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Early Access Video: Furniture Forensics on a Craftsman Table

🕑 Added 2022-05-14 11:01:01 +0000 UTC

Comments

Bob Berger

Rex, that’s an interesting Frankenstein piece. Cobbled together from differently-sourced pieces, and it’s also possible that the last person to add to it, or repair it, isn’t the same person who originally created it. It’s as if each addition or repair was performed by someone, or some people, who were very clever, but less skilled than, the people who worked on it before them. Reminds me of some design-by-committee projects. Brilliant start, but then management had to make their mark on it.

Lee Stokes

Rex, as several have mentioned, the table may date to the Great Depression. I’m 66 yrs.old. My late parents were born, father 1930, mother 1935. Maternal grandfather started a soft drink franchise in St. George, Utah in 1935. He sold the franchise back to PepsiCo, inc. in, I want to say, 1975/1976. So, he starts a business during the Great Depression, in a small town in Southwest Utah which had been chronically economically depressed since its 1863 founding. And he kept a sugar-consuming business viable during WWII sugar rationing. He built his bottling line from second-hand equipment, built his own delivery truck beds, and eventually built his own warehouse from surplus materials sold for pennies on year dollar after the construction of Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powel). He epitomized a saying used by early leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”. I worked for him from age 12 until he sold the business. I’ve seen first-hand, the reuse and repurposing of that Great Depression generation. The make do is real. Had such a profound effect on me that it’s often a real mental wrench to throw things away.

James Casalino

This video was super interesting. Your mention of The Craftsman magazine lead me down a rabbit hole. UW Madison has an archive digital copy of all the issues of the magazine. After browsing a few at random I found one with a section on "home training in cabinet work" I ran a search for home training and pages and pages of hand drafted plans with cut sheets. Amazing. It might make for a good video to build one of these, but certainly interesting reading for anyone who is interested. https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AQ5VII6GNL36H78T

Rex Krueger

There wasn't anything there that caught my eye. Sadly, the piece is now back with its owner.

Rex Krueger

I'm delighted that you enjoyed it. Thank you!

Matthew Shangler

These furniture forensics videos are the best! I would love to see a book published that exclusively highlights “odd ball” furniture pieces.

LiraNuna

This video was very interesting to watch. When I saw you mentioning the "weirdly cut" piece, I immediately thought "wood reuse"! I love this series of looking at old furniture to learn things out of, the weirder the piece the better!

Mark Evans

Love the video. I really like how the piece tells a story. I also believe that it is Ok to work with what you have when making stuff.

Shane Thomas

A great breakdown Rex, I especially liked your little snippet of wisdom, "if you make it and someone likes it and it works, then it is good" That is so true, in everything we do.

A1BASE

Did you catch the writing on the bottom of the false drawer front? I couldn't make it out in the video, but it didn't look like it was reversed, so not from the news print. Maybe another piece of the fruit box?

Dan Delie

It does not have to be perfect, it just has to work!

Thomas Hverring

Brilliant, rex! Thank you!

Robert Quinn

As others have said, this screams great depression mindset to me. NOTHING is trash. I think this may have been a craftsman who was on a build site. At the end of the day, he would take scraps home he thought he could do something with. Then, for one reason or another, this nightstand came to be.

Richard C von Brecht

I have to say you find the most amazing stuff in your neighborhood. I live in suburban Houston. When I wander around my neighborhood I find nothing but IKEA furniture in the trash.

Otakar Schön

Great video, Rex! It is telling that I was screaming inside "it is from reused wood" from early on, your ability to teach left some marks on me in the last two years. Thank you for that

Don Boyd

Every thing old can be new again! Love your take on things, wood working, even though you're a repurposed English teacher. Being a retired P. E. teacher of 30 years. Your work is highly enjoyed by all.

Rex Krueger

People do offer me stuff. I'm grateful when then do.

Rex Krueger

The whole thing looks like silver maple; very common for this area.

Rex Krueger

My pleasure!

Rex Krueger

I'll get back to the green now that it's getting toward summer.

Rex Krueger

I'm glad you liked it!

Rex Krueger

I admit that I don't throw much away either!

Rex Krueger

I agree...except for those tusk tenons. Those are not quick. It's a puzzling piece.

Rex Krueger

Love is!

Rex Krueger

The white paint is pretty recent. Under that is black and light blue. The newsprint is not super-old.

Rex Krueger

A student is possible!

Rex Krueger

Fixed many times over the years is certainly possible.

Rex Krueger

That's a YouTube thing. They degrade your quality if your connection slows for a second.

Rex Krueger

If there was one strange part, I would say repair, but every element has something odd about it. The repair theory doesn't explain the damage and nail holes to the top of one leg. As far as I can tell, it's all the same wood. I can't say for sure that it's not a repair. I don't think so, but I could change my mind.

Rex Krueger

You're SO welcome!

Rex Krueger

Thank you! I think they get better as I gain experience.

Rex Krueger

I promise I will. I enjoy these too!

Rex Krueger

There really is.

Rex Krueger

I would be honored!

Rex Krueger

They're really pretty and I didn't know anything about the style when we moved here.

Rex Krueger

An excellent theory. My "skirt molding" idea only goes so var.

Rex Krueger

I guess it was like that all over. A different day.

Rex Krueger

The timeline is about right.

Rex Krueger

Very true. I stared at this one for a WHILE.

