Customer Reviews

American Woods 1353 Windsor Collection Loveseat Glider

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I was thrilled to get a glider for my covered front porch.
I am careful to buy American-made and it usually rewards me with long-lasting & well made products.
In this case, the glider began to creak and groan in less than a month.
My husband checked it out and pronounced that the joints were poorly designed and badly connected - many only used glue.
He drilled some additional holes in the seat and base, added stainless screws & bolts, and placed cedar buttons over them.
This was a LOT of work and cost extra money.

In retrospect - I should have looked at the construction closely - and then I would have bought another brand.
I may still do so.

Lesson learned.

This product seemed to be a good value after shopping around. While this glider does glide fairly well (you don't mind a little creaking do you?), we found it confusing to put togther. There are two major concerns however: 1. A year later, the back slats have all separated from the grooves into which they went when first put together. Trust me, they're not ever going back from whence they came. 2. It annoyed me that not much longer after I purchased this (at a sale price); it appeared at a much lower price. My advice is if you don't need it right away, keep checking the pricing to get the best buy. This glider gets the job done, but don't kid yourself into thinking it's going to provide you with years of gliding pleasure.

The instructions for putting the glider together were poor at best. As for the quality of the glider for the price you pay, well you get exactly what you pay for, this glider is not a bargan... It is made from small remenants of redwood dovetail jointed and glued together. Mine arrived in good condition and I was able to assemble it in about 1-1/2 hours. It glides quietly but it feels cheep. Could have used more sanding the finish in some areas is rough. Cushions are a must at least for the back, it hits you in the wrong place. Just keep all this in mind before you click the purchase button.

We loved the look of this bench and put it on our Amazon wedding registry. When we received it as a gift, we were annoyed that one of the arm units was split at the grain. The company quickly sent us a new one and it then took 2 people several hours to assemble. We put it on our screened-in porch and enjoyed it for a month or so, and then the cracking began. We discovered quickly that the seat slats were made from several pieces of wood fused together and then veneered, thus the source of the creeking and cracking. Shortly after that the back slats all detached from the seat, which made it easy to see that they were put together with glue and a few staples. This beautiful gliding loveseat, assembled in April, is now sitting in our basement in August, waiting to be repaired or thrown out. A huge waste of money that could of been used for a solid wood seat that would last more than a few months.

I bought a table, chairs, Adarondeck chair, side table, and glider, all from the American woods collection. I was amazed at how light it was. It is very hard to put together. The holes don't line up well. The wood is very soft and easily damaged. The table came with a huge scratch and well dented. I spent about 4 hours sanding and re-staining it. The directions are not very clear. If you don't have a lot of experiance in putting together things, I wouldn't attempt it. Be prepared to drill out your own holes for the glider. The glider was the biggest disapointment for me as it is very tiny. I am 5.0, 110lbs and it is not big enough or comfortable to me. The legs on the tables are to short, they look out of proportion. Universal size cusions don't even come close to fitting them! The worst part was that it took over a month for all the pieces to arrive.

Having read other reviews of this glider before I ordered, I felt I was somewhat prepared for what I got. This was not meant to be a piece of fine furniture. The cedar was rough in many places and obviously pieced together from ends and scraps. Instructions say you should plan on sealing your glider within the first year of use. I anticipated that the manufacturer's oil sealer would not be the quality I wanted, so I sanded every part, then applied 3 coats of my own sealer before I ever assembled the glider. I believe I increased both the value and the life-span this way. It went together fairly easily; having a cordless drill helped immeasurably. I am now making cushions for the back, as it is slightly uncomfortable without some kind of padding. Really, I love it now, but it took some work to get it to that point. By the way, I got a much better price than is being offered now. I suggest holding out til spring.

We operate a small unfinished furniture store and thought we would try out this product through Amazon before committing to a minimum order with the wholesaler. This might be a better product for someone who specializes in Garden Decoration, since it is completely not functional. This bench fell apart after just two months of use. The seat collapsed with one of our customers on it. While it *is* made out of red cedar which gives the impression of durability, the slats are quite thin, and the construction is flimsy. This bench comes ready to assemble - have you got a few hours? The finish does not hold up beyond maybe 30 days, and it is now sitting in a heap behind our store, waiting to be thrown out or repaired. Amazon may have sent a replacement if we had taken the time to call - we just got too busy. You would be better off with somthing else, even aluminum construction from Wallyworld is going to be better than this.

I purchased this item during the 50% off clearance sale... For that price, the glider is unbeatable... I did have to reread the instructions a couple of times, but they were clearer than anything I've gotten from IKEA.
Why four stars then? Although all the hardware components were there(a first in my home-assembly furniture experience), I was missing a couple of key pilot holes. The final baseplate sitting on the underside of the seat and the seatback did not have pilot holes to guide me. Typically this isn't an issue, but the pilot holes would have helped me be sure I was putting the baseplate in the correct spot. Also, I had to redrill some of the bolt holes. They just weren't deep enough. Again, it's only a pain when you've already screwed the 4 inch bolt into place and it's 1/4" short of flush.
Remember, this is a cedar bench. It's not teak; it's not mahogany. It's not intended to stand up to heavy duty use. Sit on it carefully. Do not flop down on it, do not let your kids roughhouse on it, and it should do fine.

I would highly discourage anyone from purchasing anything from American Woods. If I could, I would give them a much lower rating than 1 star. I recently purchased a glider from them and it arrived in horrible condition. The wood is splintered, the glider squeaks and creaks. We had to glue a few broken pieces of wood back to the seat itself. WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT!! We bought it for my parents for Christmas. We are college students who tried to get a great gift and spent more than usual only to get a piece of junk.

What a waste! 1. The instructions were so bad, misleading, confusing, wrong part numbers. All the instructions were on a small half sheet of paper. 2. The base was cracked when delivered. This box was packed by the manufacturer not Amazon. 3. The wood used to make this was nothing but scrap. Junk! It had knots in it, sections were pieced together. 4. It cant hold more than one person! It was making a cracking noise when just one person sat on it.

DON'T BUY THIS, DON'T WAIST YOUR MONEY!