On 18 Aug, 15:21, Jules
wrote:
On Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:02:22 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
I suspect that to all intents and purposes well-built furniture is a thing
of the past; it doesn't matter (for the majority of mere mortals) how much
money is thrown at the problem - it's still stuff that looks nice but
doesn't last.

You just have to know where to look. Bags of incredible quality oak
stuff made in west of england and wales..and in fact all over

Yeah, maybe that's it, and a round trip of a day or more is needed to go
to the right places because they just believe in folk coming to them
rather than the other way around.

Spend a larger fortune and get something excellent. A good dining table
in oak or mahogany (or whatever the sustainable alternative is these
days) *is over a grand. Mebbe £2k-£3k

:-) *It was something like that (although in $ rather than £, but I find
there tends to be a 1:1 mapping between the numbers for higher value
stuff). I'll have to have a look and see what the wood is - I've no
problem with the finish, it's just that the underlying construction seems
a bit on the weedy side and I suspect problems will arise after only a
few years (rather than the several decades or more that I'd like
furniture to last without repair)

(I'm starting to regret not getting a coffee table with a protective glass
surface though, but so far finding someone who can cut the right kind of
glass to fit and round off the edges is proviving difficult)

Go to a place that does mirrors. They are often supplied with ground
and polished edges and
can be very large. I'm sure they could make a "mirror" without the
reflective backing.
Not sure if you need toughened glass though - maybe that's the issue.

Simon.