# Solid Wood Furniture



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Does anyone know anything about wood furniture?

I've wanted to buy a few pieces while in Europe, but I don't like shopping to say the least. I've put it off for 3 years just checking the online sales from time to time. Last week I got lured out to see a piece on closeout. It was marked down €1300 from €2400 (I could get it €1100 without tax) The doors were crooked and I can see why it was on sale. So I gave up waiting for sales and walked through a few big box stores, dodging greasy salesmen, but nothing catches my interest at all.

A colleague suggested I go to this flea market. "Take cash," he says "and get there at the crack of dawn. You won't regret it."

Here's the €2400 model from a big box website (that just happens to have the exact same crooked door as the one I saw!)









So what do you think this is worth? Apparently it's 19th century, oak. 7'9" tall with good working doors/drawers each with nice keyed locks


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

m3s said:


> Does anyone know anything about wood furniture?
> 
> I've wanted to buy a few pieces while in Europe, but I don't like shopping to say the least. I've put it off for 3 years just checking the online sales from time to time. Last week I got lured out to see a piece on closeout. It was marked down €1300 from €2400 (I could get it €1100 without tax) The doors were crooked and I can see why it was on sale. So I gave up waiting for sales and walked through a few big box stores, dodging greasy salesmen, but nothing catches my interest at all.


First of all I have to convert euros to Canadian dollars to understand the prices they are asking for the first one and what you want to pay for it. (1 euro= $1.50cdn) 
That would make the cabinet about $1950cdn (asking) and you say you could get it for $1650cdn? 
It's hard to tell from the picture (but I have made a few nice corner cabinets/hutches/buffets in my days, out of oak and pine with stainglass and bevel glass top doors and
carved solid wood bottom doors. Three corner ones, which are very hard to make, expecially the 3 corner cutlery drawer. (I have pictures of mine). When I made them
in the 2004/2005 timeframe, I would have made another one for around $1200cdn at the time. I approached a couple of stores, but nobody was willing to take them,
even on consignment, so I made only a total of 5 in all.

The first one you included a URL:
I would say that it appears to be made of birch which is a typical European wood used in furniture.
The design is moderne european, plain glass doors, 3 glass shelves and 4 drawers with modern handles. It's a typical glassware cabinet to store books or wine glasses...
but nothing fancy, so IF I was interested in something like this, I would be shelling out no more than $1000 cdn ...and that I think is even TOPs for it. 
It's overpriced at nearly $2000 cdn..I would say to you..move on. 


So what do you think this is worth? Apparently it's 19th century, oak. 7'9" tall with good working doors/drawers each with nice keyed locks







[/QUOTE]

Well it definitely is oak, but a very dark and old patina stain. The top hutch is a separate piece (with one what looks to be a wooden shelf), so it can hold
a few wine glasses, I suppose. The bottom buffet has two cutlery drawers and probably a shelf behind the two doors. Very heavy looking, I might add.
I don't recognize the period, so it could even be a duplicate of some piece made to look old.
I don't like the design, so it definitely doesn't appeal to me. Maybe $500 to $600 TOPS!

If you google "19th century hutches and buffets' you will find a URL with tons of these buffets and sideboards. I found one (see pic) listed at $2495 (probably US) that
appears to be made of walnut, which is similar and my preferred wood for fine furniture.








What did you want to use it for?

BTW..not sure where you are, but in Ontario, Gibbard Furniture was renown for making top quality furniture with styling that is still appreciated by most even to this
day. A lot of these period pieces made by Gibbard in the last century (20th) are available on the resale market for very reasonable prices. Gibbard used a lot of
solid walnut and cherry especially in their sideboards/buffets and hutches. 
http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-...e-French-Gibbard-sideboard-W0QQAdIdZ565051176


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Well I think in euros now.. but I converted at 1.2 - 1.3 I guess I could convert back today at 1.5

I'd love to see the pictures of what you made!! A quick google search shows something similar in Canada for $2000-5000.. woodcraft.ca

I'm looking for a solid wood home for a large collection of scotch.. and solid wood table/chairs


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

carverman said:


> it could even be a duplicate of some piece made to look old.


