Buying components can cut costs.

Cost savings is the number one reason wood products manufacturers purchase components rather than make the parts themselves, according to a W&WP survey.

In the spirit of David Letterman's Top Ten List, WOOD & WOOD PRODUCTS asked 100 component manufacturers why their customers purchased components. Of those that responded, the top three reasons (in order) were:

1 Components are cheaper to buy than make. 2 Components allow capital to be better invested elsewhere. 3 Components provide better cost control.

For some wood products manufacturers, it just makes sense to buy components. According to Debbi Goldin, vice president national sales, L.I. Laminates Inc., more companies are discovering the benefits of purchasing pre-curved components, instead of making them. "Fabricating curves can be very time consuming and time is money," she said. "Buying components frees up manpower to work on other aspects of the job, and at the same time, provides a fixed cost, making it easier to bid accurately."

Other manufacturers have seen an improved ROI by purchasing components. Les Tubb of Sparta Spoke Factory said that many of his customers "have made a strategic decision to buy/outsource components to maximize return on investment."

Still another reason that wood products manufacturers choose to purchase components is that they lack the equipment or employee skill to manufacture components cost-effectively. Kevin Forrestal, president, Great Lakes Wood Products, said space and equipment restrictions are the major reasons his customers buy components. Other advantages of purchasing components include "elimination of costly employee error and improved product quality," said Brian Emerson, president, Top Drawer Components.

While it is not likely that components will be share the spotlight with the likes of Madonna or Stupid Pet Tricks on late night television, they can help wood products manufacturers gain more cost and quality control over their finished products.

The following is a review of some of the wood components available. For more information, circle the corresponding number on the Reader's Service Card or consult the W&WP 1994 Red Book Buyer's Guide for additional component sources.

Cabinet parts, cabinet boxes

Ponderosa Products Inc. offers cabinet box component parts machined and/or edgebanded per customer specifications for the kitchen and bath, furniture and store fixture industries. Custom lamination is also available.

CabParts by Bookcliff Mfg. Inc. produces components for cabinet, casework and drawer boxes from G2S thermofused melamine panels, 6/8-in. or 3/4-in. thick, in white, almond or gray as standard colors. Components are cut-to-size, milled for dowels, dadoed for fully-enclosed 1/4-in. G2S thermofused melamine backs (or drawer bottoms), and edgebanded with PVC, laminate or wood veneer.

St. Croix Valley Hardwoods Inc. specializes in edge-glued panels and frame stock for the kitchen cabinet and furniture industries. Working with most northern hardwoods, the company utilizes computerized gang rip, moulders, boring machines and other state-of-the-art equipment to ensure prompt delivery of wood components.

Components Plus, div. of Vass Inc. offers complete cabinet components (including drawers and shelves) with pre-inserted dowels. Standard product line is manufactured from 3/4-in. and 5/6-in. thermofused melamine. Optional materials are available on request. Specialty or OEM parts and products are also produced.

Coastal Lumber Co. offers solid and laminated squares, color-matched panels, mouldings, strips and cut-to-length blanks. Sanded and primed finishes are available. The company utilizes Appalachian and northern hardwoods such as red and white oak, hard and soft maple, cherry, ash, basswood and poplar in its hardwood dimension products.

Amendola General Woodwork Co. has more than 30 years experience in producing maple, beech and oak dimension parts including cut-to-size dimension, mouldings, furniture and components.

Precision Panels and Dimension offers a complete line of thermofused, 16-rail rigid vinyl furniture and cabinet components. Some recent additions to the line include tabletops, juvenile furniture components and saddled chair seats.

Catawissa Lumber & Supply Co. manufactures edge-glued panels, pattern-run mouldings and laminated furniture parts. Products are made from Appalachian hardwoods for the furniture and cabinet industries.

Davidson McNair Co. specialized in edge-glued panels and mouldings made from red oak, cherry, poplar, hard and soft maple. Other species are available upon request.

Fitzpatrick and Weller offers laminated squares, case goods, casket parts, edge-glued panels, staircase parts, kitchen cabinet components and mouldings.

Huey Forest Products offers custom moulding, cabinet parts, furniture components. dimensional face frames and stiles and rails.

