Early Access Video: Furniture Forensics
Added 2020-09-19 11:01:00 +0000 UTCFriends:
This is a whole new direction for the channel!
I found this 19th Century table and it's totally handmade. There's SO much to see in the tool-marks, the timber choices and the decisions the craftsman made. This thing is like a roadmap of pre-industrial country furniture.
So, let's dive into the details of this piece of history. Understanding this table will only make us better builders!
Hope everyone is doing well. The book is almost done!
--Rex
Comments
I loved the history, forensics and story. Thank you
Doug Hackett
2020-10-29 15:53:53 +0000 UTCWhen I get back to Michigan, I'll have to have you over! Lot's of interesting relics! :-)
Richard Spicko
2020-10-19 01:16:47 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this analysis! Great job!
Richard Spicko
2020-10-19 01:11:00 +0000 UTCI find it funny that people will go to extreme efforts to hid any trace of the building process and at the same time there are people purposely "distressing" furniture to make it look older than it really is.
diyVT
2020-09-27 13:32:24 +0000 UTCDefinitely my favorite intro so far!
bityard
2020-09-24 02:32:28 +0000 UTCRex this video was a home run! You have some insights that I think we all should be remembering. What is perfect woodworking? What is perfection in a craft? How do you make a piece of furniture and have it be unique. Frankly the crap that is passing for furniture in stores is a big reason I attempt to become a better woodworker/maker.....supporting you on patreon is probably one of the best things I have done to help up my game keep up the great work
The Super-wrench Garage
2020-09-24 01:22:55 +0000 UTCRex, you did up your game with this one. Well done! When will you do the "hunting for good stuff" while wearing your GoPro. You can do hunting along the road, looking at the auctions, specialty and big box store for tools and wood. Also, throw in "how to sneak stuff into the shop without the wife noticing (camouflage & misdirection techniques)"
Dennis Archuleta
2020-09-23 22:42:33 +0000 UTCGreat video! You did a fantastic job of not only analyzing and discussing the techniques, but also crafting a great story. I have yet to see a video like this from anywhere else. I hope you will continue this series and perhaps integrate some of the techniques/knowledge you find into the Woodworking for Humans series!
Marc Dupont
2020-09-22 20:22:14 +0000 UTCVery interesting video, thanks for that! There are a lot of woodworkers here abouts, probably everywhere really. When they find out I'm almost pure hand tools, ya, three heads. Until . . . Power tools are great for production runs. But, honestly, for one off things, they are slower, less precise and product less clean results. I've challenged a few to races: 6 square 1 board. only 4 ft long. Joint 3 boards so can laminate them thin sides . . . only 2 clamps, which you can ONLY do if the joints mate perfectly. Hand tools in competent hands will easily win: faster, cleaner, more precise.
William Allen
2020-09-22 16:44:05 +0000 UTCWait does this mean a rule joint plane is in the future? Would be a fun addition to the Woodwork For Humans series, I think for some things like pinned wooden hinges it might help the non hinge part, or at least give someone like you something fun to digest and investigate in 150 years if it lasts that long.
The Poor Man
2020-09-22 16:11:36 +0000 UTCSarah, James Wrights wifes name is Sarah; not Susan. But yeah some people just don't want to be on camera.
The Poor Man
2020-09-22 16:03:10 +0000 UTCThanks for an very interesting forensic story. I also related to your discussion on hand vs power tools. While I have some power hand tools I don’t have the room for table saws, etc, and frankly can’t justify them. What I enjoy Is being able to create what I want without them, and I strive for excellence not perfection on the grounds that while I won’t reach excellent, trying will bring me to ‘very good’
David Coxon
2020-09-22 05:38:20 +0000 UTCSo cool, everything we do is human since we're human. Can I expect the next video to be how to build a drop-leaf table in your driveway with a hatchet then? :-)
Kevin Lundquist
2020-09-22 02:04:08 +0000 UTCWhy assume the table maker made his own legs? Windsor chair makers did not make their own legs. They obtained their legs from bodgers, who would contract with a wood lot owner, to cut and shape legs out of green wood.
Mark R. Ferraro
2020-09-21 15:33:13 +0000 UTCI enjoy every video you post. This might be my favorite to date. I love to hear stories. Thanks for sharing.
Marty Ford
2020-09-21 14:07:33 +0000 UTCGimme a price.
James Boatright
2020-09-20 21:48:44 +0000 UTCThank you for another great video. I found it very interesting, as I'm always wondering how things were made. Whenever I see an interesting piece of furniture (or any kind of wooden add-on) I try to imagine how it was put together, and if I get the chance, I'll take a good look at it to see if I was correct. And sometimes I take some pictures (if I get the chance) and try to recreate it at home. Really produces some interesting pieces sometimes...
