Scandia Custom Furniture

The bookshelf you made for us is far beyond what we expected in quality and level of workmanship. Thanks a lot.
Trevor & Julie

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Occasionally we are asked about the difference in quality versus price.

There are various ways to make furniture. You can buy furniture made in a factory or made by a craftsman. To some people, they look the same. A close inspection will reveal the differences.

Some manufacturers cut all the parts for a piece of furniture and deliver it unassembled to the furniture store and/or customer. In the industry, we call this K-D or Knock Down furniture. The skills of the person doing the final assembly come into play. Most kits include wood screws or some other type of fastener. The person assembling the furniture only needs to screw the parts together. This type of furniture is usually of low quality. The surfaces are usually painted to cover defects in the wood. The joints will become loose in a short time.

The next level of furniture is mass produced furniture usually made in China. It comes assembled and is generally more durable than KD furniture. Many short cuts are taken in the manufacturing process. Instead of creating joints with wood screws, drawers are often stapled together with a face bolted on. Sometimes the joints are glued for reinforcement but often the drawers are wrapped with a sticky adhesive coated paper. It acts like a big piece of tape to hold the drawers together. The drawers don't stay squared and often stick.

Another trick used to save time is to use molds. One feature of ornate furniture is carved wood pieces. Instead of taking the time to carve the pieces. sawdust mixed with glue is injected into the molds. The finished piece is painted to look like wood and fixed to the cabinents.

The highest quality furniture is produced by craftsman. Drawers are dovetailed and glued for maximum strength. Wood pieces are actually carved and shaped by woodworking tools. High quality furniture is constructed with hand picked pieces of wood whose grains are balanced and interesting. A craftsman takes the time to sort through wood samples until he or she finds the right grain for the project. The beauty of the grain can determine the price of the raw piece.

A fine crafted piece of furniture is like a working piece of art. Generally pieces are not painted. The goal is to see the grain, not disguise it. One give-away is to look at the drawers of a dresser. You'll see that the grains match across pieces.

This is where you find the appreciation of fine furniture. This is the type of construction taught to the apprentice cabinent makers. It takes years to learn the art. Fine cabinent makers are treated with the same respect as an engineer or physician.

This is why hand crafted furniture commands higher prices. We take the time to do it right. Hopefully you can appreciate the time and care we take making your pieces.

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Tags: custom furniture quality, dovetailing, drawer joints
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