Northern Hardwoods has served the kitchen cabinet, furniture and specialty markets for 25 years. The company offers semi-finished component parts manufactured to desired specifications for edge-glued panels, pattern mouldings and drawer fronts. Available species include hard and soft maple, yellow birch and aspen.

Cabinet doors

Conestoga Wood Specialties says its CRP-1-1-2 door and matching CRP-10 drawer front offer the quality, simplicity and grace of Shaker styling. Hand-crafted in cherry and shown in an inset frame, the door and drawer front feature an LC-Inset edge profile, square framing bead, and a 3/8-in. Reverse G-Cove panel raise. The company also offers several additional Shaker style doors with either plywood or solid wood panels.

Roberts Plywood's new line of components includes true MDF radius doors that reportedly are suited for lacquer finishing. The doors has a 12-in. outside radius and are 3/8 in. and 1 1/2 in. thick. They are available in 31-, 47- and 94-in. lengths. The company also offers doors that have a 24-in. outside radius and 1/8 in. rounds that are 31 or 47 in. high.

Rehau Inc. offers the Rauvolet E tambour system. Unlike traditional tambour doors which require the use of glue or fasteners to join individual slats, the Rauvolet E slats are co-extruded with a flexible polyurethane backer sheet, eliminating the need for additional adhesives. The Rauvolet E tambour door system combines textured profile surfaces, close-fitting segments, and is available in six standard colors. Other colors can be supplied upon request.

Donald Dean & Sons offers a variety of cabinet doors which the company says can be shipped in 10 working days.

U.S. Customized Finishes Inc. offers one-piece raised panel doors/drawers painted, primed and unfinished.

St. Cloud Door Co. now offers Pickled Oak (Crystal Dark Grain) finish along with five other thermofoil finishes on its raised panel doors, including White High Gloss. Custom size door sets are shipped within 10 working days. Matching crown moulding is available in all finishes.

M & J Woodcrafts offers finished low-gloss or high-gloss MDF doors in white or a variety of colors. On premise, CNC services and immediate delivery with no minimum quantity are available. Unfinished doors are also available.

RKS Laminates offers "Super Gloss" and "White Woodgrain" models into its line of "Thermolam" vinyl-covered doors. Coupled with good edge definition, the "Super Gloss" door features a balanced construction which minimizes warpage, the company says.

Artistry in Wood offers a full line of hardwood cabinet doors. Styles include flat panel, raised panel and multi-lite frame-only doors. All doors are manufactured from the finest select hardwoods. the company says.

Valley Custom Doors offers a versatile line of cabinet doors and drawer fronts. The doors and drawer fronts can be ordered finished or unfinished. Twelve wood species with custom sizing in 1/16-in. increments are available.

Outwater Plastics/Industries stocks for immediate delivery a comprehensive line of over 50 sizes of membrane pressed thermofoil raised panel doors and components. The doors are stocked with a round inside corner in smooth matte and glossy white finishes. Also available from inventory are mullion doors, slab style drawers, flat sheets, fillers, crown moulding and light rail moulding.

W W Wood Products offers custom-sized doors with production door lead times. A multitude of design options are available in a variety of different wood species.

National Products Inc. offers tambour doors using solid woods, wood veneers, metals, high-pressure laminates and paintable surfaces. Several stock sizes are available and custom sizes with options can be produced, according to National Products. Several types of door tracking systems are also available.

High-gloss polyester doors in custom sizes are available from Tawas Woodworking. Any quantity can be ordered.

Keystone Wood Specialties offers doors, drawer fronts, drawer boxes and mouldings from 14 species. The company says it will produce one door to 100 doors and is structured to meet the needs of small and medium-sized cabinet makers.

Solidoor offers a complete line of MDF doors with true square corners. Offered are 12 styles of square corner profiles available in rectangular, cathedral and arched doors. An additional 9 profiles are available in radius doors. Doors can be ordered unfinished, primed and sanded or unfinished.

Superior Moulding Co. manufactures cabinet doors, drawer fronts, glued-up squares and panels, random and cut-to-length mouldings, and kiln-dried dimension blanks.

Tescott Woodcrafters offers a variety of raised panel cabinet doors. The company says it provides timely delivery.

Carr Cabinet Doors offers doors, drawer fronts and architectural panels in wood, CNC-machined MDF and HDF, in various styles and custom sizes.