In the early 1990s I had a neighbor on Salt Spring Island who specialized in furniture reproductions.......show him a pic and he could make the item, including all the distress signs.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

actually i know a lot about "wood" furniture

the 2nd one does appear to be oak as carver says, but i doubt it's 19th century, it looks quite a bit newer. Sometime around WW I, give or take. The drawer pulls, the particular style of bevelling the edges of the buffet surface.

the unblemished quality of the finish also suggests a much more recent date.

also the key (one is missing) & the keyholes on the china cabinet date to the early 20th century, not prior.

ornate, somewhat show-off pieces like this were often made for the substantial middle classes who wanted to look better-up. If this is a german piece, it's reminiscent of a furniture style that was popular in england around the same WW I period. It, too, was a faux Jacobean style, meaning a reference back through time to the dark, heavy & ornate carved furnishings of 17th century baronial homes & castles.

mode ottomh i'd say this dark heavy somewhat ugly oak piece just isn't you, run away asap. Pretentious bourgeois pieces like this were being given away in towns like montreal & toronto. Now & then they still are being given away, although you have to look quite hard.

don't fall for that multi-thousand-euro-dollar guff. If that's an early 20th century factory piece it's never going to gain the value of a true antique.

always pull open drawers & look for dovetails that join drawer fronts to drawer sides. Fine cabinetmaking - which is what you want to buy - always included beautiful dovetails. Later came much cheaper junction techniques, even screwing drawer fronts onto drawer sides, then filling the screw holes & staining over so they're invisible.

if you were really really going to buy - which i sincerely hope not - you'd want to separate the 2 pieces & turn the buffet onto its side so you could examine the workmanship of the bottom & back. With this piece, it's likely that you'd see it was mass factory produced.

gaining the knowledge to size up antique & vintage furniture is way more fun than options! but it takes time & you absolutely have to read books. Lots of books. Visit antique, vintage & 2ndhand stores, flea markets. Lots of stores. Don't buy anything.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Further to 'Umble's post:

http://www.chubbcollectors.com/Vacnews/index.jsp?form=2&ArticleId=249


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

nemo's link to the chubb article is an excellent one. Antiques curator jennifer garland ross explains some techniques that any person can use to examine the legitimacy of a so-called antique or vintage item. I like the dovetail trick: close your eyes & feel with your fingers, dovetails should feel ever so slightly loose!

i suppose the reason for loose dovetails would be because the grains of the wooden boards are opposed, at right angles? therefore when seasonal swelling/shrinkage occurs there has to be a hairline of give in the dovetail ... wood is an organic material, slightly absorbs moisture in the spring. I've known people who maintain humidifiers in canadian houses in the wintertime so that their valuable antique pieces won't split or be damaged by dryness.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

m3s said:


> Well I think in euros now.. but I converted at 1.2 - 1.3 I guess I could convert back today at 1.5
> 
> I'd love to see the pictures of what you made!! A quick google search shows something similar in Canada for $2000-5000.. woodcraft.ca
> 
> I'm looking for a solid wood home for a large collection of scotch.. and solid wood table/chairs


The Amish around Kitchener-Waterloo-Elmira have furniture factories and are big in this kind of furniture. The Victoria Falls line may be one of their brands. Kinda makes sense
when they are descendents of German Cabinetmakers. Knechtal in Hanover, back in the 70s was another fine furniture maker of the German neo classic traditional and modern furniture,
but they are no longer in business. 

http://www.tschirharts.com/Furniture/victoria_buffet_hutch.shtml


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Nemo2 said:


> In the early 1990s I had a neighbor on Salt Spring Island who specialized in furniture reproductions.......show him a pic and he could make the item, including all the distress signs.


Yes, unfortunately that is very common for a lot of self-employed furniture makers. Any piece that is reproduced from a picture of a period piece can be stained and antique varnished to make it look "old".
Most of the antique "hounds", collectors and dealers know what to look for..inside, under the drawers, the type of woods, and even the finish, so rarely can you fool them to pay overflated prices on
"antiques".


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I'm not pretending I know about furniture but I would think the dovetail ''trick'' is being able to discern from hand made vs machine/manufactured.
The subtle ''loose'' gap indicates a craftsmans hand work with hand tools vs a machine
don't think it would have to do with humidity ect....just a guess.You can feel the difference.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> actually i know a lot about "wood" furniture
> 
> always pull open drawers & look for dovetails that join drawer fronts to drawer sides. Fine cabinetmaking - which is what you want to buy - always included beautiful dovetails. Later came much cheaper junction techniques, even screwing drawer fronts onto drawer sides, then filling the screw holes & staining over so they're invisible.
> 
> if you were really really going to buy - which i sincerely hope not - you'd want to separate the 2 pieces & turn the buffet onto its side so you could examine the workmanship of the bottom & back. With this piece, it's likely that you'd see it was mass factory produced.


