Get your Shelves and Drawers here!

[ZaneG]

This guy sure seems great to deal with.

 

[JustinThyme]

Stopped by John's today, just to check and see for myself. He is the real deal. A very nice and knowledgable retired tool maker, anyone who has been around most tool makers know how picky and accurate they are in their workings. Had 30 minutes and chatted for 1 3/4 hours. John is great, has a neat, organized shop and takes great pride in his work. He is retired and this is what he does to keep occupied. I ordered and received just last week a set of 5 drawers and 2 shelves from Forest at wineadors. Web site said to expect 5 week wait, so after a ten week wait emailed him to see if something was wrong, immediate reply was shipping out tomorrow, two weeks later I received shipping notice and than waited for product to come and when it got here it wasn't what I ordered. I ordered and paid immediately for vented drawers and they weren't. Took another set of emails to get refund for work not done, and had to vent the drawers myself. I compared the wineador product to John's today and there is a noticeable difference. The quality of John's work is so much better. I ordered 4 drawers and 2 shelves and almost fell over when John said that where I was at the bottom of the list that I wouldn't get my stuff till early Oct. He informed me that with such concern that I just had to laugh having just spent 3 months dealing with Forrest at Winedors. Another plus is John is within 5 blocks of my Golf course (a real problem to pick up the finished goods). John was such a nice guy, I plan on, and have an open invite just to stop by and exchange yarns of the old days. Sorry for being so winded but dealing with a real person in email, phone and in person beats the hell out of canned email responses and failed promises and I just am excited and thought someone else might like to know.

Thanks for the feedback. Im about tempted to order up a set of Johns stuff and put the Forrest GARBAGE up for sale. I was tweaked myself when I paid extra to Forrest for "rush" service that was guaranteed to ship in two weeks. The only rush I got was a rush in the assembly of my order. Very shoddy craftsmanship and they must have a severe shortage of sand paper in Idaho as every thing was rough including the Padauk fronts that I had to strip, sand and redo myself. The handles were missing as were the dividers. Every time I got any communication it was one excuse after another of why my order wasn't filled, then like you "Its shipping tomorrow!" tat turned into a tracking number 2 weeks later and shipped via THE WORST SHIPPING MEANS POSSIBLE, FEDEX GROUND! Took a week to get to the east coast then several days of "Out for delivery" as FedEx ground are all sub contractors that are allowed to deliver when they feel like it. Bottom line is I will never order from Forrest again and will never point anyone in that direction.

 

[ENV]

Stopped by John's today, just to check and see for myself. He is the real deal. A very nice and knowledgable retired tool maker, anyone who has been around most tool makers know how picky and accurate they are in their workings. Had 30 minutes and chatted for 1 3/4 hours. John is great, has a neat, organized shop and takes great pride in his work. He is retired and this is what he does to keep occupied. I ordered and received just last week a set of 5 drawers and 2 shelves from Forest at wineadors. Web site said to expect 5 week wait, so after a ten week wait emailed him to see if something was wrong, immediate reply was shipping out tomorrow, two weeks later I received shipping notice and than waited for product to come and when it got here it wasn't what I ordered. I ordered and paid immediately for vented drawers and they weren't. Took another set of emails to get refund for work not done, and had to vent the drawers myself. I compared the wineador product to John's today and there is a noticeable difference. The quality of John's work is so much better. I ordered 4 drawers and 2 shelves and almost fell over when John said that where I was at the bottom of the list that I wouldn't get my stuff till early Oct. He informed me that with such concern that I just had to laugh having just spent 3 months dealing with Forrest at Winedors. Another plus is John is within 5 blocks of my Golf course (a real problem to pick up the finished goods). John was such a nice guy, I plan on, and have an open invite just to stop by and exchange yarns of the old days. Sorry for being so winded but dealing with a real person in email, phone and in person beats the hell out of canned email responses and failed promises and I just am excited and thought someone else might like to know.

Thanks for the feedback. Im about tempted to order up a set of Johns stuff and put the Forrest GARBAGE up for sale. I was tweaked myself when I paid extra to Forrest for "rush" service that was guaranteed to ship in two weeks. The only rush I got was a rush in the assembly of my order. Very shoddy craftsmanship and they must have a severe shortage of sand paper in Idaho as every thing was rough including the Padauk fronts that I had to strip, sand and redo myself. The handles were missing as were the dividers. Every time I got any communication it was one excuse after another of why my order wasn't filled, then like you "Its shipping tomorrow!" tat turned into a tracking number 2 weeks later and shipped via THE WORST SHIPPING MEANS POSSIBLE, FEDEX GROUND! Took a week to get to the east coast then several days of "Out for delivery" as FedEx ground are all sub contractors that are allowed to deliver when they feel like it. Bottom line is I will never order from Forrest again and will never point anyone in that direction.

