[mattbrewsbytes]

Things to try and identify better quality:

* Look for signs of veneers. A veneer is a very thin piece of wood glued to the surface of particle board or plywood. If a piece of used furniture has some wear spots it should be easy to see if the wood beneath the wear is the same (fibers/grain of wood follow the top) or different.

* Another sign of veneers is large spans width wise that are the same grain pattern. Grain pattern follows how a tree grows and they peel veneers from a tree like you would peel the skin off an apple. A kitchen table width of like 30 inches that appears from one side to another with the same grain pattern might be a veneer. A solid wood table will likely have different boards laminated side-by-side to get a 30 inch width.

* Look at the joinery of drawers or doors. Joinery is where 2 pieces of wood are, well, joined together. If you find a piece with dovetails that is good - search online for dovetail joint for examples. It could be machined which is fine, its just a stronger joint. If you see nails/screws that indicates less craftsmanship.

* Look at the bottom or back and/or bottom/back of drawers for markings from the builder of the furniture. Look the name up online, it could be a manufacturer name.

[rdtwo]

Even modern high end furniture is often veneer. The reason for this is manufactured lumber (plywood) is dimensionaly stable and won’t shrink/expand with the seasons. That can allow for more unusual shapes better finish with fewer gaps. Also you can have finish with more exotic wood like teak that’s simply not available in quantity anymore.