I had no clue what to look for but he showed me these "dovetails". Although I didn't fully understand the wallonian french.

It was marked €475 and I got him down to €350, €400 delivered over an hour maybe 2 by truck. The back was damaged and repaired, but it feels very solid. I didn't buy it but he was a pleasure to deal with compared to the big boxes hustling overpriced particle boards. I took his card and I might buy it, because it seems like the best thing I can find to lock up a small fortune of scotch (most cabinet shelves are not tall enough for bottles) I imagine it would end up in a spare room or the basement someday.. because it would probably look ridiculous in any modern cdn house. Doesn't surprise me people can't give them away (they will buy anything on kijiji though!)

I don't want to make a habit of collecting things.. I did get some amazing waffles for breakfast and there was a lot of cool military stuff to see. Gf would have liked the old tea sets and plates..


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> i suppose the reason for loose dovetails would be because the grains of the wooden boards are opposed, at right angles? therefore when seasonal swelling/shrinkage occurs there has to be a hairline of give in the dovetail ... wood is an organic material, slightly absorbs moisture in the spring. I've known people who maintain humidifiers in canadian houses in the wintertime so that their valuable antique pieces won't split or be damaged by dryness.


Dove tails are difficult to fit if they are hand cut. The angles and the type of dove tails vary from cabinet maker to cabinet maker and even the countries where these period pieces were handcrafted.
In the olden days, when cabinet makers took years to refine their craft, their skills will show in a lot of these antique pieces. Today with the cost of labour..its' all machine cut dovetails and in some cases particle board, with solid wood edges. 

As far as the gaps between the dovetails, that isn't necessary a bad thing if the dovetails were truly handcut. A well made dovetail joint should be loose enough yet tight enough to hold together on its own without glue. If the drawer ends hold together mechanically, then the glue is the final process to make the joint very tight.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

m3s said:


> I had no clue what to look for but he showed me these "dovetails". Although I didn't fully understand the wallonian french.
> 
> It was marked €475 and I got him down to €350, €400 delivered over an hour maybe 2 by truck. anything on kijiji though!)
> 
> I don't want to make a habit of collecting things.. I did get some amazing waffles for breakfast and there was a lot of cool military stuff to see. Gf would have liked the old tea sets and plates..


So this is in the Walloon area of Belgium. Is this the period oak hutch/buffet you are talking about now?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

mode don't buy that dreadful thing. It's an ugly piece & it doesn't suit you at all. 

what use is that lock going to be? anybody who wants scotch bottles stored inside - or anything else stored inside - can smash the glass. Even if the cabinet doors were solid wood, a determined thief could break them open in a flash. Those locks are only there for decorative reasons. 

you have scotch for some reason you're feeling possessive about? more than you can drink up or give away? didn't we go through all this with addy? gosh is this something to do with the military, they seem to de-stabilize over their liquor stash whenever they move ...


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

this could be the very table i'm typing on, except that mine has a drawer with a white china pull. It's also a whole lot more beat-up & damaged than this one, which is either a good reproduction or else it's been refinished to within an inch of its life.

oddly enough, such refinishing lowers the value. A beat-up table in original condition is worth more than one that's been scraped, sanded, stained & re-varnished. Most damaging of all to value are "furniture refinishers" who use modern plastic varnishes. One has to remember that original farm furniture was nearly always painted with milk paint.

mine is an antique pine refectory table alright, except that i didn't pay multi $$ for it. It was found in a corner of my grandfather's basement. The great-grandfather had put it there as his tool table. He'd probably bought it, already old & beat-up, for less than a dollar.
.











here is an interesting example of a false "antique."

the table top is shamelessly modern. It's installed on top of what are supposed to be an antique set of legs, although their surface condition is too perfect. Not surprisingly, they're painted over so it becomes harder to tell what they are. They could be cheap birch reproductions. One would try to get a clue by unscrewing/disassembling the table, looking at the tops & bottoms of the legs to see the grain (buy why bother? just move on instead.)

vendor on kijiji was asking CAD $695, a couple days ago. _*Too Much*_.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

carver, I was hoping to see some pictures of what you made??

humble, most of this can't be bought or imported in Canada, and the ones that can would cost 3 or 4x plus. I think the reason military have alcohol is because we get it so cheap, which I agree is messed up, along with the cheap cigs and cubans. What does a good bottle of wine cost in Canada? Trappist beer sold in extremely limited quantities? I probably got it for a few euros. When you consider I fly all over the place on a whim, you'll see why this beats any gold or mattress transactions. The only way to legitimately move alcohol is with a liquor licence, which means you need an economy of scale!

