uneven grain and is considered very valuable. Small bark inclusions cause it, the formation has a genetic cause.

Birch wood shelves: solid wood with remarkable properties

Slope birch and downy birch produce very similar wood, that of the downy birch is somewhat finer grained, heavier and tougher. Birch wood has a gross density of 650 kg/m³, the wood moisture is between 12 and 15 %. This makes it medium to heavy, but soft and may be considered soft hardwood (similar to poplar and lime), but it is clearly harder as well as tough and elastic with medium breaking strength. Our carpenters can work it very well by machine and by hand. It is excellent for peeling, profiling, slicing, turning and carving. The planed surfaces become very smooth, resulting in beautiful, individual shelves made of this solid wood. The surfaces can also be stained, polished and varnished well. Last but not least, nails and screws hold very well. It is used in furniture production as round and sawn wood as well as sliced and peeled veneers. We particularly like to use grained and flamed veneers for birch shelves. You can even imitate walnut, cherry and mahogany with birch wood. Some parquet floors are made of birch, which is also very popular with woodturners and carvers. As a special wood for sports, it is used to make discus discs, spears, skis and sledge runners; in musical instrument making, the hammer shafts of pianos and some backs and sides of guitars are made of birch. Industry (copper refinery, food industry, pulp production, construction of gliders) also uses birch wood.