Amish Cabinets.

wackman

I recently put a thread up about Ikea cabinets because they cost so much less than what I normally buy but like most of you guys I'm concerned about buying them for a number of reasons.

Well I was talking to my superintendent yesterday asking him what he thinks of them and he said that he used to get all his cabinets custom made by an Amish buddy of his and saved a ton of money plus they were better cabs.

When I asked how much to do my normal kitchen the number he gave me was comparable to the Ikea price, a bit more with shipping but still quite a bit less than I spend now. So now he's getting in touch with him and I'm gonna see if I can make something work.

I might be able to save the money, have a BETTER cabinet and instead of hiding where they came from (Like Ikea) I'll glorify it! "These cabinets were handmade by this Amish guy with no electricity, etc.." I'll make it into a great story and a sales tool.

What do you guys think? Any experience with the Amish? Am I nuts???

Wack

KillerToiletSpider

My dining room set was made in an Amish community in Indiana, the craftsmanship is that of fine furniture makers, only better, because they don't use any clips or screws or bolts to assemble it, everything is doweled and glued.

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Cole

I agree, I have seen some Amish cabinets are they were fantastic!

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Chris Johnson

Look for MD Shunk when your down there, he's got a hat and beard

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neolitic

They make some really fine cabinets back here.
They've got some killer framing crews too!
But they need to hire one "English" to drive the 14 passenger van.

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wackman

Some how I knew he was gonna get worked into this.

Michaeljp86

There is a guy selling sheds built by amish but the amish used a engine powered air compressor and nailguns. The guy said they cant use electricity but can use air tools.

I thought only hand tools, I live not far from the amish and they are always burning their houses down with propane heaters.

wackman

yeah, I think this guys group decided it's not evil to use diesel motors to power their tools.

I guess they can use tractors too but only for farming, not transportation.

Michaeljp86

I would go for it, you can say these were hand crafted by a amish man or some dude in china stapled these together

Susan Betz

I lived in Amish country in Ohio for 12 years. The local Walmart had a hitching post for the horses.

The local Amish furniture makers had a waiting list 12-18 months long.

The local Amish roofers were the best in town.

The local Amish bakers had the best baked goods, and they sold baked goods and quilts from their buggy every Saturday.

The Amish are sharp business men and women. You will get quality but you will not get it cheap. People recognize the "brand" of Amish-made goods.

With that said, I recall seeing baskets at Walmart for about $2 each. The next weekend, I was at a local street fair, and Amish were selling these exact same baskets, with a ribbon around them, for $12. That was one expensive ribbon.

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Michaeljp86

There was a new subdivision going up here and there was 2 amish guys doing a roof. The closest amish comunity is like 50 miles from here. I wonder if the GC would go pick them up and drive them to work. There was no horses around the house and that would be onl long horse ride.

mdshunk

Do not take for granted that the product or service will be quality just because it was made or done by Amish. Generally, the craftsmanship is superior, but there is no guarantee. Man, I've seen some real hack work done by Amish men. Just look over their products and check out their other work before you take for granted that you're getting a superior product or service. "Amish" is almost a brand, to which quality is normally associated. That said, men are still men, and some are much more skilled and educated in their craft than others.

stacker

all i know is what it takes to satisfy an amish women and thats.................................TWO MENONITE!!!

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Michaeljp86

This amish shed I wired was pretty crappy, it was made out of some sort of MDF siding and had exposed edges of the MDF. After it rained the MDF swelled up and I couldnt open the door. This woman payed over $10k for a 10x16 shed.

ksensen

I've got to echo Mdshunk statements. I live in the middle (and I mean the middle) of Amish country here in PA. I live with them and work with them almost everyday. Kind of funny cause most people from out of town automatically associate Amish with "quality" here where I live unfortunately we usually associate "Amish made" with somewhat inferior quality. When we say something is "amish rigged" it is not a complement!-- This is not intended as a slam on the Amish people- I have some very close friends in the Amish community. But the are shrewd businessmen and pragmatic to a fault. There are some great Amish cabinet makers but there are some really crappy ones too.-- And by the way nothing is hand made. There ain't a power tool made that they don't either convert to run on air or just run off a big ol generator. - Just do your homework and check out each one. They generally are cheaper cause they don't have half the overhead we do, but you have to be careful.

Chris Johnson

Don't worry, I don't think too many have access to the computer to read or google that statement.

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wackman

This particular guy is good, because my super is good, and he says the guys good.

That's enough for me.

Plus they've been buddies for 20 years and has bought cabinets from him as recently as 6 months ago. Showed me some pictures today and it looks nice.

I get a headache thinking about how they view the world, it just makes no sense to me, but to each their own.

Wack

mdshunk

Don't be so sure. If I was to stroll into my local library any time of the day, the internet computers at the library are filled with the Amish checking their email and other such things on the down-low.

Chris Johnson

Is that considered out of site out of mind or does Hollywood just have me fooled?

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Michaeljp86

I seen a amish woman on her front porch watching a small TV.

Isnt that a sin for them? I also noticed they like new shoes. I never seen one with old shoes on.

Hey Isaiah, check out my new air jordans