I do appreciate the heart-to-heart :tongue-new:


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i'd forgotten about the military discount. When i worked for the foreign service it was called the dipso booze. I imagine you do have an exquisitely nostalgic collection but perhaps that's what it has to become ... a nostalgic memory?


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

This is the type of buffet that attracts me........because they look beautiful, are inexpensive, and have lots of practical uses.

View attachment 421



We already have one (not like the pictured one) that was originally used as a big bedroom dresser...........that we use for a flat screen stand in our living room. It's got 16 drawers.......which are great for movies, games, controllers and our grandson's stuff.

People comment on it..........and look a little stunned when I tell them we got it free when people threw out their old "bedroom" set.

Half of our home is decorated with stuff that they were going to throw in the dumpster........vases, pictures, clocks, area rugs,......

We felt like we won the home decorating lottery................LOL

My son says I have no pride............everything in my basement office area was hauled in from the side of the road.

Desk, leather couch, lamps, coffee tables, pantry cabinets, work bench,.......even my office chair.

Seems like around here.........people throw out a lot of good stuff.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Since we're posting furniture pics....here's a 'rustic' Mennonite piece that we purchased, (made to order from in-store samples), locally:


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

That is a sweet looking table.

It has the table top that we want for a dining room table.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I am always a little turned off........when I go to the furniture store and see something I like..........and then find out they ship it in a box and I have to put it together.

We bought a reclining chair...........and it came in two pieces............what?


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> mode don't buy that dreadful thing. It's an ugly piece & it doesn't suit you at all.


That's what I was trying to say..it is downright UGLY as a piece of furniture, and he will regret later on that he ever bought it..because everyone else thinks so.



> what use is that lock going to be? anybody who wants scotch bottles stored inside - or anything else stored inside - can smash the glass. Even if the cabinet doors were solid wood, a determined thief could break them open in a flash. Those locks are only there for decorative reasons.


Those period locks are useless..they just operate the latches for the doors or drawer. But I from what I understood about his search for the "perfect scotch storage cabinet", it was an issue
with some big bottles and most cabinets have shelving that won't accommodate those tall long neck 1.1 litre bottles of single malt treasures..like Glen Fiddich, and others so rare
that they fetch over a hundred dollars a bottle here. 



> you have scotch for some reason you're feeling possessive about? more than you can drink up or give away? didn't we go through all this with addy? gosh is this something to do with the military, they seem to de-stabilize over their liquor stash whenever they move ...


LOL! it's a guy thing..HP! :biggrin:


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

in a thread nearby i wrote a bit about Angéline, widow of Léo Fraser, who died in the Isle Verte fire a few weeks ago. I'd stayed with Angéline & Léo many years ago, in their farmhouse on Isle Verte the island.

their farmhouse had a long private dirt road off the "main" road along the island, which itself was a single-lane dirt road, of course.

at the entrance to the fraser property was a tumbledown shack in bad repair. Naturally, while hiking around, we looked through its window. The only thing inside was an old pine table, of the type & with the same classic lathe-turned legs that i pictured upthread.

even though it was covered with dust & rubble, the table would have been a real quebec pine antique, dating back to at least 1860, possibly earlier. So simple in design, it was indestructible, so exterior scarring or staining would only lend character.

dealer-pickers had already scavenged throughout all of quebec, buying up the beautiful pine & maple farm furnishings whose cabinet-making traditions dated back to 17th century france. But there on isolated Isle Verte, in an abandoned shack that nobody had ever noticed, this table had survived.

when we got back to the farmhouse, i mentioned to Angéline that her abandoned pine table up in the shack was probably valuable.

ooh là! farmers always know how to mind the pence so the pounds will take care of themselves. Angéline shot me a sharp look. Do you want to buy it? she asked, quick as a wink.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

sags said:


> That is a sweet looking table.
> 
> It has the table top that we want for a dining room table.


http://ruttlebrothersfurniture.com/


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> farmers always know how to mind the pence so the pounds will take care of themselves.