Let me know what you would sell the Forrest stuff for. I may be ordering from John but if the price is right for whatever quality Forrest sent you I may take it

 

[JustinThyme]

Ill definitely hit you up when the bridge is in front of me. We are not far away either. I have a set for a 280E 5 Drawers and 1 shelf.

This is after refinishing the fronts, sanding the rest and buying hardware that never came.

 

[ENV]

Ill definitely hit you up when the bridge is in front of me. We are not far away either. I have a set for a 280E 5 Drawers and 1 shelf.

This is after refinishing the fronts, sanding the rest and buying hardware that never came.

I have a 281e I believe. If they fit

 

[thrasher66]

Ill definitely hit you up when the bridge is in front of me. We are not far away either. I have a set for a 280E 5 Drawers and 1 shelf.

This is after refinishing the fronts, sanding the rest and buying hardware that never came.

Wow that looks nice. Makes me wonder if at some point I may want to finish the new shelves I have coming from John this month. Couple questions if I could. Did you only add the finish because the fronts originally looked like crap or was your goal to add to the shelves aesthetically? Did refinishing the fronts take away from the cedar characteristics of the shelves which is why we get them in the first place (ie: the cedar smell)? Apologies if these are dumb questions. But I am a noob just setting up my 280 and had never considered adding finish to the front. Any input you could add would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JustinThyme]

Ill definitely hit you up when the bridge is in front of me. We are not far away either. I have a set for a 280E 5 Drawers and 1 shelf.

This is after refinishing the fronts, sanding the rest and buying hardware that never came.

I have a 281e I believe. If they fit

Yes they fit. The only difference with the 281E is they have twice as many slots so you could get lower profile drawers if you wanted to but those drawers are only like 1.5 inches deep, not enough for two rows unless they are small RG.

Ill definitely hit you up when the bridge is in front of me. We are not far away either. I have a set for a 280E 5 Drawers and 1 shelf.

This is after refinishing the fronts, sanding the rest and buying hardware that never came.

Wow that looks nice. Makes me wonder if at some point I may want to finish the new shelves I have coming from John this month. Couple questions if I could. Did you only add the finish because the fronts originally looked like crap or was your goal to add to the shelves aesthetically? Did refinishing the fronts take away from the cedar characteristics of the shelves which is why we get them in the first place (ie: the cedar smell)? Apologies if these are dumb questions. But I am a noob just setting up my 280 and had never considered adding finish to the front. Any input you could add would be appreciated. Thanks.

That,s actually the natural color of the wood with water based food grade clear coat. I paid the extra $$ for African Padauk fronts because out of what was offered that wood color came the closest to matching my matured brazilian cherry hardwood floors. Not spot on but at casual glance they blend right in! There are non VOC stains out there as well if you wanted to add color to the Spanish cedar.




Here is the dead on frontal view.

 

[thrasher66]

Those are beautiful and thanks for the info.

 

[cgraunke]

Those are beautiful and thanks for the info.

Yes they fit. The only difference with the 281E is they have twice as many slots

Actually, I believe this is incorrect.
I know there are brothers here with both that might be willing to chime in, but I dint think they are interchangeable. Close, though. @King Kill 33

 

[cgraunke]

Did you only add the finish because the fronts originally looked like crap or was your goal to add to the shelves aesthetically?

It's actually different wood for the fronts, not just a finish on the Spanish cedar. (see Forrest's "Hardwood" option)
I opted for Black Walnut on mine, purely aesthetic, but there is still plenty of cedar in there to get the job done.

 

[thrasher66]

Did you only add the finish because the fronts originally looked like crap or was your goal to add to the shelves aesthetically?

It's actually different wood for the fronts, not just a finish on the Spanish cedar. (see Forrest's "Hardwood" option)
I opted for Black Walnut on mine, purely aesthetic, but there is still plenty of cedar in there to get the job done.

Love to see a pic if you had one. And thanks for clarifying that. I have not even got the shelves for my one month old winador yet and I am already building #2 in my head.:dunno:

 

[cgraunke]

I was tweaked myself when I paid extra to Forrest for "rush" service that was guaranteed to ship in two weeks. The only rush I got was a rush in the assembly of my order. Very shoddy craftsmanship and they must have a severe shortage of sand paper in Idaho as every thing was rough including the Padauk fronts that I had to strip, sand and redo myself. The handles were missing as were the dividers. Every time I got any communication it was one excuse after another of why my order wasn't filled, then like you "Its shipping tomorrow!" tat turned into a tracking number 2 weeks later and shipped via THE WORST SHIPPING MEANS POSSIBLE, FEDEX GROUND! Took a week to get to the east coast then several days of "Out for delivery" as FedEx ground are all sub contractors that are allowed to deliver when they feel like it. Bottom line is I will never order from Forrest again and will never point anyone in that direction.

