'Oak" from China

[Dave Norris]

Hi Everyone,
Just had occasion to have a contractor buy some 6 panel oak doors at a box store. Upon inspection, I refused them for my house as the veneer etc. was chipped and they were just overall not the quality necessary. The grain itself didn't seem right for oak, particularly to match all the American red oak we had used elsewhere throughout the house.

The label on the doors said made in China and called the doors "Promotional Oak". Is that code for "Not Really Oak"? Is the 'oak' that comes on such things really genuine oak?


Just curious...

[Tom Walz]

Personally I think you have good reason to be suspicious. (Check into “Chinese particleboard” and “Chinese drywall” for reasons why.)

I just ordered a Chinese hiking staff blank that was listed as “wax wood” and also “white oak”. I have very little idea what I will be getting. For $15 it seemed worth a shot.

tom

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Everyone,
Just had occasion to have a contractor buy some 6 panel oak doors at a box store. Upon inspection, I refused them for my house as the veneer etc. was chipped and they were just overall not the quality necessary. The grain itself didn't seem right for oak, particularly to match all the American red oak we had used elsewhere throughout the house.

The label on the doors said made in China and called the doors "Promotional Oak". Is that code for "Not Really Oak"? Is the 'oak' that comes on such things really genuine oak?


Just curious...

Hi Dave, a year ago I purchased some melamine coated particle board from one of the big box stores.

The melamine chipped on the top surface during cutting, and the board itself didn't seem very solid near the middle.

It turns out that the store had stopped selling the normal material and was selling a "promotional grade" of sheet goods (marked as such on the edge of the sheet).

I had to take it all back, obtain a refund and go buy material elsewhere.

Maybe "promotional" is the new euphemism for cheap, in the true meaning of that word.

Regards, Rod.

[Mike Circo]

For $15 it seemed worth a shot.

tom


That right there is the problem for the consumer and the business model for the vendors. All they have to do is fool a lot of people one time and they've got enough money to retire. As long as consumers accept "Good enough for $xx" then this problem will never go away.

** Stepping down from my soapbox now ***

[Myk Rian]

Maybe it's time to start a "Promotional campaign" to get the boxes to buy USA made products. I wouldn't mind paying the price if it was good stock we were buying. Everybody sending an e-mail to the companies headquarters might get noticed by them.
Damn, my soapbox just broke. Must've been made of Chinese wood.

[Greg Portland]

That is exactly what "promotional" means. It allows the store owner to advertise a very low price to bring people into the store.

I've been finding recently that it is easier to veneer my own panels. I get a known thickness and quality of veneer and I can place it on high quality substrate (Appleply, etc.). For doors you could do the same but you'd need a large vacuum press setup.

[Glenn Vaughn]

It appears that "Promotional" is an indication of something that is of the lowest grade - suitable for give-away items. I found the following on a carpet website (could not find a reference for wood).

"Promotional Grade carpet is a generic term used by carpet manufacturers to describe carpet sold at a substantial discount to their normal price. The carpet is sold through the mills' promotional goods department and usually does not have a warranty. "

[dan sherman]

Crap is crap no matter what country it comes from. The US. makes just as much crap as any other country, ours just costs more.


Maybe it's time to start a "Promotional campaign" to get the boxes to buy USA made products. I wouldn't mind paying the price if it was good stock we were buying. Everybody sending an e-mail to the companies headquarters might get noticed by them.
Damn, my soapbox just broke. Must've been made of Chinese wood.

[Rob Woodman]

Some years ago M**** International (then a big UK timber importer) had a shipment of plywood arrive and they could not translate the delivery note or invoice name for the species of timber used.
After much research and the assistance of an expert in native South American languages, it was transcribed as " big tree that looks like it could be mahogany".:eek:

Maybe this is also a confusion in translation, like, "looks a bit like oak in that photocopied brochure that we borrowed from "X" so name it Sham Oak":D

N.B. The **** is because they may not like non-employees knowing about it, although this ex-employee does and still finds it funny.;)