The country folk in rural Quebec were more interested in functionality than what the furniture item would bring in today's money. 
Now there are lots of antique dealers out there combing the country side and auction sales trying to get a steal of a deal
by offering a few dollars, for that old bread making table, or hoosier cabinet, that has gained popularity in recent years with antique collectors.
Here is an example of a hoosier cabinet: 
http://www.trunksandtreasures.com/Treasuresdetail4


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Nemo2 said:


> http://ruttlebrothersfurniture.com/


It seems that Mennonite and Amish crafted furniture has gained a lot of popularity in recent years..and for the most part..all their creations are solid wood. 
http://www.amishoutletstore.com/page.cfm?p=25339

Solid wood craftsmanship... Something that you don't see much of these days at the commercial furniture retail stores.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

carverman said:


> That's what I was trying to say..it is downright UGLY as a piece of furniture, and he will regret later on that he ever bought it..because everyone else thinks so.


Ok Ok.. maybe you all just don't know what a good piece of Euro styling looks like :tongue-new: First thing my gf says is it would look good in Germany but ugly in Canada. And she's never even been to Canada. It kind of looks like the German clocks? It does match the heavy wood doors/windows/floors in Germany but yea ungodly in any modern Cdn house.



sags said:


> Desk, leather couch, lamps, coffee tables, pantry cabinets, work bench,.......even my office chair.
> 
> Seems like around here.........people throw out a lot of good stuff.


I've been looking for a good office chair as well.. I hate to buy anything from box stores anymore. The Staples "leather" chair that I bought a few years ago is literally bursting at the seams. These modern days of particle chip boards, disposable Ikea junk and vinyl/plastic is really disparaging. The thick top on that table is simply beautiful.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

humble_pie said:


> dealer-pickers had already scavenged throughout all of quebec, buying up the beautiful pine & maple farm furnishings


Close to 40 years ago I bought the pine 'mirrored windows' below from an antique dealer on the Kingston Road in Toronto's Beach area......at that time he told me that he _used_ to take his truck up to rural Quebec and fill it to the gills because people wanted 'new' stuff (crap), but that those days had passed.










(Following the same meme I recall someone from outside North Bay saying that, when box springs came out, the family dumped their old brass beds in the river.......aaargh.)


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

m3s said:


> carver, I was hoping to see some pictures of what you made??


I found one on my computer. This is a pine (two piece 3 corner cabinet) with bevel glass doors, and 6mm plate triangular glass shelves (2). 

The top part of my cabinet fits neatly into the molding of the bottom cabinet and comes apart for moving if need be. 

The bottom part of the cabinet has hand carved doors and a wooden shelf. Finish is honey pine satin finish (3 coats, sanded in between),
and two coats of special medium walnut spray lacquer finish. 
It is my own design, and I had to make assembly jigs to make the cutlery drawer, because it had 6 sides to the drawer with all sorts of interesting
angles. It was a lot of work, but I cut enough wood for 5 of them. My son and daughter each have one, I sold one to a friend and I still have the other two for my carvings.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

carverman said:


> Solid wood craftsmanship... Something that you don't see much of these days at the commercial furniture retail stores.


I think this is the point of DayTek's 'Model Home' thread.......standards are, and have been for decades, declining.......people produce crap, and most buyers accept it.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

what's a hoosier kitchen cabinet? i always thought hoosier meant indiana USA ...

but there's more ... carve alas my money is saying that's no kind of farmhouse cabinet at all. It's a kitchen cabinet for an urban house, early 20th century ... most likely 1920s ... the paint style is screaming ... still, it is the original paint, though ...

in quebec, pickers haven't offered a few dollars for decades. There's huge huge money for genuine pieces & by now there are none left downonthefarm.

those beautiful big double-doored armoires with the carved diamond lozenges? you'd be lucky to find one for 50-70k.

even simple treenware pieces - wooden salad bowls, trenchers, breadboards - are $200 & up.

carverman i think your own pieces might have belonged to what are called folk art. The best of these are also commanding very high prices right now & in fact they are some collectors' specializations. I rather suspect that your pieces would be among these each:

i know you feel shy about showing your work, so i won't pester you, at least not now. Later i'll try to find you links to some dealers in folk furnishings & folk art.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

carverman said:


> I found one on my computer. This is a pine (two piece 3 corner cabinet) with bevel glass doors, and 6mm plate triangular glass shelves (2).
> 
> The top part of my cabinet fits neatly into the molding of the bottom cabinet and comes apart for moving if need be.
> 
> ...



