Has anyone had any experience with kit furniture from Bartley Collection? A friend has two pieces and has offered me one of them in exchange for assembly and finishing of the other piece. I would get a solid cherry Queen Anne table with a leaf and pedestal and my friend would get a low boy chest.
I’m a little intrigued by the deal but wonder just how good these kits are. I wouldn’t want to keep the table since I don’t care for the style, but would try to sell it.
Right now, I’m wondering if these kits are any good.
Thanks and Happy Holidays to one and all.
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I have an acquaintance who has done about 20 pieces of Bartley Antique Reproduction Kits. He uses Bartley Gel stains as a finish. The kits appear to make nice furniture. Someone with not much equipment or a large shop shop can build a good piece of classic furniture.
The kits come in varied woods such as curly maple, cherry, and mahogany. There can be alot of work to some pieces. Bartley sells kits or they have a finished price. The amount of work can be guessed at by the finished price minus the kit price. They are not likely to be weekend projects. As an example there is a small highboy/silverchest that is $595 as a kit and has a finished price of $1450. My catalog may be quite old.
In the days before I had a shop, my wife and I assembled and finished several pieces. Their kits are extremely high quality and do not require a lot of finishing prep. In our experience all the joinery fit perfectly, there was relatively little finishing prep to do and the Bartley finishes work well. Sounds like a good deal to me.
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