Amish Furniture Making Techniques
They say that the Amish use furniture making techniques that have remained largely unchanged for ages, so that you have Amish mission furniture being made the same way today that it was made a long time ago. Well, what they say is correct! Because a long time ago the Amish developed and perfected the art of furniture making which worked so well, that simply put there was no need whatsoever to change it! If they have made Amish furniture the same way for so many years, the reason is that their way works just as well. Even now!
Selecting the Wood and the Quarter-sawn Milling Technique:
The first step to making beautiful, quintessential Amish style of furniture, is the selection of the raw material; in this case being solid wood. After all if you want to make great juice you have to start with great oranges!
High quality hardwood such as oak is selected because of its resistance to moisture, decay and splitting or cracking. Then the quarter sawn milling technique is used to cut the wood. It is a time consuming and painstaking but superior method of sawing the wood. Once the wood is cut precisely according to the specifications, then it is seasoned using an open air shelter. After this it is kiln dried.
The Method of Construction is Legendary:
There are several unique features of the way that the Amish make their furniture. After seasoning and kiln drying the wood, the right kind of wood of the correct size for the piece of furniture desired is chosen. Then they start to hand craft the furniture using techniques literally handed down over generations.
The famous dovetail joinery is used for making the furniture. Typically half blind or wood glue would be used here. There is also use made of mortise and tenon joinery which are techniques used to fuse together pieces of wood seamlessly together without the use of nails and screws. It is said that these techniques of wood working, go back literally ages and evidence of these have been found from ancient Egypt and China as well.
It is this unique joinery because of which each cabinet door fits perfectly and that each drawer closes seamlessly!
Perfect Finishing:
And then there is the finishing. Each part of the item of furniture, be it Amish bedroom furniture or Amish outdoor furniture, is made with complete precision so that things not only fit perfectly now, but continue to do so for a lifetime. The finishing involves sanding and polishing by hand; which is why it retains that sheen for so long.
This is furniture making that uses no short cuts; which makes sure that things are done the old fashioned way; the right way and in a way that lasts. So if they call this furniture heirloom furniture then they are not wrong. Because quite literally this is the sort of furniture that is likely to outlive the buyer whose heirs can then enjoy it!
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