High Quality American Furniture: What to Look For in Fine Furniture
High quality American furniture possesses certain features that render it fine furniture as oppose to just amateur woodworking.
We will show you below what to look for in fine furniture to make sure that you are not mislead into believing that a poor quality piece is actually a fine example of carpentry.
Cambridge Mills is one firm that focuses on solid wood media and bedroom furniture rather than spread their skills too widely over a full range of home furniture.
In fact, the company owns its own 10,000 acre sustainable forest of Adirondack Cherry that their 300 strong team of American craftspeople use to fashion their high quality bedroom furniture.
This is done in their 500,000 square foot manufacturing facility in upstate New York.
These are the first signs of high quality American furniture: craftspeople, and owning their own forest so that they have full control over the quality of their wood.
It is often said that a product is only as good as the raw materials use in producing it.
Many furniture manufacturers are restricted by the quality of the wood with which they are supplied.
This is not true of Cambridge Mills.
Few furniture firms can grow their own wood, however, so let's have a look at some of the other factors that renders this company's furniture of such high quality.
Construction and Joints Many companies use glued and screwed butt joints, or joints made using metal or wood brackets.
These are as cheap as you get, and the results are equally cheap.
The traditional carpentry jointing techniques were developed for strength, rigidity and durability.
Whether it is dovetail, mortise and tenon, tongue and groove or even a doweled joint, each has its own particular use to add stability, endurance and quality to a piece of furniture.
Take drawers, for example.
Stickley and Cambridge Mills construct their drawers using English dovetail joints both front and back.
When you see the experts checking the drawers on TV antiques programs, they are usually checking that dovetail joints have been used front and back - with half-blind joints on the front so they are only visible at the side when the drawer opens.
Some use dovetails only on the front, and others don't use them at all.
Fine furniture should contain drawers with front and rear dovetails just as Stickley construct their drawers to last many lifetimes.
The inside corners of cabinets are reinforced to avoid racking (going out of square) using small square but sturdy corner blocks.
The back panels and interior framing construction also help to prevent this so that the cabinet stands absolutely square and solid.
These methods are the same as those used by your ancestors of hundreds of years ago who established the craftsmanship needed for high quality pieces of fine furniture.
Finishing of Fine American Furniture The finish is very important: while the craftsmanship put into the hidden construction renders the piece strong and functional, it is the finish that is visible.
All wood is sanded to a very smooth finish and then, if the wood is to be stained to a specific shade, a preselected stain is applied by hand.
Stains should be applied in thin coats, with a fine sanding between coats, until the final depth of shade required is attained.
Varnishing is also carried out by hand, and coats applied, rubbed own and reapplied until just the correct combination of color and sheen is obtained.
The objective should be to enhance the natural beauty of the wood, bringing out the character of the grain and making the whole piece glow.
Once the piece has been constructed and finished, any furniture (hinges, handles, locks, etc.
) to be used is then added and the piece should be complete.
High Quality Features In addition to using genuine wood joints and proper finishing techniques, the best American furniture manufacturers such as Cambridge Mills and Stickley will include some high quality features not found with lower grade furniture.
For example: •Each drawer sealed and top coated both inside and out, even on the bottom.
•Tall chests and cabinets such as armoires fitted with a properly finished solid wood top panel.
•Drawer runners made from solid hardwood, and treated with a high-slip sealer enabling a very smooth, quiet operation throughout their lifetime.
•Framed dust panels fitted between each drawer to ensure that clothes will be free of dust - this also results in a stronger piece of furniture.
•Most door hinges allowing the doors to open and fold fully back to lie flat against the side of the furniture.
This is particularly welcomed on entertainment pieces such as TV cabinets, where unobstructed viewing is possible from any angle.
•All mirrors having beveled glass, adding to the superb appearance of items such as dressers.
There are many more aspects of high quality American furniture that distinguishes it from the norm, including continual inspection and a quality management system to make sure everything is as perfect as it could possibly be.