Rex Krueger

You're very welcome!

Rex Krueger

Thank you!

Rex Krueger

I totally agree....although some part of this look a little advanced. I really don't know.

Rex Krueger

Free wood is the best wood!

Rex Krueger

I'm glad!

Jim

That's some pretty good furniture with outside of the box thinking with regards to material & construction choices, I absolutely love that. With regards to finding useful stuff, I've found that it is occasionally offered by peeps what they know your interested in it :)

Steve

Nice video. I would have been interested in identifying what types of wood were used for the piece, most likely local woods. I am remodeling my kitchen, and I am always looking for more opportunities to use my resources for effect. Yesterday I was looking at the pallets the italian tile came in on for either lumber, furniture or firewood. Not hard to imagine a depression craftsman reusing whatever materials he had. I have begun to look at discount home stores for exotic woods for small projects. Cutting boards, servers, and the like are quite cheap compared to what distributors charge for blanks for boxes, turnings and crafts. Thanks for a wonderful experience.

Matt Evans-Koch

Love these Furniture Forensics videos Rex. This certainly had to be a home build using salvaged materials and a broken piece of furniture. Thank you for sharing.

Roger A Tubbs

I really enjoy the furniture forensics!!! Seeing how it was done long ago up close helps to understand how to do it now! Wonderful stuff! I'm am hoping Rex that you'll pick up again on the green woodworking that was great and incredibly interesting 👍 Thanks!

Jerry Kingzett

I love the furniture forensics videos. This is like the stuff I build for myself for the shop. I have too much stuff, but I have some old dressers that I would like to repair.

Michael Bennett

I have to agree with those who think this is from the Depression Era. I grew up listening to all my grandparents talking about life back then. NOTHING was thrown away. Only when something had been "reused to death" was it used to feed the pigs, burned in the stove, or sent to the junk heap. Hell, they even got me thinking that way. Last month someone saw me cutting up a tin can and I had to explain that it was to cover up a rathole I found in the garage.

e.d.

I think it may have been a quick and dirty. I think he needed a table real quick and threw one together out of scraps that were nearby. Doesn't seem like they tried to refine it at all. I'd like to hear this person's Alexander Hamilton rap about this project.

Luke Lyu

This is the best video I have seen in quite a while! Hashtag furniture pride!

Alex R

Is any of that newsprint legible? If you can make our five or six consecutive words, I could likely tell you when the piece was painted.

Daniel L. Quigg

Perhaps made by a student? To practice various skills? Or to demonstrate mastery of those skills? Very interesting analysis & video. Thanks!

Huet Landry

Looks like perhaps several different people "fixed" it at different times. I have furniture that was built by my grandfather, modified by my mother, and again by me.

James Carey

Anyone notice the video click into hi-def at ~ 35 seconds? Excellent quality after that, the best I have seen on the channel.

Benjamin Fouty

Curious here- what makes you think it isn't a repair? The back leg? My inclination with the big gap in front and bridle joint is the front and top were damaged and the whole thing was tossed. Someone in the 30s finds it on the road side or in the dump and collects a few more scraps from the same dump and repairs to sell. That big gap in the front and the good joinery on the bottom really says to me two different makers. Same with the false front drawer, Stickley style didnt have much false front. But if all you want to hide that you couldn’t find or fix the drawer, a false front would hide that the drawer didn’t match. I wonder if you see things that tell you differently.

Robert Rutledge

Man, that was FUN. Loved your making such and adventure of the thought process and taking me with you. Thank you.

Gerald Eddy

This was my favorite furniture forensics so far!

Mike Washburn

Thanks Rex. While I enjoy the analyses of old furniture pieces that Josh Klein and Mike Updegraff give in Mortise and Tenon magazine, I haven't seen them analyze hodgepodge pieces like this. So please keep the weird furniture forensics coming as you find them.

Sean McGown

Just amazing. Really in the spirit of the vids I see where people wing it with scraps from the bin. There's some grace in Frankenstein after all.

John Hiemstra

This is inspiring. As you have said before, reusing is relevant. I was recently fortunate to find a sale on tools, wood and such. It is allowing me to explore the craft further. What struck me about the video is that anyone can find what they need and enjoy building, whilst improving their skills. I think I'll put a sign in my workshop with your words (in the craftsman style of course)," If you build something, somebody likes it and it works-it's good"

Kevin S Thomas

Excellent video! Love the craftsman homes, I grew up in northern Ohio.

Ethan Chitty

That’s great. That front plate though looks like it may have been a mailbox number plate. I’ve seen a lot with that profile, and it would account for the size of that piece.

Benjamin Frayser

My wife's grandmother was from Cleveland Heights and was a child of the Depression. Said *everything* got reused

Benjamin Frayser

Lunch says this is Depression Era hobbying

Pierre-Olivier Fineltin

Thanks. There is a life lesson in everything as long as you spend enough time to think about it.

Marc Barash

Thanks again for a very interesting video

Tim Costello

So cool. Nice job. Love the breakdown.

Julio Rodriguez

I love this video, I'm making some bookshelves and each segment has a different technique that I'm learning and is just like that possible new craftsman making that object.

Chris Carier

The weirdos pieces are my favorite and the best in my opinion because they have character and it's more like something I can build. I never bought wood to work with because I'm still trying to learn and free wood is the best type of wood to learn with.