This was my Forrest/wineadors.com experience as well, on almost every point! (on TWO different sets even)
I just wish I would have had this John option at the time.
I'm envious of you guys!

 

[Jesse]

I was tweaked myself when I paid extra to Forrest for "rush" service that was guaranteed to ship in two weeks. The only rush I got was a rush in the assembly of my order. Very shoddy craftsmanship and they must have a severe shortage of sand paper in Idaho as every thing was rough including the Padauk fronts that I had to strip, sand and redo myself. The handles were missing as were the dividers. Every time I got any communication it was one excuse after another of why my order wasn't filled, then like you "Its shipping tomorrow!" tat turned into a tracking number 2 weeks later and shipped via THE WORST SHIPPING MEANS POSSIBLE, FEDEX GROUND! Took a week to get to the east coast then several days of "Out for delivery" as FedEx ground are all sub contractors that are allowed to deliver when they feel like it. Bottom line is I will never order from Forrest again and will never point anyone in that direction.

This was my Forrest/wineadors.com experience as well, on almost every point! (on TWO different sets even)
I just wish I would have had this John option at the time.
I'm envious of you guys!

Why hasn't anyone ever reported him to the BBB or had there credit card deny the charges? Just seams ridiculous that everyone would go through this over and over and just except it.

 

[SFerrojr]

Just got on Johns list for Jan. I know it's probably a broken record by now, but can't stress enough His professionalism and responsiveness. Answered most of my questions before I even asked them and responded to ever inquiry within 24 hrs. Still waiting for a response to my initial inquiries to the other major drawer manufacturer a few weeks ago. Very refreshing to still find an true professional and craftsman. Thanks Smoqman for the recommendation!

 

[Smoqman]

I just saw John the other day (see this thread) He was really excited about the stuff he's making for everyone. His shop was dust-pan clean, from floor to ceiling, and impeccably well kept and sorted - just like the first time we met face to face.

By the way, his desktop humidors are a sight to behold. They are absolutely beautiful and the seals are perfect. That nice little hesitation by the lid when you drop it onto the base, and that whoosh of air that takes a second to squeeze out is simple fantastic. I've seen a lot of Desktops and have compared many.... and Johns are as top of the line as you can get, and a fraction of the high-end maker's retail price. If you're interested in a desktop, centerpiece, end cabinet or armoire-style humidor, consider John.

 

[JuzCallMeDee]

Just got on Johns list for Jan. I know it's probably a broken record by now, but can't stress enough His professionalism and responsiveness. Answered most of my questions before I even asked them and responded to ever inquiry within 24 hrs. Still waiting for a response to my initial inquiries to the other major drawer manufacturer a few weeks ago. Very refreshing to still find an true professional and craftsman. Thanks Smoqman for the recommendation!

Very Professional, Smoqman's post was right on time as i was going to order from the other guy. didnt know his service was sub par. Thanks Smoq and John!

 

[thrasher66]

I got my shelves from John this week as well. First and foremost the man knows how to take care of his customers. On top of responding the same day to my many questions. I received updates every Monday once he began working on my order. I just cannot say enough about his service. My shelves are just lovely. Well made with attention to detail. Wanted to give Smoqman a shout out for guiding me in the right direction.

Also I seem to have ordered 3 or 4 more of the small dividers than I am going to need. So anyone with John's shelves who needs some small dividers give me a holler and I will get them to you. Even the dividers are super well made.

 

[Zmilin]

I happen to be in Minneapolis on business and went over to meet John today. What a genuinely nice guy! We BSd for quit some time and I got to see his shop and some work in progress. Impressive doesn't cover it!
John takes a lot of pride in his work and he should because it's awesome!
He even showed me a "50" count humidor (it wil fit closer to 75 or more) he has that's just gorgeous and seals beautifully with a nice woosh of air when it's closed and a slight pull to open. Man if I had the cash it would be going home with me. Easily a $500 humi retail and he selling it for about $250.

I'm so glad smoqman started this read! John is the real deal and has answered emails within 24 hours (usually faster) and I have now received two confirmations for the waiting list for December (one per month since I placed my request).

 

[cgraunke]

His craftsmanship really speaks volumes.
The communication just puts things over the top!

 

[JuzCallMeDee]

Drawers arrived today
You already know that John is a top notch option. Couldn't be happier with the quality and the service.