Why can real mahogany furniture only use tenons and mortises, not nails?

Why can't mahogany furniture use nails? This seemingly simple topic actually has a deep mystery. The following conclusions are for your reference only.

1. It was discovered that as early as 7000 years ago in the Neolithic Age in Hemudu, our ancestors began to use tenons and mortises. In other words, tenon-mortise structure is a unique technological creation of the Chinese nation with a long history. For more than 70 centuries, this kind of art and craft has been continuously developed and recreated, and the technology and craft have become quite skilled. China traditional furniture (especially Ming and Qing furniture) has reached today's level, which is directly related to the application of this structural feature. It is the application of this ingenious structure that enhances the artistic value of China furniture, especially to the amazement of China furniture and architectural artists. Therefore, it can be said that Chinese furniture does not need nails, which is a tradition, an established custom and a continuation and development of the upper hand. Tenon and mortise structure is the core of China furniture, also known as traditional furniture.

Secondly, furniture with tenon-mortise structure is more durable than furniture connected with nails. First, the combination of tenon and mortise structure is a clever combination of more and less, high and low, long and short pieces of wood. This combination can effectively limit the distortion between wooden pieces in all directions. Nail connection can't be done. For example, if nails are used to make a T-shaped combination of two wooden roofs, the vertical roof and the horizontal roof are easy to distort and change their angles, but tenons and mortises will not distort. Secondly, metals are prone to rust or oxidation, while real mahogany furniture can be used for hundreds or thousands of years. Many Ming style furniture has a history of hundreds of years. Despite the vicissitudes of life, the wood is as hard as ever. If such furniture is combined with nails, it is likely that the wood is intact, but the furniture falls apart because of corrosion, fatigue and aging of the connecting metal.

Third, furniture with tenon-mortise structure is easy to transport. Have you found that many mahogany furniture are disassembled and transported first, and then assembled and installed at the destination, which is very convenient. If the furniture is connected by nails, although it can be made into a split system, it can't be done for furniture with more pieces in Xiao Mu, such as chairs.

Fourth, furniture with mortise and tenon structure is easy to maintain. No matter what kind of furniture is used for a long time, it will have problems and need maintenance. Pure mahogany furniture can be used for hundreds of years, and there will always be problems, such as a broken brick that needs to be replaced. Nail-connected furniture is not as easy to disassemble and replace as mortise-and-tenon furniture. If the furniture is made of good glue, such as fish fat glue, the glue will soak in water and soften, and the tenon and mortise will soon loosen, but unless the furniture is divided into eight pieces, it can't be done with nails. This will cause damage to the furniture.

Because mahogany wood is hard, nails are pushed in by squeezing and drilling, which is easy to cause wood splitting, which the carpenter knows very well. Through the above comparison, we are not ashamed. Connecting mahogany furniture with tenons and mortises has greater advantages than using nails, which can greatly improve the inherent quality of mahogany furniture. This is probably the reason why pure mahogany furniture does not need nails!