oh that is so so so beautiful.

who made the glass? surely it was made to order for you? 

this is a perfect example of why connoisseur folk art collectors pay top dollar

PS it appears to be in 3 separate modules?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

carverman said:


> The bottom part of the cabinet has hand carved doors and a wooden shelf. Finish is honey pine satin finish (3 coats, sanded in between),
> and two coats of special medium walnut spray lacquer finish.
> It is my own design, and I had to make assembly jigs to make the cutlery drawer, because it had 6 sides to the drawer with all sorts of interesting
> angles. It was a lot of work, but I cut enough wood for 5 of them. My son and daughter each have one, I sold one to a friend and I still have the other two for my carvings.
> ...


That's really nice!! No doubt far better quality and finish than anything I have seen for very steep prices.. I thought about making my own simple book shelves or something before but I'm always spending my hobby time fixing cars. My father is good with carpentry and recently retired I think I'm going to try to get him into this.. :encouragement: We even have acres of huge trees that we just use for firewood..


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> what's a hoosier kitchen cabinet? i always thought hoosier meant indiana USA ...


Well yes that too..and our Canadian version (as on the old tv shows with Bob&Doug (Mackenzie)..take off eh..Hosers!:biggrin:
But here's the story on those cabinets..



> A Hoosier cabinet, often shortened to "hoosier", is a type of free-standing kitchen cabinet popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. Almost all of these cabinets were produced by companies located in Indiana and the name derives from the largest of them, the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana. Other Indiana businesses include Hoosier Racing Tire and the Hoosier Bat Company, manufacturer of wooden baseball bats.


but there's more ... carve alas my money is saying that's no kind of farmhouse cabinet at all. It's a kitchen cabinet for an urban house, early 20th century ... most likely 1920s ... the paint style is screaming ... still, it is the original paint, though ...

Well there were several versions of the traditional country hoosier cabinet, some were fancy, others not so fancy. They were made to be functional, not stylish. I've seen
some with layers of paint on them at some country flea market..for reasonable prices.



> in quebec, pickers haven't offered a few dollars for decades. There's huge huge money for genuine pieces & by now there are none left downonthefarm.
> those beautiful big double-doored armoires with the carved diamond lozenges? *you'd be lucky to find one for 50-70k*.


Darn! And I wasted a good ten years carving stuff that I can't seem to sell. LOL!



> even simple treenware pieces - wooden salad bowls, trenchers, breadboards - are $200 & up.


Must be all those pickers out there now, pushing up the prices..there used to be a couple of series on TV..."American Pickers" and their counterparts "Canadian Pickers". 
I used to watch those show on a specialty channel and used get a laugh of what they would dig up in attics and old barns...like coca -cola signs (shot up) or old oil cans....
that is just junk to me, but somewhere out there is always a buyer, who will pay top prices for a bit of nostalgia or Canadiana, as the case may be. 




> carverman i think your own pieces might have belonged to what are called folk art. The best of these are also commanding very high prices right now & in fact they are some collectors' specializations. I rather suspect that your pieces would be among these each:


Well this is what they say about my carvings. There is absolutely no market in selling them here in Canada, no matter how realistic the fish or bird or whatever it is. 
Same with any of my other creations, I've given most of them to charities for fund raising. It was a good hobby, but I can't do it any more now. 



> i know you feel shy about showing your work, so i won't pester you, at least not now. Later i'll try to find you links to some dealers in folk furnishings & folk art.


Thanks, but my kids and grand kids will probably end up inheriting pretty much most of it. Can't take it with you as they say.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

humble_pie said:


> what's a hoosier kitchen cabinet?


Hoosiers are (still) quite common......here's one my late wife and I had, (in our SSI house).....after she died I gave it to one of her brothers:


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

The house we have in Newfoundland has table chairs buffet and server that belonged to my grandfather's grandfather.He died in 2008 at age on 97 and he can remember as a little boy it always being in his grandparents home.We got some old irons , the kind that you had to put in the fire that are literally made of Iron and all sorts of 'old stuff'.I managed to get a few old wooden trunks locally about 20 years ago for next to nothing as they were in my family that probably are from around the 1830's.I have found a couple Amish places around here that use solid wood and do amazing work and I have a table from 25 years ago that looks like the day we bought it .With these things you get what you pay for and I rather buy solid wood stuff I can pass down to the kids than pay for stuff that is lucky to last 10 years.I am not sure the piece is ugly but it will have to tie in with the rest of the decor .I probably would leave it in the store.