Frans van Ballegooijen
2020-09-20 21:25:45 +0000 UTCRex, I also am a retired English teacher and a "story" guy. Thank you for keeping the story in the table. I'd love to see a rebuild as well. Again, thank you.
Pat Hardage
2020-09-20 20:15:55 +0000 UTCFirst I didn't think this video is gonna be much interesting. But wow I really enjoyed it! Thank you for making it! Originally I started my woodworking hobby using only powertools and I thought that I need to have all sorts of machines and jigs to get started. And it was holding me down. Thanks for helping me make the mental transition towards hand woodworking.
Pavel Peroutka
2020-09-20 20:08:51 +0000 UTCEngaging video. Thanks for making it. I had thought, though, that there were people who specialized in turnings and that's all they did with someone else doing the rest of the chair, for example. I could be wrong for this time period, though. This could have been what happened here, especially if it was a small production company. Perhaps it wasn't one person but one family. As for furniture restoration, I recommend Thomas Johnson videos on Youtube who works on real antiques. He is what got me started in furniture restoration and eventually woodworking.
Trinidad Regaspi
2020-09-20 17:12:05 +0000 UTCRex, I love this video. The story you told about this piece of furniture is amazing. I would love to see more. But the first sentence you told about your wife is exactly what I can hear from mine if I -b-r-i-n-g- -h-o-m-e- save something. Are all the woodworker wives the same? :D
Csongor Halmai
2020-09-20 14:01:57 +0000 UTCAh well! I was looking forward to the 'Furniture Resuscitation' series or 'The Furniture Doctor'. :D
Yohann_M
2020-09-20 13:49:18 +0000 UTCI thoroughly enjoyed this forensics episode and learned a lot. Your channel, more than any other teaching resource, has gotten me into woodworking, and it's been a ton of fun. I just finished a leg vise of your design. I have a crepe myrtle branch I'm going to use for the handle
Alex Lopatka
2020-09-20 12:35:30 +0000 UTCRight!? It's not a new idea.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:18:37 +0000 UTCI'm very glad you found it credible!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:18:22 +0000 UTCI'll do it! I just need to fine more pieces.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:18:06 +0000 UTCThe book won't be out until March, which is a drag.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:17:44 +0000 UTCI will if you buy it!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:17:09 +0000 UTCI'm glad it was helpful!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:16:56 +0000 UTCOh it would be. They supposedly took a cedar salt trough and turned it into a hope chest around the turn of the century when they had to move from the farm.
Andrew Parsons
2020-09-20 12:16:46 +0000 UTCMaybe I will!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:16:10 +0000 UTCIt's worth the struggle, but it's not easy.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:15:51 +0000 UTCHave you posted pics of that? I'd like to see it.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:15:31 +0000 UTCI think it's human to get your work done and get paid. Maybe it's human to give yourself a break on little details.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:14:48 +0000 UTCWow! That is the perfect family story. Lovely to hear that you mom is still here to enjoy it!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:14:12 +0000 UTCI love the imperfections, too. It's good to have a healthy attitude towards your work and enjoy the hand-made qualitites.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:13:32 +0000 UTC100% on the schedule for the winter. Count on it!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:10:15 +0000 UTCJim Bode tools has rule joint planes, but they're very pricey. If I want to make this joint, I'll have to build the planes....which is not out of the question!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:09:51 +0000 UTCHonestly, it's still usable right now. I gave it to some friends.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:08:45 +0000 UTCThat "reincarnation" angle is very interesting! I'll keep it in mind.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:08:20 +0000 UTCActually, I already found this piece a new home with friends and they like it the way it is.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:07:32 +0000 UTCYou should! You never know what you'll find.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:07:07 +0000 UTCI still use my machines....but only when it's a big time-saver. Otherwise, it's handtools for me!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:06:16 +0000 UTCBelieve me, I cannot wait until that thing is done and out of my life.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:05:20 +0000 UTCGive it to the person who threw out the original, lol
Geoffrey Wilson
2020-09-20 12:05:12 +0000 UTCIt's a shame the factory piece isn't nicer. They could have done some of these details so easily.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:04:35 +0000 UTCEsty?
The Deaf Maker
2020-09-20 12:04:21 +0000 UTCI'm delighted that you like it!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:03:11 +0000 UTCThank you!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:02:54 +0000 UTCIt's interesting to see how some creators end up with basically a family business (eg James Wright's wife Susan, who's currently building her own workbench) and some are adamantly opposed to co-starring (like your wife). Different strokes and all that
Matthew Leigh
2020-09-20 12:02:44 +0000 UTCI would totally build a replica if I had anywhere to put it!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:02:44 +0000 UTCI'd love to! I just need to fine more pieces to look at.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:02:18 +0000 UTCI already found it a new home with some friends, and they like it the way it is.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:01:56 +0000 UTCI'm sure that would be fun....and espensive!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:00:50 +0000 UTCI think that when you own it, you get to do whatever you want with it. It's not super-valuable, so I think a full restoration is fine.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 12:00:29 +0000 UTCI would love to build it, but I have no where to put the finished product!