Quality Doors manufactures wood, laminate and rigid thermofoil doors for large and small cabinet and furniture manufacturers. The company is adding 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Cedar Hill, Texas, where it will manufacture custom wood doors and rigid thermofoil doors beginning in November 1994.

Great Lakes Wood Products offers a line of custom vinyl-clad MDF doors with a membrane laminated 16-mil PVC rigid vinyl on CNC-routed MDF components. Five distinct designs are available, including square corners, cathedrals and mullion doors. Colors include matte white, white oak, almond and high gloss white.

More than 100 possible style combinations of high-pressure laminate doors and fronts with MDF core are available from Keystone Laminated Products. Included are: European, raised panel, traditional and postformed.

Foremost Wood Products makes and distributes stile and rail door components, including core constructed stiles and rails, thin cut faces and door cores. All products are manufactured to customer's specifications, the company says. Foremost specializes in hardwoods, with softwood available, as well as certain exotics.

Accent Manufacturing has a complete line of custom laminate and wood veneer doors. A wide variety of styles are available from square to 90 [degrees] and 180 [degrees] postform edges using matching PVCs, 3mm PVC, wood nosing, veneer and metal. Customers can specify any overlay from preferred laminate brands (imported or domestic) to natural, reconstituted or prefinished veneers. Matching panels or cut-to-size parts can be ordered, as well as 32mm cabinet components.

Cabinet Factory offers doors and drawer fronts, unfinished or prefinished, in more than 100 styles. Key features include: timely delivery, uniformity, elimination of waste, no minimum-quantity order limits and lower tooling costs, the company says.

Drawers

Dovetail drawers by Top Drawer Components feature solid wood, veneer and melamine. Available materials include soft maple, hard maple, red oak, 9-ply birch and thermofused melamine on MDF in white or almond.

BHK of America Inc.'s Standard Drawer System is manufactured to a customer's specifications and ready-to-assemble. The standard drawer is a 1/2-in. vinyl-wrapped product available in a selection of solid colors and woodgrains with matching bottoms and a choice of profiles. The company also has broadened its product line to include wood drawers and components. These components have been used in CD and video storage units, organizers, medicine cabinets, kitchen and bath cabinets and wall storage units.

Witmer Wood Products offers custom dovetailed solid wood drawers in aspen, birch, cedar, hard maple, red oak and walnut. Drawers are available in any size in 1 1/16-in. increments with 1/2-in. or 5/8-in. sides.

Techtonic Corp. offers Tech-Wood drawers which reduce or eliminate many costly problems inherent in wood, vinyl-clad and other drawer systems, the company says. Tech-Wood is a precision-made, rigid PVC foam material which holds tight tolerances and has the toughness and manufacturing efficiencies of plastic, according to the company. It is available in a birch finish or a range of custom colors. The material can be ordered in uncut planks or pre-mitered RTA lengths cut to specifications.

Western Dovetail manufactures solid wood dovetailed drawer boxes and offers custom drawer boxes shipped within 10 days of the order.

Custom-sized dovetailed drawers made of 1/2-in. solid maple with 1/4-in. maple veneer ply bottom are available from Eagle Woodworking. Heights up to 10 in. are available in any width and length, with a square top edge for a "custom" appearance. Drawers come fully assembled and prefinishing is optional. Circle #351

L.B. Plastics says the Sheerglide Drop Front Drawer eliminates the need for a drawer front or handle and is suitable for storage trays within cabinets and furniture. The company also offers a variety of runner options along with other extruded furniture and cabinet components to complement the Sheerglide Drawer Systems.

Meridian Products custom builds solid wood dovetailed drawer boxes to specifications. Parts are machined and ready-to-assemble or the company will assemble and finish the product. Sides are a full 5/8-in. thick in a choice of oak, maple or birch with radius tops. Drawer bottoms are 1/4-in. plywood.

Valendrawers offers drawer units in solid beech and beech plywood, natural birch plywood and white PVC. Jointery is available with the company's chuck and bore system, dowel and bore or conventional dovetail. A selection of accessories, including scoop fronts, complement the product line.

