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Overseas companies cannot ensure properly dried lumber. Think about it – They build furniture in a tropical environment.
They live in a moist environment. This makes it very difficult to control the moisture content. They dry it the best
they can, assemble it, and hope by the time it gets to America the MC will drop below 19%. If you were to be a fly
on a wall at some of our competition when their furniture from overseas is unloaded off the container – If you were to
read the MC with 2 weeks of it coming off the container you would see the Moisture content of the furniture to be
around 15-25% (That’s right 25% - We have seen it) . The furniture usually comes in right before spring and kept in
a heated warehouse where the furniture has time to dry to 12-15% MC. That’s a huge difference – Lumber shrinks when
it dries - which causes furniture to fall apart. If you ever order a bench or table from someone and it feels heavier
than it looks – Its because it is still wet. A quick story – I was at a Well know flower show in Philadelphia, we had
1 competitor there who imported his furniture from Indonesia. We notice that people were coming from time to time to
our booth and slightly lifting up a 4’ Teak bench we had in our booth. Finally I asked one of the couples what they
were doing and they said our competition said his benches were heavier constructed than ours. I thought that maybe it
was that they were comparing one of our residential benches to their commercial bench. I walked over to their booth during
the show and I noticed it was made similar to ours (not as comfortable looking or well built) but similar is size and
lumber thickness used. After the show was over I went to their booth (when they were gone) and placed my Moisture meter
on the bench they were comparing to ours. (I, of course, saw what I thought... the Moisture meter was off the charts!)
(Normal for most companies that import from Indonesia) Wet lumber weighs more..a lot more. The next day I had a
heated discussion with the sales person from that company – to no avail, they kept on saying their bench was built with
heavier construction.
Overseas companies still use hand tools, to make their furniture. This method is fine for someone making one item in their custom shop but is definitely not a good procedure for production runs in large quantity. There tend to be many mistakes when producing in large quantity using hand tools, simply put…there is no way to ensure each piece is going to be the same. The mortise and tenon joints are mortise and tenon but what you do not know is that the joints are loose and usually filled with glue to compensate for the errors made. When the products are finished and assembled, any parts that are not the correct size are not discarded but instead used and then filled with glue or some other means. When you are looking for products, you want them all the same each time you buy them, not different every time you want to add a piece.
Overseas companies also tend to use the a lower quality epoxy. Using a cheap or in-correct epoxy with less than perfect
joinery - will guarantee failure of any product.
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| BenchSmith™ Teak Furniture 429 Easton
Rd. Warrington,PA 18976 Order Toll Free: (800)482-3327 / Fax Your Order: (215)491-1436 /Customer Service:(800)482-3327 |
| BenchSmith offers the finest collection of teak furniture, teak benches, teak chairs, teak tables, teak steamers, teak rockers, teak custom tables, teak planters, teak cleaners, teak accessories, teak oil, teak outdoor furniture, teak coffee tables, teak companion tables, custom teak furniture, teak adirondack chairs, teak steamer chairs, custom teak tables, umbrellas, cushions, outdoor garden furniture, teak garden furnishings, teak, teak furniture, teak furnishings, outdoor teak garden furniture and so on. |