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 11:59:50 +0000 UTCIt's great that you have relatives in the craft. It makes all the difference.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 11:58:59 +0000 UTCMy wife REFUSES to be on camera. Ever.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 11:58:31 +0000 UTCWhen I was but a "wee lad", I learned to make pocket holes like the ones you described from my grandfather who was a master cabinetmaker and finish carpenter. Most people think that some guy named Kreg invented them. LOL!
Michael Bennett
2020-09-20 08:56:32 +0000 UTCVery interesting and engaging. The forensics were credible and conclusions were admirable.
Steve
2020-09-20 05:31:26 +0000 UTCI LOVED that you broke down both the customer who would buy it, and how the maker would be attentive to that need... best video I have seen I a while (is there an echo in this thread?) PLEASE continue this series! More historical information build information and storytelling, you are masterful at all of these skills!
Joshua Gentges
2020-09-20 04:15:02 +0000 UTCRex, I'm all in with those above who would like to see you restore this table or another curbside find. Especially if you restore it using techniques that would have been used by the original maker if the table had been brought back for repair. Also agree with the idea of hand vs. machine work. I have used strictly machine tools in most of the work I have done, but am now transitioning to more hand tools for finish and using machines (table and band saws) to break down the raw stock to rough dimensions. Thanks you and also looking forward to seeing the book available soon.
Matt Evans-Koch
2020-09-20 04:11:33 +0000 UTCRecreate it !!!!
James Boatright
2020-09-20 04:00:45 +0000 UTCGreat summary of the different set of priorities when using hand tools vs power tools. 👍
ethan_oz
2020-09-20 03:59:16 +0000 UTCThis was a very good video. Love this. So it whenever you can. Now here's a suggestion for you. Make a similar table using your techniques and then sell it.
Rod Jones
2020-09-20 03:14:18 +0000 UTCThis is quite possibly one of my favorite episodes of yours. Thank you, sir. Speaks to the mystique of why I try and struggle at this hobby/trade.
Eric Adkins
2020-09-20 02:28:02 +0000 UTCI loved this video, apart from the archeology of the table I especially liked the manifesto you deliver at the end. I'm a retired guy on a very limited budget who has never worked with his hands so I went to a night school course for a few weeks. They mostly showed only how to use power tools that most of us would never afford; that was great for the apprentice carpenters, but then I stumbled across you, Paul Sellars and James Wright and my confidence has gone through the roof. I have just built a Roman workbench from 30 year-old scrap I recovered from a derelict treehouse built by our home's previous owner. It doubles as a bench in our (very rustic) outdoor charcoal and wood BBQ area. Thanks for the help and inspiration.
Laurie Savage
2020-09-20 01:56:11 +0000 UTCI don't know if this really fits in with the "woodwork for humans" concept, but it's a fascinating story! I really enjoyed the video.
Kevin Lundquist
2020-09-20 01:52:07 +0000 UTCI always know I've done something right when the most reclusive Patron pops up to give me a pat on the back. Thanks for the encouragement. Really.
Rex Krueger
2020-09-20 00:39:20 +0000 UTCKnow what you mean about imperfections. When my cousin and I were little, we knocked my mom's sterling silver compote off the coffee table with regularity. It wobbled at the base mercilessly. When I was about 30 years old I felt guilty about all of the abuse we had dished out to that compote. So I bought her a new one. She loved the new one, but she cherished the battered one--and she still has it. She's 93 years old.
MARY KAREN ROBERTS
2020-09-19 22:54:52 +0000 UTCI couldn't agree more. The imperfections in my pieces are what make them the most interesting to me. I want my work to be as good as I can, but I know perfection isn't going to be there. I want me to be in each piece. And yes, machine work can at times look really sterile and kind of uninteresting. Thanks for this video. It was fantastic.
Amy Holderness
2020-09-19 22:25:20 +0000 UTCThis has got to be the most interesting video from you I've ever seen. Please do more of this series with more focus on the little things that show the bigger picture.
LiraNuna
2020-09-19 20:41:17 +0000 UTCRex why don't you make a pole lathe
rhett mills
2020-09-19 17:19:12 +0000 UTCI really like the idea of building a replica. I would be particularly interested in how you would handle the drop leaf joint. I took a few minutes and looked around on ebay for a rule plane and I couldn't find one. It would be nice to understand how to make a plane for this kind of joint from nothing. I cannot imagine how it can be done without having such a joint as a model. Maybe you just freehand something, but that seems pretty difficult and the angle that the plane has to meet the work makes me wonder as well.
