Solid wood furniture, due to its generally high price, is a symbol of class and identity for many consumers. However, now many consumers cannot distinguish between solid wood furniture and regular panel furniture, nor do they know how to select truly high-quality solid wood furniture. In fact, experts tell us that as long as the following ten steps are followed, everything will become very simple.
1. Determine if the furniture is really made of solid wood.
A secret to identifying solid wood furniture is: wood grain and knots. For example, if a cabinet door has a certain pattern on the outside, then at the corresponding position of this pattern change, check the corresponding pattern on the back of the cabinet door. If they correspond well, then it is a pure solid wood cabinet door. Also, checking the knots is a good way to identify pure wood: look at the location of the scars on one side, and then find the corresponding pattern on the other side.
2. Inspect the joints.
It is advisable to choose furniture that uses dovetail or butterfly joints. Heavier furniture should have corner blocks secured with screws, and glued properly. As for the back panel section, it must also be checked whether it is properly inlaid and screwed.
3. Observe if there are any defects in the wood.
The main load-bearing parts of the furniture, such as columns, connecting crossbars near the ground, should not have large knots or cracks, splits. The structure should be sturdy, and the frame should not be loose. Broken mortises and broken materials are not allowed. Any components using plywood should be edge-sealed, and all fittings must be installed without missing pieces, missing nails, or protruding nails.
4. Determine what type of wood the solid wood is made from.
This directly affects the price and quality. Common solid wood furniture usually uses beech, white oak, ash, elm, beech, rubber wood, and oak, while valuable redwood furniture mainly uses rosewood, chicken wing wood, and sandalwood. The market for solid wood furniture can be chaotic, often resulting in inferior products being passed off as better ones or tree species being confused. It's best to buy branded products, and note that the price of timber is increasingly rising, so anything too cheap is likely to be fraudulent.
5. Check stability and safety.
Observe if there is any tilting of drawers or door frames, and if there are any low-quality craftsmanship issues like skewed mortise positions, oversized holes, or loose joints. Wooden furniture must possess safety and stability. When two cabinet doors are opened 90 degrees, lightly push forward, and the cabinet body should not automatically tilt forward; glass on bookcase doors should be beveled; mirrors and dressing tables should have back panels installed, and the strips should secure the glass surface. Certain parts of the furniture (such as legs, drawers, cabinet doors, or supports) must have sufficient load-bearing capacity. You should gently push the upper corners of the furniture or sit on one side to test its stability.
6. Observe the board strength.
Board strength can be tested by pressing with your fingers to feel the firmness of the board. One side of the material should be fixed with a crisscross frame. If the frame is sparse, pressing the surface will feel hollow and unstable, and the panel will shake significantly. Drawer bottoms should be pressed by hand to test their strength. Generally, partition bases use multi-layer boards, and larger partitions should use five-layer boards. Cabinet doors and drawers should open and close smoothly. Panels covered with thin wood and other materials should match the color of the set products, and the surface paint film should not wrinkle, stick, or miss spots.
7. Check the slide tracks and latches of the drawers.
Drawers should be solid and sturdy, with internal screws tightened. Try pulling out the drawers, moving tabletops, cabinet doors, etc., ensuring smooth operation and correct connections.
8. Observe the quality of the wood.
Open the cabinet doors and drawers of the furniture, and observe if the wood is dry, white, with a tight and fine texture. If the furniture is made using particleboard, density board, or molded boards, open the cabinet doors or drawers and smell for any strong odors.
9. Turn the furniture over.
Turn chairs and cushioned furniture upside down and see how they are constructed. For tables, inspect from the bottom. Check if the joints are reinforced with screws and wedges, if the planks and crossbars are tightly connected, and if there is any excess glue or filler in the seams.
10. Inspect the surface.
Place your hand on the surface of the furniture and carefully check if the polished surface is smooth. Pay special attention to avoiding rough edges on table legs, etc., and ensure there are no brush marks, thick coatings, or cracks or bubbles in the paint on the corners. (Editor: Tian Tian)