Woodworking Saves Money

[Rich Riddle]

We have a second property we plan to live in during retirement but it needs furnished. We are purchasing used furniture for it. Today SWMBO noticed a bookshelf that was real Amish made out of solid cherry on Craigslist. Got there and it was plastic covered MDF with loose joints. Didn't take me even ten seconds to walk away. The seller tried saying I was unaware of furniture and real wood. OK.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/fuo/5557937321.html

[Neil Gaskin]

That's high quality Vietnamese furniture that pottery barn has to offer. You don't see that kind of quality made here in the states!

[roger wiegand]

That's high quality Vietnamese furniture that pottery barn has to offer. You don't see that kind of quality made here in the states!

Would that it were true! There's no shortage of "made in the USA" garbage out there.

[Mike Ontko]

The ad says "Amish made solid cherry wood." Is the seller a complete liar or a complete idiot?

I call it the KMart mentality--buying into the concept of planned obsolescence, or why should I pay more for the real deal when I can get something that looks like the real thing at only a fraction of the price. This is part of what drove me to want to invest my time into making real furniture for myself, family, and friends. Not so much for the cost savings (we all know the realities of that), but because I'm now able to afford to have and produce something that represents real and potentially lasting value (we won't discuss skill levels or experience here...hopefully ).

[Rick Potter]

The ad says they have other items for sale, perhaps they do know what quality it really is?

[Lee Schierer]

The ad says they have other items for sale, perhaps they do know what quality it really is?

The solid wood cherry entertainment center looks really nice and looks like it is solid wood (at least the drawer front is)

[Dave Lehnert]

To be fair. A lot of that big box store furniture is made by the Mennonites in northern Ohio. So saying Amish made is not too far off the mark.

[roger wiegand]

There's no shortage of very badly made Amish furniture using the cheapest possible materials. I think people confuse the Amish with the Shakers somehow. There's no aspiration to perfection in their craft as a tenent of their faith, so you get the same distribution of skill and care as you would in any random sample of furniture builders.

[Shawn Pixley]

Maybe so. But there is only one active Shaker community left with three members and one novate (Wikipedia). Any shaker furniture made today is made by non-shakers.