Amish cabinet makers

[Den Socling]

Patti is having new kitchen cabinets made. After looking for months, she decided on an Amish shop because of both price and craftsmanship. I went with her today for my first visit. Naturally, there are no lights and definitely no autoCAD.


 
One of the kitchen displays had only one skylight and my phone did a pretty crummy job of showing the skills these guys have.


 
One nice piece had a radius in the front. Not cheap either.


 
This was a really nice table and chairs. I should have moved Patti's stuff.


 
I'm really disappointed in the quality of this picture. It doesn't do justice for the front on the right. It looked like they had brushed it with a stiff metal brush then cut out the raised panels.


 
Finally there was this. I picked it up but couldn't make heads or tails of it. Jonas said it was engineered veneer.


 

[Dave Shepard]

We that a gas lamp over the drafting table?

[thecfarm]

What the gas lamp is,it's a 20 pound propane gas tank enclosed in a wooden box on casters. It can be rolled to where you want the light.Or at least that is what I have seen.

[low_48]

I've heard it called reconstituted veneer.

Reconstituted Veneer

Reconstituted veneer is a man-made product using a wood commonly called "obeche". These veneers are systematically dyed to mimic the look of their real wood counterparts. The beauty of this type of veneer is its outstanding color and grain consistency from sheet to sheet. Reconstituted wood veneers are defect-free and identical from one sheet to another when purchased together, making them a great option for projects where consistency is critical.

[Den Socling]

You're right. A crazy amount of work goes into making the stuff. It's too "busy" for my taste. Maybe a little bit worked in would look nice.

[Just Me]

 There is something fishy in the Amish woodpile.

When I go to trade shows those guys are there and they are buying tools that do not work off grid, computerized stuff like CNC's, beam saws, etc. . Not to say that this particular shop is not off grid, but I know they are not all off grid. I know of one that has a shop that the public is welcome in and a separate shop in a remote location that is running parts on modern machinery.

Amish does not automatically mean good quality either. One of the houses I designed and built had an addition put on by an Amish crew as I could not make time and I was appalled at what they did to my creation. Poor design and terrible craftsmanship.

That veneer looks like Zebrawood. I have had a Zebrawood plank here for 20 years and can never find a place where it works, just like you say, so busy.

[Den Socling]

Something fishy to say the least. Many years ago, I was selling metal detectors. I got a call from an Amish mill that wanted one. I walked into their office that had no electronics and did have gas lights. There wasn't a soul around. I walked through and went out a back door and found a small building. I went in and it was packed with computers, phones, 2-way radios and everything else. That's where everybody was.

Another time I sold a vacuum kiln to an Amish mill. When we arrived with the kiln (almost 29,000lbs) They had a small room with three walls attached to the back of the mill. When the crane had the kiln lowered into this new room, a bunch of Amish got above and built a roof over it. What vacuum kiln? We don't see any vacuum kiln.

Here it is.


 

They had an "Englishman" out front. It has since been sold to a major baseball bat company.

[21incher]

We have Amish cabinet builders in our area also. I think that that they are allowed to have some technology now as long as there are no lines connected to the house. We also have many Mennonite families in the area and they dress like Amish, but have black cars and electricity. They are all hard working people.

[SlowJoeCrow]

There are many different orders of Amish and Mennonite where I live and they are allowed to do different things depending which order they are.  Even in the order, a lot of time it is up to the Bishop of that community to say what is allowed.  I used to do a lot of agricultural excavating and we did some work for some local Amish.  They were not allowed to have rubber wheels on their farm so they had to pay us a lot more money to bring a tracked excavator in to do what a rubber tired backhoe could have done!  Some are very strict, some not so much.

[thecfarm]

SlowJoeCrow,I have no idea if you are close to Holmes County,OH or not. I have been there,I think about 10 years ago. The Amish there was still putting hay in loose and using equipment that is on display on people's lawns in this area.
We have also been to Lancaster County,PA. They was using equipment that I see in use around here by farmers. They would pull it with a forecart with a diesel motor on it.

[SwampDonkey]

We also have many Mennonite families in the area and they ....... have .... cars and electricity. They are all hard working people.

Where I live, you would have to wonder how they feed themselves. Then all the sudden a new house appears. 10-50 acre sized fields growing up wild, aspens and cherries growing in from the woods. Once 400 acres that your neighbor used to farm for 2 generations, only farming 1/4 of it. Little garden the size of a porch. Raspberry and rubarb not tended in years with burdock taking over. Apple trees that never produce. A big green house or two growing lettuce and spinach, but not in mid winter. Never a soul to be seen during daylight hours. Go to the field for an hour and disappear the rest of the day.

[ToddsPoint]

Our local Amish can now have rubber tires and also cell phones.  They are still not allowed to have zippers on their clothing.  Go figure!  I had the local Amish build all my bedroom furniture, a coffee table and a gun cabinet.  They roofed my house with metal, re-roofed and re-sided my barn in metal and built an extension on the barn.  Hands down, best craftsmen around this area.  Not cheap!  I like the Amish except for one thing.  In times of war, they will not serve or fight.  Their freedom IS free.  Gary

[IndianaJoe]

Around here combustion engines, and electricity and all that go with it bring money into the church.  So bishop say O.K.

[Delawhere Jack]

The Amish have realized that they must adopt new technologies or they will not be able to compete. Generally they keep these away from their homes.

I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to speak with the sawyer at Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford PA, an Amish man named John Beiler. He had engineered the installation of their 68" (?) throat vertical bandsaw mill. It uses state of the art control systems, and very cleverly engineered custom bands that he collaborated on designing. He has a diesel pickup and an LT70, but they stay at the Hearne property, not at his home.

He's a very smart and talented guy.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

I visited a menonite or Amish cabinet shop a couple years ago, they drove tractors everywhere. But their shop had large professional electric equipment and I was at first puzzled because of the lack of power lines in the area. But then they fired up their big diesel generator. Mystery solved :D

I believe their home was non electric but just their fancy wood shop had full power from the generator.

[SlowJoeCrow]

Cfarm,

Yep I grew up in Wayne County, an adjoining county to Holmes, I am not far at all from there.  We have a lot of Amish all over Ohio, and all the ones that I know are very hard workers.

[SwampDonkey]

My uncle only farmed with horses, wagons and horse drawn sleds. Never had a car until his early 30's. But it was not a living to support a family on. He lived at home with my grandparents. My grandfather was not a farmer, he was a woods guide and lumberman and more on the guide end of things. He had several camps.