Eurodrawer says its precision-machined, vinyl-clad, miterfold drawer systems are easy to assemble and eliminate production bottlenecks. Benefits include: precision tolerances, no waste and no finishing materials and durable wipe-clean vinyl.

Polydrawer is an alternative to manufacturing your own drawers says Poly Plast Inc. A hardwood chip, vinyl-clad drawer line is offered by the company in six types and available in a wide range of sizes in the most popular colors, including solids and woodgrains.

Mi-Lin Wood Products specializes in drawer boxes. Available in beech, sycamore and hard maple, products come dovetailed, assembled or unassembled, and finished or unfinished. The company also offers bar stool seats, mouldings and glue panels.

Chair parts

Quality Plywood Inc. specializes in furniture components. The company offers curved chair backs, seats, arms and legs and other furniture components, including simple radius curves and compound curves.

Sparta Spoke Factory offers two types of RTA base caps for metal chairs. One cap has soft, rounded edges; the other features cleanly angled edges. The caps come in ash, oak, or hard maple hardwoods, with natural, dark oak or mahogany finishes. Parts are available in quantities of 250 or more with a two-week lead time when in stock.

Commercial Carving Co. has supplied wood carvings and completely finished subcontract seating for more than 50 years. Capabilities include design, prototypes, carving and finishing.

Bethel Furniture Stock specializes in chair parts including solid wood bendings, shaped stool tops, and shaped chair seats. Species include red oak, hard maple, white ash, yellow birch, soft maple and cherry.

Andover Wood Products Inc. offers chair seat blanks from hard rock maple, red oak, white ash, white pine, birch and soft maple. Customers can make the chair seats from the rough blanks or Andover will custom make them in lot sizes of 250 or more including, shaping, saddling and sanding.

George Guenzler & Sons Inc. offers, in stock, eight different bar stool styles made from finished quality hardwoods including oak and hard maple. Some styles are available with swivels and optional brass plated foot rings. Sizes are 18 in., 24 in. and 30 in. and can be shipped RTA or fully assembled. Circle #363

Elkins Hardwood Dimension offers cut-to-size blanks, edge glued panels, laminated squares, exposed chair frames and chair parts and cabinet components made from Appalachian hardwood.

Simex International manufactures overseas and imports European beech and mahogany chair frames and curved parts. These are available from stock and in containers direct. Also, the company makes kitchen cabinet doors, vacuum formed vinyl doors and parts, mouldings and drawer sides.

Warvel Products offers curved plywood chair seat parts. Equipped with three, four- and five-axis machines and a host of support systems such as digitizing equipment, the company says it can manufacture it all, from internally produced compound curved tooling to the finished product.

Adams Wood Products offers a large selection of wood legs specifically designed for upholstered frames. Available are Claw & Ball, Chippendale, Queen Anne, Trumpet and Bun feet, in different sizes and woods. The company says it provides quick delivery, and no minimum quantity is required. Small- and medium-sized manufacturers can expand their offerings without expanding their inventory, the company says.

Campbell & Dann supplies a variety of hardwood components including intricate turnings, steam bendings, saddle seats and panels. Assembled and finished chairs are also offered. Embossing and shaping, services are also available.

Select Millwork Co. offers a variety of fully-machined furniture components, architectural millwork, mouldings, glued-up panels and squares and more. The company offers all domestic woods, specializing in walnut, to exacting standards.

Moulding and turnings

Berg Profiles introduces a stock line of wrapped mouldings for the kitchen cabinet industry including contemporary and traditional crown mouldings and light rails, as well as scribe and corners in both finished and paint grade papers and real wood veneers.

Kuehn Bevel's beveled counter edges are custom manufactured in any color to match any laminate. A true designer look can be achieved with matching door edges, double edges, table edges, backsplash and casing baseboard. The company says 95% of all orders are shipped in 3-5 working days.

Nickell Moulding offers embossed wood mouldings and a line of natural finished hardwoods. Also available from the company is a complete line of mouldings including vinyl-, veneer-, paper- and foil-wrapped MDF and finished and unfinished hardwoods. The company supplies to RTA, fine furniture, kitchen cabinets and picture frame manufacturers.

Klise Mfg. produces decorative wood mouldings available in either embossed or carved styles.

