Baker funiture, I thought it's high end, but...

I found an antique little side table made by Baker. Looks nice from the picture.

the seller asks $80 for it. I thought it's a good deal since from what I learned, Baker is a really high end furniture maker. So I went ahead to look at it.

It looked nice in person still, but I could see the old looking of it and there are scratches on the top. I didn't went it through in more details as there's no sufficient light in the seller's house to clearly see the detail. And I felt kind of awkward to investigate it in someone's house. It's a baker, and for $80, I couldn't go wrong too much, I think.

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After I returned home, I gave it a thorough clean and polish, which gave me the chance to see all the details. I don't think I went wrong to buy it, but I am quite DISAPPOINTED!

I first noticed that the legs are not a one piece product. the picture below clearly shows that the toe is a glue up.

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When I kept cleaning, I found, oh no, the leg is not just 2 pieces, it's 3 pieces glue up, look at the thigh of the leg, there is a line indicates glue! look the picture.

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Ok, I was quite disappointed at this point. But at least the top of table is a nice two-board construction, I thought.

But, wait a second, as I kept cleaning, I finally noticed, the 2 boards are just VENEER, look at the side of the table, there are clearly multiple boards underneath the veneer. I was totally DISAPPOINTED now, and had no interest in any more cleaning.

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I think I learned a lesson in this furniture hunting. Brand doesn't guarantee quality. It seems that this Baker table is not a poor quality, but really didn't meet my expectations on a high end brand, like Baker.

Anyway, I still want to make my investment (even though it's $80) into a joyable little piece of furniture. I am thinking to refinish it. But can I do it on the veneer, even though the veneer seem thicker than it normally is. and is it really worth to invest my labor into it?

Well, this is the paradox of 'name brand' furniture. Baker has never impressed me - but that's because I deal in real benchmade furniture which my definition means one person builds it start to finish using traditional techniques and methods. I remember going into a store locally about 15 years ago and seeing a Baker Secretary Desk with a $ 68,000 price tag that had plywood drawer bottoms and glue blocks on it. Plus it was all belt sanded. For about half that price I could have had one of my cabinentmakers build the same exact piece properly. A lot of people buy that class of furniture because the salesperson says 'its the best' and because of the high price tag they assume it is. Well, someone is laughing all the way to the bank...and its Baker.

But for $ 80 if the legs are not snapped off the piece you're doing great. Don't put the time into a full refinish, just clean it up - wool it down, put a coat of polish on it and use it! Good find.