Strength test.....

[DaveO]

I built this table almost 5 years ago, when my wife was nursing our daughter, to give her a place to set things down no matter what side lunch was being served on.

It was one of my first furniture design/builds. BORG Red Oak, biscuit joints and some Mahogany decking off-cuts for the top.
I have often referred to it as a testament to the strength of a biscuit joint. There is only a single biscuit joining the apron to the two legs. It has held up to all my now 5 year old daughter could do to it.
Until the other day..... the 40lb. furniture destroyer jumped on it from the back of the couch -

I was surprised to see that for the most part the wood failed and not the biscuit.

Because the biscuit separated and took some of the wood with it there was no re-gluing. I trimmed the biscuit reminats off the apron and chiseled out a patch for the biscuit slots in the legs.

I considered using a loose tenon to re-join it back together, but seeing as the rest of the table is still assembled I thought it might be more difficult then it's worth.
So I used 2 pocket screws per apron side and a couple 3" deck screws screwed from the front of the leg and plugged with a button.

Back in all it's glory -

We'll see if I can get another 5 years out of it. :eusa_pray My daughter now knows not to jump on it...she felt really bad about breaking it, I bet she won't do it again :roll:



Dave

 

[Bas]

I bet she won't do it again :roll:

Hmmm, maybe not this particular piece of furniture, but I'm sure something else will get broken...

Actually, I think it was probably a good thing you used biscuits. A stronger mortise and tenon joint probably would have failed as well, but in a more destructive fashion.

Great job on the repair, I can't see where you fixed it.

 

[mkepke]

Probably not Bas. A biscuit is simply a really short M&T, so they tend to have the same modes of failure.

But one of the true advantages of a M&T over biscuits is that they fail more gracefully, namely the long tenon prevents complete joint separation aka catastrophic failure.

-Mark

 

[LeftyTom]

Good save, Dave.

I thought the title was "Feats of Strength", and I was all excited about a Festivus gathering. :5sigh:

 

[owen299]

Dave, Great save on a peice that proably holds far more memories than anything else.



FESIIVUS....DID I SEE FESTIVUS :rotflm:

HAVE ALUMINUM POLE , WILL TRAVEL:gar-Bi

 

[RandyJ]

Nice recovery job, Dave! The memories that belong with that piece demand that you keep it forever, not just 5 more years...
Nice design BTW.

 

[jeff...]

But dad it looks like a diving board

 

[skysharks]

but dad it is a diving board, see. watch this now that you fixed it,:rotflm:.
Great job Dave.
I'm sure it will last.

 

[cpowell]

Great pictorial and explanation of the repair job. :icon_thum

I'm glad your daughter didn't get hurt. I can imagine the look on her face when it "cracked"...


Chuck

 

[TracyP]

I think it was foresight on your part during the building process. I like how you designed it to fold in the event of a collision with a little one. The joint absorbed the energy of the impact with your daughter, thus saving her from injury, kinda like the crumple zones in a car:eusa_thin:swoon::swoon::eusa_thin. Good job on the repair, and I am glad that she was not hurt.

 

[Trent Mason]

I hope I didn't jinx it for you last weekend. :slap: Nice job on the repair Dave! :icon_thum