# Tips & advice on chosing wooden furniture



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

If price is not the first concern, choose solid wood--panels and structure--

You may want to travel a bit and find a furniture maker that still hand crafts each piece.

Egypt was once a major center for hand built furniture---might be worth the trip.


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## dsec123 (Apr 1, 2013)

find a style you like first. i'm a huge fan of mid-century modern stuff, atomic age era, and occasionally 1890-1920 antique furniture. 

once you know what style you like, you can use the internet to learn about the most popular brands and designers, as well as the commonalities between furniture from that era (material/design). then i would suggest going on craigslist or kijiji and buying used stuff that meets your criteria.


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## harrisong35 (Sep 26, 2016)

1. The sturdiness of furniture is the main thing to check out on, and it depends on the quality of wood construction. Solid boards are always better than veneers or particle boards.

2.Always check if there is any spilt or crack on the wood. Also make sure you check splits in joints because it’s extremely important.

3.The back panel of the wood furniture is something important for you to check for nails and screws; just make sure is not just stapled.

4. In case you are buying a wooden cupboard or anything with doors, always check whether the hinges are strong, solid and secure enough to assist the weight of the door.

5. Check bigger furniture like dresses if they have mortise and tenon joints in them. In such larger items, even screws, nails and glues fail sometimes.

6. In case you are buying a chair, make sure that they do not shake, also check how they stand and how balanced the chair is.

7. Make sure there are levelers on the bottoms of large furniture pieces.


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## LanterDan (Jul 3, 2006)

I'm going to respectively disagree with two of the above posters. Veneer has its place in fine furniture and is not necessarily something to be avoided. It enables the use of burls or other highly figured grain configurations which would not only be unaffordable in solid wood, but would often be structurally unsound as well. It also enables marquetry and inlay work. It is often the only practical choice for curves panels, doors, and drawer fronts.

Its a little weird, but you tend to see veneer used a lot at both the bottom and high end of the price range. The difference between the two is obvious.

And done right, veneer can last. I'm currently refinishing a 1920's mahogany piano, and I'm only needed to make two small veneer repairs. And that only because it was subjected to gross abuse by children for decades in a church Sunday school classroom.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

I agree that you need to settle upon a style first. I'm a fan of 'mission' and Mennonite styled furniture for their simplicity. While I favour solid wood, I agree that veneer has its place. There is a wide range based on both the quality of the veneer itself as well as the substructure, and ranges from what looks like mactac on chipboard to hardwood on baltic plywood.


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## viveksuthar (Jan 12, 2017)

oak is one of the most used woods for furniture which is available in varieties red and white. Oak wood is also strong and easy to work with. White oak is preferred for furniture-making because it has a more attractive figure than red oak. White oak is also resistant to moisture and can be used on outdoor furniture.


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