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February, 2020 The Antique Shoppe Page 19
Some say the name was applied because a maker norm. They mistakenly perceived the additional
of a borax-based laundry detergent offered pieces weight as a sign of quality. In reality, true products
of this cheap furniture as premiums for buying the made of natural wood are not heavy because they
product. Other experts say the name is a corruption contain pockets of air in the grain. Particle board
of a foreign word whose origin is lost in the has no grain and thus no air. And manufacturers did
dustbins of the Depression. The reason for the name everything they could to mislead consumers about
does not matter – it stuck and became a synonym the makeup of their new furniture. They figured out
for cheap. The production of borax furniture that they could claim it was made of genuine “wood
involved painting a smooth grain inexpensive products” because saw dust and shavings are wood.
hardwood cabinet with a background coat of Clever.
caramel colored paint. Then elaborate grain patterns Then came the real modern cabinet material
were rolled or stamped onto the background much and substrate euphemistically called “MDF.” Of
as Harry Sherwood did in the 1880s to make plain course, most people do not know what MDF stand
birch look like quarter sawn oak. for. It stands for medium density fiberboard – in
After the pattern was applied contrasting router The grain pattern on the drawer fronts of this elaborately other words cardboard. A great deal of modern
lines divided drawer panels into sections that decorated chest was rolled and stamped on a painted plain wood furniture is made of MDF because it is inexpensive
created the optical illusion of fancy and expensive background. Dark router lines break up the patterns to make it to make, easy to work with on the factory level
look like separate panels of veneer.
matching veneers. All of this was perfectly legal, The top however it actual mahogany veneer. and is guaranteed to need replacement in less than
and most customers didn’t really know or care one generation. Clever, huh. MDF is the ultimate
about the process or the long-term outlook for the substrate for laying veneer. It is unbelievably
furniture. It wasn’t meant to last that long anyway. smooth and level and telegraphs no grain pattern through microscopically thin
But here we are ninety years later faced with a surprising number of borax sheets of veneer. It is so smooth that it is often painted directly with no veneer
pieces that did somehow survive. So, what’s the problem? None as long as the or other substrate. It is just painted cardboard. It is easily identifiable by the
piece of furniture doesn’t need major restoration. But many an heirloom owner, weight. It is even heavier than particle board and has the same nonresistance to
not to mention the poor refinisher, had a shock when the piece was stripped and water that particleboard has. Only worse.
it turned out to be a plain wood cabinet with no veneer at all, just a cheap piece All of the above completely ignores the plague of plastic and fiberglass
of secondary hardwood. Of course, the industry looked at borax furniture as an “designer” furniture that attempted to devour us in the midcentury and nothing
inexpensive, cost saving method of producing “consumer” quality goods. yet has been said about the other “designer” debacle, the “Early American”
Thirty years later, an entire generation later, the industry did it again. But style, characterized by flag and drum decals and stencils, foisted on an
this time instead of creating a cheap finish they created a cheaper cabinet. They unsuspecting public in the mid to late 1960s but that’s another story.
did this using scrap products like saw dust and shavings glued together and
Send your comments, questions and pictures to me at PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or email them
pressed into composition lumber, called particle board, to replace the industry to me at info@furnituredetective.com
standard lumber core plywood. The earliest example that I know of was Visit Fred’s website www.furnituredetective.com and check out the downloadable “Common Sense
manufactured in 1959 for furniture use. It probably was around before that. Antiques” columns in .pdf format. His book “HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE” is now available for
$18.95 plus $3.00 shipping. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River,
While particle board produced a nice level surface on which to apply FL 34423
veneer it had the unsavory characteristic of swelling and distorting when in Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, “IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE”, ($17.00 + $3.00 S&H)
the presence of water. And once saturated and distorted it cannot be recovered. are also available at the same address. For more information call (800) 387-6377 (9AM-4PM Eastern, M-F
only), fax 352-563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.com.
Particleboard became so commonplace that consumers thought it was the All items are also available directly from the website, www.furnituredetective.com
WILDWOOD • EUSTIS • MOUNT DORA

3Rd geneRation antiques RenningeR’s
301 121 N Bay St. Eustis Hwy 441, Mt. Dora
75 UMATILLA
352-483-4367 19 352-383-8393
1 441
Lake EUSTIS
WILDWOOD Eustis 5 44
44 B S
441
LEESBURG TAVARES MOUNT
Lake Harris DORA
48 6 441
301 27 HOWEY
75 IN THE HILLS
19
33
Lake Apopka
301 19
www.villageantiquemall.com 27
50
Mascotte
FINE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES 50
OPEN 7 Days a Week

Specializing in Antique Clocks 3107 SR 44, Wildwood, FL
SALES • SERVICE 352-748-6255 Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-5
I-75 Exit 329, then go 3 mile east, Just across from Russell Stover
Grandfather Clock House Calls Mount Dora’s Largest Antique Mall Over 100
Fine Watch Repair 12,000 sq.ft. with over 40 dealers Vendors
Visit our Large Showroom
1107 S. Bay Street 405 N. Highland Street
Eustis, FL 32726 Mount Dora, FL 32757 30,000
Sq.Ft.
(352) 357-9150 352.385.0257
Collectibles and an eclectic variety of vintage decor for indoor & outdoors 1
Helen Cipollone-Carden Owner/Clockmaker 6 Victorian, Primitive & Vintage Furniture, Art, Glass, Pottery, China, Books, Toys,
Howard Miller Sales & Service Center 5