I have watched a number of videos from this guy.   Polyurethane glue (makes me sigh), screws in leg joints, and badly reproduced parts.  A real disaster.

 

no way i'm watching all of that, but.....yeah, there's a but.....if a design has failed, as evidenced by broken parts, that's a huge clue that fixing it in the same way it was originally built (thin legs, thin back spindles....) will result in another repair down the road, as you haven't fixed the weak part.  so how much time is spent putting bandaids on old pieces and not learning from what is in front of you on your bench?  could the time you will take to fix this be better spent making a new one from scratch, but taking this opportunity to learn from and improve on what has obviously failed, so the new one will not have the same failures.  and maybe accept that some things just wear out and it is time to let them go?

reminds me of the "One Hoss Shay" poem from long ago, here is a link if you wish to read it all (it's not that long).

 

http://holyjoe.org/poetry/holmes1.htm

 

last few lines:

 

What do you think the parson found,
When he got up and stared around?
The poor old chaise in a heap or mound,
As if it had been to the mill and ground!
You see, of course, if you’re not a dunce,
How it went to pieces all at once, —
All at once, and nothing first, —
Just as bubbles do when they burst.

 

1 hour ago, DAB said:

no way i'm watching all of that, but.....yeah, there's a but.....if a design has failed, as evidenced by broken parts, that's a huge clue that fixing it in the same way it was originally built (thin legs, thin back spindles....) will result in another repair down the road, as you haven't fixed the weak part.  so how much time is spent putting bandaids on old pieces and not learning from what is in front of you on your bench?  could the time you will take to fix this be better spent making a new one from scratch, but taking this opportunity to learn from and improve on what has obviously failed, so the new one will not have the same failures.  and maybe accept that some things just wear out and it is time to let them go?

Well, this guy is in the repair business.  He told the customer that it would be costly, but it's an addition over a number of years to make a set.  If it's a one-off chair, yes, not worth it.  But if it's #8 of a set that took 10 years to assemble, with a table and cabinet, probably worth it spending the money.  He did make the front leg mortises a bit shallower to leave more wood in there.  In my experience, there are a lot of failures, too, because of grain run-out creating a weak spot.

from a business point of view, i'd imagine he does ok for himself.  plenty of furniture out there with problems that people are attached to, lots emotionally, and they have money to pay him to fix someone else's errors long ago.  far more business doing that than having to dream up your own designs and make and sell them for a profit.

Everyone is an expert on YouTube...

17 hours ago, DAB said:

reminds me of the "One Hoss Shay" poem from long ago, here is a link if you wish to read it all (it's not that long).

 

http://holyjoe.org/poetry/holmes1.htm

 

That was a great poem DAB.  The Deacon lived a good long life too!

17 hours ago, DAB said:

from a business point of view, i'd imagine he does ok for himself.  plenty of furniture out there with problems that people are attached to, lots emotionally, and they have money to pay him to fix someone else's errors long ago.  far more business doing that than having to dream up your own designs and make and sell them for a profit.

I found that to be true.

In the way back good old days lathe projects were cut from split strips with the grain running straight down the board. Mass produced parts done on the lathe were strips sawn from boards sliced from the trunk of a tree with no thought about how the grain ran through each part. Just as kmealy mentioned. Thus such failures as shown. 

Older chairs that failed more likely failed from glue that failed. Often the tenons appeared as though they had been crushed/deformed as they were loose in the mortise, but that was due to the creaking racking of the frame that grew as the joints started coming loose but the chair was still being used.  The thinner the members are in wood furniture the more important it is to make sure the grain runs straight down all the thin parts.  Chairs are the critical projects as they suffer the weight and motion of humans who will stress every joint in a design. Any weakness will be found eventually.   When my students wanted to make chairs I warned them that there was more to consider than just how their design looked.  A liability for furniture manufacturers as failure while one is seated in one can lead to injury.  I've been consulted on a few law suites and they have all been about the failure of a chair.    

4D

14 hours ago, 4DThinker said:

In the way back good old days lathe projects were cut from split strips with the grain running straight down the board. Mass produced parts done on the lathe were strips sawn from boards sliced from the trunk of a tree with no thought about how the grain ran through each part. Just as kmealy mentioned. Thus such failures as shown. 

Older chairs that failed more likely failed from glue that failed. Often the tenons appeared as though they had been crushed/deformed as they were loose in the mortise, but that was due to the creaking racking of the frame that grew as the joints started coming loose but the chair was still being used.  The thinner the members are in wood furniture the more important it is to make sure the grain runs straight down all the thin parts.  Chairs are the critical projects as they suffer the weight and motion of humans who will stress every joint in a design. Any weakness will be found eventually.   When my students wanted to make chairs I warned them that there was more to consider than just how their design looked.  A liability for furniture manufacturers as failure while one is seated in one can lead to injury.  I've been consulted on a few law suites and they have all been about the failure of a chair.    

4D

A long time ago, I went to NC and took the "Make a Chair From a Tree" class with Drew Langsner.  We started Monday morning with a log and by Friday noon had a chair.  Froe, drawknife, spokeshave, hand saw, and brace and bit.   Every piece had the grain followed and was oriented (and dried) in a way to optimize strength and joint.

 

Many I time during a repair I'd say to myself, "There's a piece of wood that just should have been thrown in the scrap bin."   I think the worst was a sofa with the back top rail was about 3" x 1.5" and had a 2" loose knot right in the middle of it.  Not much pressure and it broke.