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## underemployedactor (Oct 22, 2011)

That is an extraordinary talent you have, Carverman. Do you still make furniture?


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

underemployedactor said:


> That is an extraordinary talent you have, Carverman. Do you still make furniture?


Unfortunately, because of an incurable and non-treatable rare auto-immune disease affecting my legs, I had give up my furniture making in 2007. 

It was too hard for me by 2006, to lift some of the wooden pieces for these cabinets to saw and glue them together.

I had to give up my carving competitions in the fall of 2010 as well, when my legs were too weak to deal with walking around in the carving competitions around Ontario. 

I did make 3 custom Les Paul style guitars in 2006-2007 which are very unique and one of a kind. I can include pics of my creations if anybody wants to see them. 
At least, for now, I can still play guitar from a wheelchair. 

Same with my stain glass panel and lamp creations. Sold off most of my woodworking power tools in 2013, (bandsaws, scroll saws, routers etc) when I realized that it was only a matter of time when I had to sit in a wheelchair..which is now. 

Can't saw large boards very well from a wheelchair, but I still have my table saw for small and assisted projects that I am still capable of doing around the house.

Made 4 six sided curio cabinets as well, along with the 3 cornered china cabinets (picture in previous post), and lots of other stuff in the 5 years after I retired.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

marina628 said:


> I have found a couple Amish places around here that use solid wood and do amazing work and I have a table from 25 years ago that looks like the day we bought it .With these things you get what you pay for and* I rather buy solid wood stuff I can pass down to the kids than pay for stuff that is lucky to last 10 years*.
> 
> I am not sure the piece is ugly but it will have to tie in with the rest of the decor .I probably would leave it in the store.


Marina, ditto on the solid wood furniture and handing it down to the kids/grandkids. That is what I have done for mine. To me, woodworking and furniture building/stain glass/carving was hobbies that I felt creative enough in to be able to display my creations at wood shows. I never went into these hobbies for the money..because it takes too long to do each piece and each piece is a labour of love as they say.

Ok about the 19th century hutch and buffet that M3S included. It is a period piece for sure, maybe I was too harsh to call it "ugly"...
antiques being what they are, styling tastes and construction techniques have changed over the centuries, but as you say, if it doesn't tie in with the rest of furniture 
and with the decor in your house, it can be seen as being mismatched or an "eyesore".
The prices they want for these antiques these days is another story.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Nemo2 said:


> Hoosiers are (still) quite common......here's one my late wife and I had, (in our SSI house).....after she died I gave it to one of her brothers:


Nice! Looks like a home made one?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

carver of course we'd love to see pictures of your work. Any time!

it occurs to me that a vernissage of your oeuvre could be mounted in the ottawa area. There are so many possible venues. Plus there are lots of curators who could organize such a project.

ps i inquired how you had come by that good-looking leaded glass in your cabinet, was it made to order for you? but from what you are now saying, it seems you may have created the leaded glass panes yourself! that is really incredible.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> carver of course we'd love to see pictures of your work. Any time!
> 
> it occurs to me that a vernissage of your oeuvre could be mounted in the ottawa area. There are so many possible venues. Plus there are lots of curators who could organize such a project.
> 
> ps i inquired how you had come by that good-looking leaded glass in your cabinet, was it made to order for you? but from what you are now saying, it seems you may have created the leaded glass panes yourself! that is really incredible.


I created ALL my leaded glass panels for my cabinets and also stain glass panels for my children's homes.

Here is a leaded glass panel with bevel glass heron, that I made for my son for the high window foyer when he bought his new home back in 2000, I believe.
This panel was made in 2004. It involved many types of stain glass as well as a bevelled glass heron. What is not shown on the picture is the mossy logs
and swamp plants that the blue heron likes to hide in when they are frog hunting..one of their favourite foods.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

^ Very well done! :encouragement:


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## Homerhomer (Oct 18, 2010)

carverman said:


> I created ALL my leaded glass panels for my cabinets and also stain glass panels for my children's homes.
> 
> Here is a leaded glass panel with bevel glass heron, that I made for my son for the high window foyer when he bought his new home back in 2000, I believe.
> This panel was made in 2004. It involved many types of stain glass as well as a bevelled glass heron. What is not shown on the picture is the mossy logs
> ...


WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!! WOW

Fantastic.


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