IKEA oak veneer table "MÖCKELBY"
Tagged: IKEA, oak, sustainability, table
- This topic has 6 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 4 months ago by Jim Braun.
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I just came back from IKEA, where I was able to have a look at the oak dining table they offer (see https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/tables/dining-tables/möckelby-table-oak-art-00293772/).
It’s materials are described as “Particleboard, Thick oak veneer, Oil-acrylic”.
It’s a good looking table, no question and they took some care to give the impression of massive wood by glueing end grain block at the ends, not side grain veneer.
I do have some reservation regarding the longevity of the table. One thing in particular stood out, which is the faux wedges. It’s a block which is fixed to the legs with two dowels, I can tell, because it was broken on the table on display.
It’s a sad thing to see that people will buy this table and it will probably be trash in under 10 years. Not such a good environmental choice as advertised, in my opinion. So while we may not be able to produce a real wood table for a comparable price tag, if we do, we can be sure it can last a lot longer and give us some peace of mind.
Best regards,
DavidHello David,
<irony>did you lose a bet or was it just “force majeure” that you had to visit IKEA*?</irony>
IKEA is in the mass market, where stable and more or less isotropic materials are required for the highly automated production processes. So I’m not surprised that plastic wood imitation foil is used more and more, even to simulate structural composite lumber (eg. beech). That Möckelby veneer is just a “better” version – maybe an emulation of real wood?
Staircase wit: This typing on an IKEA table, sitting on a matching chair – BUT made of real gum tree wood and real seaweed. 😉
Of course these pieces of furniture are no more in production. Every piece is at least 19 years old and still in a good shape. Only the seaweed fibres look a bit frazzled, but that’s ok after years of withstanding cat claws.E.
* Dass IKEA das Akronym für “Ich Kriege Einen Anfall” ist, ist Dir mit Sicherheit bekannt… 😉
I find the real wood shelves (IVAR, etc) to be bearable and I don’t have the time to make a 220x170x50 shelve with two large cabinets, which we needed.
The veneer is actual oak and it’s not too thin; the surface will not be the first thing to become irreparable with that table would be my guess.
This table in real wood and real joinery would easily cost ten times as much, but it would live at least that much longer and will never have to see a landfill. Should it ever break, it can be repurposed or eventually become firewood.
– David
ikea is what it is, we don’t have to compete with it especially on price, it serves its purpose in the market place just like high end furniture does, where people go wrong though is comparing hand made joinery to mass produced furniture and expecting the price to be similar.
Shortly before I got married (26 years ago) my bride to be and I did the IKEA pilgrimage and stocked our new home with what pieces of their furniture we could afford. Back in those days, they were still using real wood so several pieces of the furniture still survive to this day despite a house move and children growing up and abusing them. Having recently had cause to visit IKEA again, I was surprised and saddened at the way the furniture is now constructed. I see little hope of the materials being fit for anything other than the chipper and the furnace after a few years.
The original Ivar Pine shelves we purchased all those years ago did eventually need to be repurposed after the incident involving my daughter, a permanent marker pen and a crush on Harry Styles. They became my first Paul Sellers Tool Chest which is still in use now after 5 or so years.
There are still three or four shelves in my workshop waiting for the time that I decide they can become something new.24 December 2018 at 2:44 pm #554095I just bought an old-looking Ikea table (the low square kind you’d put a lamp on next to a sofa) for the equivalent of about £9. It’s solid pine with turned legs and really not that badly made.
The thin (acrylic?) finish sanded off quite easily and I ended up with something that doesn’t look too unlike an antique (if you don’t look at it that closely!) lol
Not a bad purchase IMO.
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