Among restorer/conservators there is a little bit of a
controversy over how to deal with clients repairing their own objects. On the
one hand, we deal with botched repairs all the time on the historic objects we
treat. Nails, Gorilla glue, and all manner of poorly executed splices/patches. This
always makes treatment more
difficult. Safely undoing and patching inappropriate repairs is a lot more time
consuming than repairing a clean fresh fracture line. This is why some
practitioners discourage their clients from performing minor remedial treatments
to their furniture. Don’t get me wrong, I get that point of view.
There is another side to the story, however. First off, not
everyone has historically significant furniture. And there is a category of
people with mediocre solid wood furniture who have more time than money. For
these people, if it comes down to a couple hundred dollars to repair a loose
chair, the chair’s headed for the dump and they’re headed to IKEA. Rather than
conservators subsidizing the chair’s repair by taking a pay cut, another option
is to teach the public safe and reversible methods to repair their furniture so
that a conservator can work on it later. This is the strategy I have adopted
because, frankly, handymen are going to do it anyways. We might as well teach
them to use hide glue and non-invasive techniques so that the chair is still
retreatable.
So I’ve begun at one of my favorite websites. For years I’ve
been following The Art of Manliness (and highly recommend you do as well). Their
vision to make true men out of the adult boys our culture is full of is
inspiring.
As AoM has written, “Many
men today feel adrift and have lost the confidence, focus, skills, and virtues
that men of the past embodied. In an increasingly androgynous society, modern
men are confused about their role and what it means to be an honorable,
well-rounded man.
The
causes of this male malaise are many — from the cultural to the technological.
One factor is simply the lack of direction offered men in the popular culture.
Men’s magazines today are largely about sex, sports cars, and getting six-pack
abs.
The Art
of Manliness seeks to fill this void and offer an alternative to those who
believe there’s more to being a man than expensive clothes and the hot babe of
the month.
AoM is a
blog about growing up well, aimed at men and their unique challenges and
interests. We explore all things manly — from the serious and philosophical to the
practical and fun. We seek to uncover how to live with grandpa’s swagger,
virtue, and know-how in the present age by wedding the best of the past to the
best of the present. The end goal is to create a synergy of tradition and
modernity that offers men a way forward and signposts on how to live an
excellent, flourishing life.
Ultimately,
the Art of Manliness aims to encourage our readers to be better husbands,
fathers, brothers, citizens — a new generation of great men.”
A few months ago Brett and I were discussing their lack of furniture
repair articles and he asked if I’d write some for AoM. I happily agreed. We
ultimately decided to cut it into two parts. Part One addresses the “Why?” of
repairing your own furniture and Part Two addresses some common repairs. Last
night, I saw on Instagram that one of their readers shared pictures of regluing
a set of chairs they inherited. He said “after four kids climbing them daily
[we] thought they were done for. Now they are rock solid.” That made my night.
So check out the posts. Let me know what you think:
Part Two: How to Make 4 Common Furniture Repairs
It is true that not everyone has historically significant furniture. Most of the people have just old table. If they don't have resources or willing to repaint it or repair it, the table ends on the dumpster. Finally they buy another one. It is worth repairing furniture but not every time. Greetings!
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