Thread: Outdoor setting chair repair - By Hand

This is one of the most satisfying jobs in woodworking.

You've done an outstanding job.

Like you, I often find that small but sometimes challenging jobs provide a lot of satisfaction (and instant gratification).

Great job. Mind you, I couldn't help but wonder if a Domino would have cut all those mortices.

Originally Posted by John Samuel

I couldn't help but wonder if a Domino would have cut all those mortices.

Probably, but whats the fun in that?

Originally Posted by justonething

Probably, but whats the fun in that?

I suspect that depends entirely on one's definition of fun.

I admire those who keep the old skills alive, and if that's fun for you, go for it.

I'd have cut those mortices with a Domino, assuming one of the cutters would do the job. I have more fun when a tool or machine can do the job in a fraction of the time taken to do it by hand, assuming the finished job is just as good.

There is neither right nor wrong in our world, but lots of choices. I hope some folk continue to keep the old skills alive, and I hope they can appreciate that not all of us are cut from that particular bolt of cloth.

I don’t see a problem with going either route, horses for courses. I can only say why it appeals to me, not trying to convert anyone maybe it’s just therapy.

For me, I really like the idea of being able to do pretty much any woodworking job with a work bench and a tool box. My workshop fits on roof racks.

I move a lot for work, and while I do love the idea of a garage filled with power tools; it just isn’t super practical for me. The time it takes for me to pack up and setup is not negligible when you do it every 1-3 years and each garage is different.

I am still a novice but my idea is that, while hand tools cost more time, they are highly generalised. Again, not saying one is better or worse, it just works better for me at the moment.

My $0.02.

Agreed completely, HolzSturm.

There is neither right nor wrong; neither good nor bad in our choice of approach. I love my machines, but I know blokes who are perfectly happy to take a lot more time to do the job by hand. Indeed, they derive a lot of satisfaction from following the old ways. Good for them, whatever their motivation. I hope such blokes are still around in hundreds of years time, keeping the older skills alive.

Years ago in England I visited a country fair. There were folk there making yew bows the same way they were made for the battle of Agincourt, including the linen strings. Others were making glazed clay tiles the same way they were made for the floor of Winchester Cathedral. I could go on, but you get the idea. I am grateful that such people exist, and all power to them ... but I do not count amongst their number.

Originally Posted by John Samuel

I suspect that depends entirely on one's definition of fun.

I admire those who keep the old skills alive, and if that's fun for you, go for it.

I'd have cut those mortices with a Domino, assuming one of the cutters would do the job. I have more fun when a tool or machine can do the job in a fraction of the time taken to do it by hand, assuming the finished job is just as good.

There is neither right nor wrong in our world, but lots of choices. I hope some folk continue to keep the old skills alive, and I hope they can appreciate that not all of us are cut from that particular bolt of cloth.

It was really a tongue in cheek question. with a dose of emphasis on the fun of it all.
Whatever is fun is all that matters in the end, be it domino, dowels, or just hand cut
All I can say was it looked fun when I saw those pictures posted. Especially knowing that the most common option taken nowadays with a broken leg of a deck chair is a trip to the tip or throwing it out on the nature strip.
There must have been a certain satisfaction on up-cycling, with just the most basic of tools.

John, you mentioned seeing old crafts at a fair in England.
We have a ‘Lost Trades Fair’ here in Oz where a multitude of old skills are demonstrated.
A chairmaker ‘Glen Rundle’ started it off in Kyneton Victoria about ten years ago.
I believe it’s now moved to Bendigo when covid allows it to happen again.
He has also held it in Toowoomba Queensland and Hawkesbury Showgrounds NSW before all these gatherings were stopped.

H.

Originally Posted by justonething

All I can say was it looked fun when I saw those pictures posted. Especially knowing that the most common option taken nowadays with a broken leg of a deck chair is a trip to the tip or throwing it out on the nature strip.
There must have been a certain satisfaction on up-cycling, with just the most basic of tools.

Amen!

I sometimes despair of our throw away society. What's worse, manufacturers often make stuff that is difficult or impossible to repair.

Often, I find repair jobs like these, or smaller jobs generally, very satisfying, but that may be connected to my love of instant gratification.

Originally Posted by clear out

John, you mentioned seeing old crafts at a fair in England.
We have a ‘Lost Trades Fair’ here in Oz where a multitude of old skills are demonstrated.
A chairmaker ‘Glen Rundle’ started it off in Kyneton Victoria about ten years ago.
I believe it’s now moved to Bendigo when covid allows it to happen again.
He has also held it in Toowoomba Queensland and Hawkesbury Showgrounds NSW before all these gatherings were stopped.

H.

Thanks clear out. I'm in Brisbane, and will keep an eye out for another showing in Toowoomba.

Great job HolzSturm,

I too enjoy the journey just as much, if not more so than the destination when it comes to my woodworking. Great job on the mortices too. Whilst I don't have a domino, do do have a router set up which I use from time to time to cut mortices. But in most cases, it's just as quick to knock one or two up with a chisel than setup the router. It's a good skill to have, and once you know how, it's a pretty simple procedure, as you've no doubt figured out.

LanceC,

Your post, along with a few others, just goes to show what a diverse bunch we are. We are all woodies, and we all love our woodworking, otherwise we wouldn't be woodies. But that's where the divergence starts. Some love hand tools and the old skills. Others love their machines. Some prefer the journey. Others get their buzz from the finished piece. None of these things are either good or bad; right or wrong ... there are many ways to be a woodie.