Old Fools Journal: Oh No! Not Another Chair or I can't control myself I have to fix it

I picked this wooden chair from the trash one day a while back while running errands. The right front leg was broken right at the seat bottom.

I pushed it back together and let it sit out in the rain for a few days.  While it was there soaking up the rain it fixed itself and could be sat in once again.

I thought it not a good idea to leave it alone.  It was weak on that front leg.  It did not show it and was only a problem if it dried out and you picked it up. In that case the leg might fall off.  So I put it on the bench and took it apart. It had swollen so tight I had to use a mallet to hammer it apart and that is a good sign

I has all the marks of a useful life. A chewed leg, a scuffed cross brace, dings and paint splatters decorate it leading me to speculate about it's life while preparing the glue.


It is of solid wood  and because of the plugged holes next to the back legs, indicating that somebody made a mistake, I am led to think that a person put it together and not a machine.
You can see the plugged holes below and near the edge of the seat.

It was probably not necessary but being a belt and suspenders sort I made a pin from a serrated bronze boat nail, applied glue all around and hammered it back together.  Any marks the mallet might make just adds to its character.  The leg (on the right side) is now firmly in place and probably as strong as when new.

This is not a cheap throw away item so why was it thrown away?

This is the forth found chair I have picked up  and repaired in the last couple of years. Had I known the person that threw it away I would have repaired it for free but I think the mindset now is "throw it away" and buy more cheap junk.

The metal chair I am sitting on now is having its problems.  It has a stretched cloth bottom that has sagged over time but it has a provision to re-tension it. It has been adjusted about as much as it can stand so to compensate for the sag I have used some of the fabric I have picked up for future projects to level it out.
It makes for convenient hidden storage. Now the bottom is starting to tear but no problem I'll just sew a new one using some of the fabric I'm sitting on or maybe design something entirely different.  You can be sure it won't be "thrown away".