What Do I Ask To Determine Quality?

[Lee Michaels]

"Steve" yelled and screamed

I don't know who you are, but I can tell you a bit about the swingman.

1. He IS very knowledgable about many topics woodworking related.

1. He has a world class website that details many of his projects.

2. He plays swing bass and cooks like an old cajun.

1. He consistently helps people on this forum. In the last few days he scanned an article and sent it privately to someone so they could build a shop jig.

2. His contributions are appreciated by many here.

1. He is also known for a dry sense of humor.

Who did you say you were??

[Morris Dovey]

| You know, there are ignorant people like you out there that don't

| like an idiot making yourself look retarded. Jerk,

I think you've filed just a tad too much off the sear. Swingman is considerably less ignorant than you would seem to believe, and has earned the respect of many of the regulars for his expertise and his generosity in sharing it.

Suggest you take two steps backward and recalibrate your humor detector.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

[e-mail] wrote: | I want to buy a dresser and have found one I like. This one | |

|| but I don't know anything about construction and wood quality. So | I'm worried I might be paying 1500 for something that is IKEA | quality. What questions do I ask to determine if it's "worth it" | for the price?

I'd guess the question should probably be: "Do I like it $1500 worth?"

If the answer is "yes", and if you can afford to spend that amount on a dresser, then go for it. If the answer is "no", or if you can't afford to spend that much on it, then keep looking.

It's not about getting your money's worth in wood or joinery or finishing. It /is/ about whether it will do the jobs you intend for it to do. Since dressers are available for considerably less, I'll assume that you want this particular one to do more than "hold stuff" - to please a loved one, impress visitors, satisfy your own sense of aesthetics...

The bottom line is that it's "worth it" if you decide so - no matter what I or anyone else might say.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Robatoy]

Not that The Swingman needs anybody to fend for him, as he can turn on the acerbic cut-down machine allll by himself. He may, however, decide not to waste his energy responding to a nobody like yourself. If I was in his shoes, I'd probably ignore you too. But, what-the-hell, I will try to tell you to go f*ck yourself in as nice as way as possible.

I asked for some input, recently, for a project I am undertaking. Many here responded with excellent advice, great ideas.. but only Swingman went through the trouble of going back, through over a decade worth of material, to find a picture and description of a detail which had eluded me up to that point.

The guy is a solid asset to this newsgroup and helps lots of people. I think he's big enough to even help you...after an apology of course. I am wondering if Steve is man enough to apologize. I'm taking bets we'll never hear from that ignorant little prick again.

[Peter Huebner]

Is Ikea really such crap these days? Seriously, I have no idea, they don't have a shop in New Zealand. Back in my student days 30 years ago, we'd hire a VW bus and drive 100 km to the nearest Ikea store because the stuff they were selling was so *good* (all solid, hard, well seasoned pine in those days, and affordable even for students).

But my wife (a fairly recent import from Germany) brought a couple of Ikea chests of drawers with her and they were, indeed, utter junk.

Guess I may have heard that they moved the production from Scandinavia to Asia. Not sure. Hmmm.

-Peter

[Swingman]

Well, we all pretty much agree with that, but it does help that when you give "advice" you're not just parroting a website trying to sell furniture to the Ikea generation, goodness knows there is enough wikiimpediment around here as it is.

BTW, where are the "side gables" on a piece of furniture, and what type of furniture has them?

Thanks for any enlightenment, when you get a chance.

[Swingman]

I don't know about China, but it's my impression that they have succumbed to corporate expansion, with a resultant loss in quality.

SWMBO, who owns and operates a music school primarily for children, has bought a lot of Ikea down through the years, and guess who gets to put it together. :)

Assembly has recently become a real PITA on many items and that fact is probably a fair indication that things aren't what they used to be. On their behalf, occasionally I'm surprised ... mostly on the older designed stuff they've been selling for years.

As you well know, furniture "quality" is relative if you've never experienced a difference. Until you've experienced a well made custom kitchen cabinet, with the boxes put together the right way and made with the best materials available, the KitchenMaid stuff at the BORG's looks pretty damn good.

[Robatoy]

Up here in Canuckistan, gables are usually green...and made by Anne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (too obscure for my friends down south?)

[Morris Dovey]

Robatoy wrote: | On May 20, 12:29 pm, "Swingman" wrote: | || || BTW, where are the "side gables" on a piece of furniture, and what || type of furniture has them? | | Up here in Canuckistan, gables are usually green...and made by Anne.

| (too obscure for my friends down south?)

Nope - the story has even become a public broadcasting favorite in the USA. It's too universal to be obscure outside Canuckistan.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[CW]

Yes.

[Morris Dovey]

Oops! I spoke too soon. Anne is Anne Shirly, the central character in "Anne of Green Gables" (set in Nova Scotia in the early 1900's).

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Robatoy]

I took this picture of Anne's house a couple of years ago. My daughter wanted to visit it. Nothing like some wholesome fiction in an actual, historic setting.

I didn't think the likes of CW would 'get it'.

[Robatoy]

It would help if I posted the link:

[Peter Ashby]

Hmmm, wonder what the spot at the top of that syle covers and looks very much like the piece has no back.

Peter

[Morris Dovey]

| I took this picture of Anne's house a couple of years ago. My | daughter wanted to visit it. | Nothing like some wholesome fiction in an actual, historic setting.

Yuppers. Looks almost too pretty to be real.

| I didn't think the likes of CW would 'get it'.

I probably wouldn't have gotten it either if my (then) little sister hadn't so enjoyed being read to. (Wish I'd known about "The Chronicles of Narnia" back then - I think she'd have really enjoyed it.)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Mark Jerde]

I know what you mean. I didn't hear about them until I was in college. I read all 7 books in two days.

I envy people who haven't read them before. They have the "Joy of the First Reading" awaiting them.

I feel the same way about the "A Wrinkle In Time" series. I fell head-over-heels in love with a fictional character. ;-)

-- Mark

[Robatoy]

Don't tell anybody, but I have a thing for Princess Fiona (Shrek)