Fine furniture is not just well made: it is superbly constructed, expertly finished and guaranteed by the craftsmen and women responsible for making it.
We will show you below what to look for in fine furniture to make sure that you are not mislead into believing that a poor quality piece is actually a fine example of carpentry.
Cambridge Mills is one firm that focuses on solid wood media and bedroom furniture rather than spread their skills too widely over a full range of home furniture.
In fact, the company owns its own 10,000 acre sustainable forest of Adirondack Cherry that their 300 strong team of American craftspeople use to fashion their high quality bedroom furniture.
This is done in their 500,000 square foot manufacturing facility in upstate New York.
These are the first signs of high quality American furniture: craftspeople, and owning their own forest so that they have full control over the quality of their wood.
It is often said that a product is only as good as the raw materials use in producing it.
Many furniture manufacturers are restricted by the quality of the wood with which they are supplied.
This is not true of Cambridge Mills.
Few furniture firms can grow their own wood, however, so let's have a look at some of the other factors that renders this company's furniture of such high quality.
Construction and Joints Many companies use glued and screwed butt joints, or joints made using metal or wood brackets.
These are as cheap as you get, and the results are equally cheap.
The traditional carpentry jointing techniques were developed for strength, rigidity and durability.
Whether it is dovetail, mortise and tenon, tongue and groove or even a doweled joint, each has its own particular use to add stability, endurance and quality to a piece of furniture.
Take drawers, for example.
Stickley and Cambridge Mills construct their drawers using English dovetail joints both front and back.
When you see the experts checking the drawers on TV antiques programs, they are usually checking that dovetail joints have been used front and back - with half-blind joints on the front so they are only visible at the side when the drawer opens.
Some use dovetails only on the front, and others don't use them at all.
Fine furniture should contain drawers with front and rear dovetails just as Stickley construct their drawers to last many lifetimes.
The inside corners of cabinets are reinforced to avoid racking (going out of square) using small square but sturdy corner blocks.
The back panels and interior framing construction also help to prevent this so that the cabinet stands absolutely square and solid.
These methods are the same as those used by your ancestors of hundreds of years ago who established the craftsmanship needed for high quality pieces of fine furniture.
Finishing of Fine American Furniture The finish is very important: while the craftsmanship put into the hidden construction renders the piece strong and functional, it is the finish that is visible.
All wood is sanded to a very smooth finish and then, if the wood is to be stained to a specific shade, a preselected stain is applied by hand.
Stains should be applied in thin coats, with a fine sanding between coats, until the final depth of shade required is attained.
Varnishing is also carried out by hand, and coats applied, rubbed own and reapplied until just the correct combination of color and sheen is obtained.
The objective should be to enhance the natural beauty of the wood, bringing out the character of the grain and making the whole piece glow.
Once the piece has been constructed and finished, any furniture (hinges, handles, locks, etc.
) to be used is then added and the piece should be complete.
High Quality Features In addition to using genuine wood joints and proper finishing techniques, the best American furniture manufacturers such as Cambridge Mills and Stickley will include some high quality features not found with lower grade furniture.
For example: •Each drawer sealed and top coated both inside and out, even on the bottom.
•Tall chests and cabinets such as armoires fitted with a properly finished solid wood top panel.
•Drawer runners made from solid hardwood, and treated with a high-slip sealer enabling a very smooth, quiet operation throughout their lifetime.
•Framed dust panels fitted between each drawer to ensure that clothes will be free of dust - this also results in a stronger piece of furniture.
•Most door hinges allowing the doors to open and fold fully back to lie flat against the side of the furniture.
This is particularly welcomed on entertainment pieces such as TV cabinets, where unobstructed viewing is possible from any angle.
•All mirrors having beveled glass, adding to the superb appearance of items such as dressers.
There are many more aspects of high quality American furniture that distinguishes it from the norm, including continual inspection and a quality management system to make sure everything is as perfect as it could possibly be.
Fine furniture is not just well made: it is superbly constructed, expertly finished and guaranteed by the craftsmen and women responsible for making it.
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