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| Overall: |
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3
out of 5
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| Appearance: |
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5
out of 5
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| Workmanship: |
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3
out of 5
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| Value: |
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3
out of 5
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| Very Difficult |
| Easy |
AceEli
Location:
Pewaukee, WI
Age:
60-69
Gender:
male
I have owned this product for:
a month
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Nice Piece, but ...
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Date: April 14, 2009
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"Packaging: The unit arrived in a single very heavy box. Unless you have a furniture dolly, it will take two people to move it from place to place. The components were packed well, surrounded by thick foam blocks and separated by foam sheets. As far as I could tell, none of the wood parts were damaged in shipping, although the shipping box itself was pretty beat up.
Color: The unit matches very closely the color in the on-line catalog, and although it’s referred to as dark oak, it skews toward red. This was OK with us as it coordinates well with our décor. If you’re looking for something more toward the brown end of the spectrum, this color may not be for you. A darker oak color is available.
Finish: The wood components are either solid oak (a few pieces) or oak veneer (most of the other pieces). The veneer is very thin and applied over what looks to be a very high density particle board material. The components are certainly strong enough for their purpose, but I feel the veneer and finish look a bit fragile.
Assembly: All required parts were included in the shipping box, although a couple of the small component bags broke open and I found screws scattered all over inside the box. Assembly instructions were easy to follow, although in a couple places the narrative contradicted the illustration. For example the narrative instructed you to use a numbered screw and the illustration showed a different numbered screw. None of these discrepancies was difficult to resolve.
Most of the large components are assembled with a cam-lock system. While the components are accurately drilled and fit together well, the cam-lock itself is poorly designed. It’s designed to grip and tighten around the head of a post, drawing the components tightly together. In comparing this system to other similar systems I’ve used, this one leaves a lot to be desired. In turning the cam-lock to achieve the tight joint, there’s no real positive feeling that it’s working correctly. The cam-lock appears to be made of a soft metal and tends to distort and twist out of shape, which decreases it’s effectiveness. If it’s turned a degree or two too far, it will break. Fortunately, the manufacturer provides several extra cam-locks, apparently anticipating breakage. Even on those that I was able to tighten without distortion or breakage, I never got the sense that they were very secure. Indeed, after I moved the unit into position, I noticed that one of the cam-locks holding the top of the unit had already come loose, and I had to tighten it again. Cam-locks made of a stronger, less malleable material might perform better.
The other hardware provided is adequate. Some of the screws seem to be small relative to their purpose. For example, the screws holding the hinges to the doors and cabinet are only 12mm long and very thin. I needed to be very careful to not apply too much torque with the screwdriver and strip these screws out of their pre-drilled holes. The back panels of the cabinet add a lot of stiffness to the back of the unit and fit in place very well. Pre-drilled large holes in the center section provide plenty of cable access for audio/video components stored inside the unit. While the back of the unit is very stiff, not so the front. The front has no true face frame, and will rack out of shape if pushed from one corner or when being moved. A properly designed face frame would prevent this.
Overall Impression: The completed unit is a very nice looking piece of furniture, and in terms of style and utility, it’s exactly what we were looking for. That said, we would not buy from this manufacturer again for two reasons; first, because of the difficulty getting the poorly designed cam-lock fastening system to work, and second, because the finished unit is not as sturdy as I think it should be."
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