Beautiful products. I purchased, assembled, and finished two dining chairs and the trestle dining table around late 2014, early 2015 (not much free time).
Everything they sent was of high quality stock and craftsmanship; square, level, plumb, and true (and remaining so to this day); and thankfully undamaged. The boards for the table were well matched and joined. Most people would never notice the tabletop wasn't a single piece of stock; even I had to look closely. (Pro tip: it becomes noticeable if you botch the staining ;) The bottles of stain accompanying each item were consistent in color and application. The lengths of chair tape were more than sufficient, though one chair had two smaller rolls that required splicing.
As an amateur finisher the final results aren't going to win any contests, but this is the closest you can get to building your own first-class furniture without going pro, and I'm very happy with the results. You're never going to flatten such a tabletop, for example, without a large and expensive jointer, nor would you ever be able to select, arrange, and join the stock as well as they do without years of experience. You can't really buy such pieces commercially, either, except directly from Shaker Workshops or similar professional shops. In fact, I couldn't find pieces of such authentically Shaker dimensions anywhere, either of whole wood stock or even using cheaper factory-built methods. And in general I've never seen pieces as slender and well-proportioned without the use of metal hardware for strengthening. Most trestle tables of similar design use cross ties to prevent racking, but our table has remained rigid and square. The instructions state that the dining chairs are only meant for 200lbs or less, but to date they've held up without a whimper for much larger guests. I think this is a testament to Shaker Workshops' high quality stock and careful joinery, as the design of Shaker furniture doesn't leave much room for error.
The instructions, particularly for finishing, often only suggest options and general advice. This can feel confusing and a cop-out, but if you get into woodworking you realize that it's because there are no simple answers. Finishing is an art, and preferences vary widely. Anybody giving you simple answers is holding back. But whatever you choose, it'll be fine. For example, whatever type of finish you choose, it'll be better than the spray-on lacquers used in high-volume professional shops--those lacquers are why restaurant tables often feel sticky as they don't hold up well to detergents. Some of the more more elegant finishing options like wax can be high maintenance, but conversely they're much more forgiving and their application and reapplication.
That said, if I had to do another table I would buy a high-quality orbital sander. I mostly sanded everything by hand, using a large sanding block on the larger pieces, and only using a small electric finishing sander for a few passes. I would also choose to use a sanding sealer. If I remember correctly, both of these suggestions were mentioned in the instructions. My staining turned out uneven and a little splotchy (to my eyes, at least), both on the tabletop and especially the outer curves of the trestle feet. In retrospect, more machine sanding and especially a sanding sealer would have helped to compensate for my lack of skill.
Also be very careful of glue seepage. After staining it, I spent one very long and sweaty evening sanding the first chair down to the bare wood once it became clear that uneven sanding and, more importantly, glue seepage resulted in the stain very noticeably not penetrating around the joints. Some woodworkers are adamant about sanding and staining before the glue-up for precisely this reason. I can see why. Such debates are why the instructions don't categorically tell you to do things one way or another. There are tradeoffs that depend on your strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately only through trial & error can you determine which works best for you. But even if you royally screw things up, the pieces are of such high quality, and the authentic Shaker style so unique, that the final product will be head & shoulders above modern, factory-made pieces. I did the chairs before the tabletop, and before the chairs the only finishing work I had ever done was adding some coats of oil-based polyurethane to the cabinet shelving in our new (old) home. (That was the last time I used oil-based anything. I chose water-based polyurethane for the chairs and tabletop to make cleanup easier. Efficient cleanup becomes a very high priority after you realize you need to apply 5, 7, or even 10+ coats with at least a half-day between coats.) read more