Hendricks Woodworking offers circular crown mouldings made to specifications. For custom or production shops, these components can enhance workmanship and expand product lines, the company says.

Blainville Mouldings specializes in manufacturing wooden mouldings and components for a variety of market segments including: residential and commercial furniture, residential and commercial construction and many other industries. The company says it offers a range of products and services of the highest quality.

Babcock Lumber Co. offers blanks, parts and components, glued panels, mouldings, squares, specialty millwork, handrail, shoerail, balusters, newel posts and treads. The company manufactures these products from oak, poplar, cherry, maple, ash and selected species grown in the northern Appalachian region of the United States.

Excel Dowel & Wood Products Inc. offers a line of assembled gallery rails. Rails are available in standard gallery rail, dado and mini plate with dado. Red oak, poplar and maple are standard in 96-in. lengths.

Woodcraft Mouldings Inc. manufactures high-end profile wrapped mouldings and components for the furniture, cabinet and architectural industries. Primary wrapping materials used are high pressure laminates, wood veneers and high grade roll form melamine. Substrates used include MDF and wood as well as metal and plastic extrusion.

Ornamental Products Inc. has been embossing, moulding, turning and carving customer's ideas for decades, the company says. From office to residential, curves to corners, the company offers a wide selection of wooden ornaments, mouldings, grilles, panels and other decorative wood products. The company also offers pliable moulding that bends "just where you need it," the company says.

Osborne Wood Products offers a variety of turned components including finials, balusters, bed posts, table legs, stair newels, and specialty feet. Stock patterns are available in pine. No minimum order is required and other woods and custom turnings are available.

Opto International offers Lignum, a thermoplastic profile material. Lignum offers the advantages of wood yet will not rot, splinter, twist or deteriorate and is impervious to moisture, the company says. Lignum can be worked with conventional tools, requires no finishing and is virtually maintenance-free, the company says. Lignum is produced in wood-grain finishes as well as solid colors.

Artistic Woodworking offers embossed wood moulding and carvings from Victorian dyes, homemade in the early 1900s. These are embossed in birch or a choice of cabinet woods including oak, walnut, cherry, pine and mahogany. The company also does custom work from customers' designs.

Valentec offers the combined resources of Valendrawers and Media Profili. The company offers wrapped components, louvered and flush panel doors, mouldings, panels, tops, shelves, work surfaces and other woodworking components from simple parts to full assemblies. High gloss PVC, PVC foils, low pressure melamine or paper wrapping offers a selection of appearance and cost alternatives, the company says.

JMS Wood Products offers a variety of full-round and half-round rope mouldings in oak, alder, maple and poplar. Size availability ranges from 3/8-in. to 14-in. in diameter. Stair balusters and posts with rope, twist and fluted designs are also manufactured by the company.

Conner Carving and Turning Co. offers carvings, turnings and embossings. Its services include CNC machining, design assistance and assembly. The company provides components for furniture and store display manufacturers, kitchen cabinet and architectural companies as well as custom woodworkers, toy and game manufacturers and designers.

Mongold Lumber Enterprises produces mouldings, stair systems and dimension parts and hardwood lumber from its three sawmills in the Appalachian region.

Curved components Geometric Forms offers curved geometric plywood components such as quarter rounds, half rounds, end rounds and full cylinders for use in kitchen and bath cabinets. Other applications include contemporary furniture, wall units, entertainment centers, room partitions, desks, armoires, work stations, decorative columns, pillars and exhibit displays.

Deco Shapes curved plywood cabinet components from L.I. Laminates Inc. include quarter rounds, radius end panels, half rounds and one-piece cylinders. Some radii are also available in MDF. Wrapped paper geometric shapes include cylinders, squares, hexagons, rectangles, triangles and pie cuts. The company also offers cabinet doors in membrane pressed PVC, wood, lacquer or laminate.

Rayner & Rinn-Scott Inc. distributes quality curved plywood components, including quarter and half circles, doors, cabinet ends and elongated quarter circles. The company's standard inventory also provides a wide range of geometric paper tubes. These tubes are a lighter weight than wood, but are said to the same strength.

Superior Specialties Inc. offers a stylized oval mannequin form finished in Wilsonart Natural Birdseye and Nevamar Black Vortex high-pressure laminate. The form is a two-sided adjustable display.