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Thread: Elijah Slocum and other fine furniture

  1. #1
    Texanatheart Guest

    Default Elijah Slocum and other fine furniture

    Hi! I am interested in well made English style furniture. I read the assessment Mr. Collie make on Councill. I would like to buy furniture for a new dining room. And I would like things that are beautiful and well made, particularly the chairs which today seem to be so poorly made and can only handle about 100 lbs. (All my male relatives are in the 200 lb. range :-)

    Some furniture is handmade like Elijah Slocum but you have to go through a designer and pay a huge upcharge. What about Elijah Slocum? What about all this designer furniture that you see in the magazines and can only buy through a designer? I'm not sure it's very well made and so so expensive for what you get....but maybe I'm mistaken.

    What manufacturer would you recommend for case goods? What about Mr. Buchanan?

    Thank you.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Elijah Slocum and other fine furniture

    I think we may have spoke on the phone today?

    Chairs are extremely hard to make and do well, that makes them costly. They use large pieces of stock typically 8/4 or even 12/4 instead of common 4/4. Also almost all angles are compound joints which adds considerably to layout and build expense. Do do them right means mortise and tenon construction. Quite frankly most people don't want to pay the price for a properly made chair, which is why you see so few of them.

    To give you an idea of costs, here's one of the wood suppliers my cabinentmakers use. Look at the prices for raw wood!

    http://www.irionlumber.com/index.php?page=maple-sets

    John Buchanan is a custom builder, he can do most anything to a very high level, but he is slow to complete.

    Here are probably the best builders/finishers on the East Coast. These are the guys the big auction houses use when they want to make a copy of a priceless antique. Too rich for my clientele - with 6 figure orders but its done right:

    http://www.andersenandstauffer.com

    And here's another:

    http://www.karges.com

    Those will put a big dent in your bank account but if you want the really good stuff.....
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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