Production Process

Reproduction Furniture – Rich Archive of Classic Oak Furniture Designs

The Tudor Oak furniture catalogue and archive boast more than five hundred designs for reproduction furniture. Most of them are hand-drawn as they were conceived before the computer design was introduced. Generally, our designers still prefer working by hand. It befits the rest of our production process, which involves many traditional methods. Tudor Oak furniture is inspired by our love for England, our history, and reflects truly English style, radiating restrained elegance. We base our models on period styles, adapted for modern day use.

Traditional Oak Furniture Production Process

After an idea of the furniture piece is born and approved, our head designer makes a technical drawing of the piece, carefully considering all the proportions. Then we make a cutting list specification and decide on decorative details, depending on the period style. The classic furniture designs vary from simple and restrained, featuring straight or tapered legs, cockbeaded drawers and elegant panelled doors, to more elaborate, with ogee mouldings, grape carvings, cross-banded veneers. We use the natural beauty of the wood, for example, character grain, burr oak, some inlays and flame cut panels.

All the components for the future piece are cut out according to a specification. We carefully select the type of grain according to the design. The components are passed to the cabinet-makers’ workshops for more detailed and complicated procedures, such as routing, tenoning, turning, moulding, carving, dovetailing and shaping.

A large number of our reproduction furniture models have decorative period carvings as the main feature or just one element. Some of our carving designs are based on original Tudor and other historical drawings, others are conceived later on by our designers or in-suggested in by our customers. Depending on individual requirements we can adapt our designs to suit the customers’ taste.

Then we assemble the piece. We use many traditional methods, such as hand-joining, hand-sanding and hand-finishing. Tudor Oak furniture craftsmen use animal glue for cross-banding and veneer. Animal glue has been used for centuries, from the times of the Ancient Egyptians, however, in recent times have been replaced by modern glues. At Tudor Oak, we value traditions and quality in our furniture-making.

 Unique Furniture Polishing Process

“Ageing” takes great skill and is performed only by highly experienced craftsmen with a steady hand. Oak is a dense and hardwood and does not succumb easily to bumps and scratches applied by the Tudor Oak cabinet-makers. These marks, which look random to an untrained eye, are placed exactly where they will look their best after the finished piece has been polished and waxed.

Our finishing process is a multi-step method. A treatment with a mix of chemicals developed exclusively by Tudor Oak gives the timber depth and a more natural colour before the finishing process. An overall stain is then applied, followed by steps to enhance the grain character and colour. The reproduction furniture is hand rubbed to bring out the depth and “light” of the natural oak.

Our furniture polishing process is unique to Tudor Oak; it is our Philosopher’s Stone, it has been developed over 40 years, in consultation with antique restorers and by studying real antiques. It produces a range of interesting colours, like in a real antique piece, giving it light and life. This technique also protects the furniture – small knocks and scratches add to its authentic look, and if a piece receives a knock or a scratch of high significance it can simply be touched in to blend into the distressed look and therefore give a longer lifespan.

Finishing Touches

We pay great consideration to each small detail. Every handle and hinge of our brasswork is individually selected and fitted with utmost care and attention. We use only the highest quality hand-cast brasswork from British manufacturers who can also fulfil personal bespoke orders.

Our production process is complex and intricate; the work is done by hand by craftsmen who have honed their skills working for the company for many years. This ensures that the company maintains high standards, preserves the traditional methods and carries on the craft of fine English cabinet-making. We carry out quality control at every stage of the production and no mistakes are tolerated.

Tudor Oak is known and respected for its highest quality. We work hard to ensure that this reputation remains unblemished.