I always wonder
When it comes to cheap, mass-produced furniture, for the life of me I can’t figure out why they do some of the things they do.
When it comes to cheap, mass-produced furniture, for the life of me I can’t figure out why they do some of the things they do.
I needed a piece of unfinished furniture in a hurry for a photo shoot a couple weeks ago and didn’t have time to make one, so I went out and bought a cheap stool. It served its purpose well, and I’m now in the process of converting it to a second purpose – a plant stand. In prepping it for a finish I flipped it over and found these:
Wait, what exactly am I seeing here? I mean, if the legs are held on with brackets, then why the extra screw? Conversely, if the legs were screwed into place, then why are there brackets?
My best guess is that this here is a fantastic example of the belt-and-suspenders method of furniture construction. That is, the maker knew that screws were a poor means of holding the legs on all by themselves and decided to add the brackets for extra insurance. Again, conversely, maybe they did the brackets first and thought, “Nah, that’s not enough, better toss some screws in there, too."
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.