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This product is constructed with unfinished pine wood and may contain knots and different colorations which are characteristic of this type of natural wood. The size listed represents the exterior dimensions of the unit. Please note: The shelves on this unit are constructed of wood slats with a � inch gap between each. Please note: The measurements are approximate and may fluctuate slightly from one unit to the next.
from Los Angeles, CA on 4/18/2007
My biggest complaints are about the quality of the wood used, and the construction of the shelf pieces.
Many of the pieces in the 3 sets I bought were of scrap wood quality. Many of the pieces were warped, cracked/split, splintered, had lots of knots, and/or were a completely different color than the rest of the pieces. I was prepared to do a bit of sanding to prepare the wood for finishing, but what I was not prepared for was having to use a knife to trim off all of the splintered pieces, and glue back on a 10"x1" long splinter that split off one of the pieces. Many of the pieces had edges that had already spilt off before the shelves were packaged, so most of the pieces are missing one or more square edges.
It's a good thing I am staining these a dark color, otherwise the few dark colored pine pieces would really stand out from the rest of the light colored wood.
I was expecting the shelves to be solid pieces, but instead they are built from 3 slats (there is about 1/2 inch space between each slat). I can live with this, but it is not mentioned in the description, and hidden in the picture. This could be a deal-breaker for some people.
The shelf pieces themselves are sloppily constructed. The 3 slats which make up each shelf are held together on each end by another piece of wood running perpendicular to them and joined via the tongue and groove method. This would be fine, except that instead of the tongue and groove pieces fitting together, it looks like they were roughly cut and then pounded into place. This method probably caused much of the splintering on the ends of the shelf pieces, adding to the overall poor quality of these already scrappy pieces of wood.
I definitely do NOT recommend these shelves for anyone. You are better off spending your money elsewhere, or refinishing a piece you pick up off the corner or from a thrift store or a ready-to-assemble piece from a physical store. You may not get fresh cut wood, but at least you won't get wood that any decent craftsman would use to build a fire instead of furniture.
Ok stability. Finish not quite perfect. But is a good value for the price.