Should have drilled pilot holes
Right now, I'm sitting on one of the most uncomfortable chairs ever constructed--one that I commandeered from being a decoration in the corner--because in an attempt to improve my chair, I destroyed it.
The chair I was using was the result of combining the parts of two identical but broken chairs into one rickety but usable chair. Up until that point, I was using a chair that had a canvas strap instead of a back piece. The trash gods have not seen fit to give me a complete chair since I've lived here. The 'new' chair was better that it's predecessor, but not by much, and it was intended as a temporary solution until I could find a decent one. That was way back last year.
Last night, I thought I had found the answer in a veneered plywood chair. The particleboard seat was cracked like someone too heavy for the chair tried to use it, but the rest of it looked structurally sound. I could swap out the seat for the seat in the one I was using, or failing that, build one out of the scrap plywood I have. So this afternoon, I got out the few tools I have and started working. I got the good seat off (at the expense of the rest of the chair, so there was no going back) and trimmed it to fit. So far, things were going very smoothly (that should have been a sign), but then I tried to nail the seat to the new chair. Screws would have been better for this, but I had neither a drill nor screws, so I used the hammer and nail approach.
The nails cracked the supports, and my sit-down test confirmed that it would in fact not hold my weight. Yeah, my ass went through the chair. It also broke the seat, which wasn't as solid as previously thought. Time for plan B: build a new support and a new seat from the plywood. I removed the support, which was held in with both screws and dowels (the latter not evident until i started disassembly). Got the new support cut, but installing it cracked both the support and the leg/back of the chair. So everything is ruined, and I have one less chair than when I started. Go me.
It seems that with cheap furniture, as with human bodies, there is a limit to how many times you can transplant parts successfully.
The chair I was using was the result of combining the parts of two identical but broken chairs into one rickety but usable chair. Up until that point, I was using a chair that had a canvas strap instead of a back piece. The trash gods have not seen fit to give me a complete chair since I've lived here. The 'new' chair was better that it's predecessor, but not by much, and it was intended as a temporary solution until I could find a decent one. That was way back last year.
Last night, I thought I had found the answer in a veneered plywood chair. The particleboard seat was cracked like someone too heavy for the chair tried to use it, but the rest of it looked structurally sound. I could swap out the seat for the seat in the one I was using, or failing that, build one out of the scrap plywood I have. So this afternoon, I got out the few tools I have and started working. I got the good seat off (at the expense of the rest of the chair, so there was no going back) and trimmed it to fit. So far, things were going very smoothly (that should have been a sign), but then I tried to nail the seat to the new chair. Screws would have been better for this, but I had neither a drill nor screws, so I used the hammer and nail approach.
The nails cracked the supports, and my sit-down test confirmed that it would in fact not hold my weight. Yeah, my ass went through the chair. It also broke the seat, which wasn't as solid as previously thought. Time for plan B: build a new support and a new seat from the plywood. I removed the support, which was held in with both screws and dowels (the latter not evident until i started disassembly). Got the new support cut, but installing it cracked both the support and the leg/back of the chair. So everything is ruined, and I have one less chair than when I started. Go me.
It seems that with cheap furniture, as with human bodies, there is a limit to how many times you can transplant parts successfully.