William Fishburne
2020-09-19 15:10:33 +0000 UTCOne of my favorite videos because of the historical insight into how the table was made and the choices made. I would like to see what you would do to restore this to a usable table.
Jerry Kingzett
2020-09-19 15:01:24 +0000 UTCVery nice treatise, Rex. Looking forward to more of these (keep an eye out on the curbs while driving - Lol). Btw, any thought to restoring some of these pieces and making videos of those? Something to mull over. Oh, and lastly, here's a fun thought to entertain: If you want to look at it from a reincarnation standpoint, maybe you were the craftsman who built that table. How's that for irony - analyzing your own work 150 years after the fact? Keep up the good work, I enjoy these videos immensely!
Mike Washburn
2020-09-19 14:28:19 +0000 UTCHey Rex, that was a really interesting video. I do hope you intend to do a series on restoring this piece. I imagine that there are a few of us who will have to tackle something similar at some point.
Yohann_M
2020-09-19 14:02:56 +0000 UTCRex, great job. Now you have me going around the house looking at the underside of my old furniture pieces to see if he left saw marks.
Sean Harry
2020-09-19 14:01:19 +0000 UTCRex, you did it again! Another great video. Thoroughly enjoyed your analysis of the piece and the historical background. Your comments at the end about using hand tools vs machines-I think a lot of us have been there or are there. I’ve only been doing this since Covid hit in March. You’ve helped me to appreciate the hand tools and their use-not that I’m against machines. For me, the first time I tuned up, restored and sharpened a plane and put it to wood-thanks in large part to your videos, I was all in. There’s a “feel” one gets when working with the wood that is lost in doing it all by machine. Trust me, I’ve been working on a table for my bench grinder. If I was doing it all by machine (I did use my bandsaw for some of it), it would’ve been done months ago. But I’ve plugged away at it with hand tools. Gives an appreciation of how I was more invested in creating it. And am getting tons of advice on techniques from the discourse group! Look forward to the next video and your new book!
Sean O'Neill
2020-09-19 13:49:22 +0000 UTCGreat Video. Looking forward to your book.
Todd Maurer
2020-09-19 13:42:22 +0000 UTCGreat video. We have one that's about the same proportions, but it's a factory made piece from the early 1900s. Top isn't as nice, with just plain hinges and butt joints on the leaves. It wasn't new when my folks got it shortly after they married. It has it's own 'hacked' fixes my dad did when it started to come apart. It's currently serving as my wife's desk in her office.
Bill Smithem
2020-09-19 13:14:31 +0000 UTCReally fascinating story, Rex. I got wonderful pictures in my head of the maker and his tools and techniques. Thanks very much.
Dean Wight
2020-09-19 13:04:21 +0000 UTCGreat video! Appreciate how you look into the mind, and motivations of the craftsman. Unique.
Kevin S Thomas
2020-09-19 12:55:08 +0000 UTCReading the comments, building a replica would be about as cool as restoring the peice. Either way please update the status.
Ian Berg
2020-09-19 12:47:48 +0000 UTCI thoroughly enjoyed this, and given me new appreciation and insight the next time I go to antique/salvage places. Please please please do more of this. Best wishes
The Deaf Maker
2020-09-19 12:37:35 +0000 UTCSoooo, are you going to restore it? *hint hint* ;-)
Daniel Bohrer
2020-09-19 12:15:46 +0000 UTCThat was an awesome video. Almost makes me want to ship you old furniture to see if what you can tell matches the family stories about it.
Andrew Parsons
2020-09-19 12:06:50 +0000 UTCHow about restoring this one or is removing the patina/stains a big no no.
Mark Bittrolff
2020-09-19 11:57:19 +0000 UTCRex thoroughly enjoyed your analysis of this piece. Furniture with character.
Mark Bittrolff
2020-09-19 11:55:16 +0000 UTCIs this a bid to deduct a bunch of antique furniture on your taxes? Just kidding! I loved it. I'd totally watch episodes of "Krueger, Furniture M.E.". Are we going to build the drop leaf table next week? Because that would be an awesome set of series, as well. Furniture Forensics/Redone pairs of episodes (even if the Redone was multiple episodes) would be cool. A sort of walk in the shoes of the craftsman who made the original. Especially if we had to make some of the tools first.
Geoffrey Wilson
2020-09-19 11:51:22 +0000 UTCThis was a simply fantastic video. It reminded me of working with my great-uncle and grandfather in their hobby woodworking shed. Well done!
SeriousChap
2020-09-19 11:50:57 +0000 UTCI reckon you need a clip of your wife shaking her head sadly to put on screen at the appropriate time
Matthew Leigh
2020-09-19 11:03:08 +0000 UTC
