When old projects need a new home...

[Matt Meiser]

This could be an interesting discussion. I'm wondering what everyone does with old projects once obsolete? There's only so much furniture one can build for your own house before you have to start replacing things you've already made. Plus any furniture made for computer/entertainment technology more than about 5 years ago might be functionally obsolete.

Since getting into this hobby 10-12 years ago I've had a sofa table and a headboard, neither of which I liked, that I sold on Craigslist for a fraction of the material cost after we'd used them for several years. Since I wasn't happy with the projects it wasn't a big deal to me. A few bucks was better than burning them in the fire pit. More recently we decided to get rid of the entertainment center I built, which was my first big project. I had built a new one when we got a bigger LCD TV and the old one was just sitting in the basement unused for the past 2 years. After several re-listings and price reductions, I probably got 1/4 of what the materials that went into it cost. It kind of hurt to let it go but it would have been hard to re-purpose for anything else we needed. The lady that bought it was going to re-purpose it for her sewing room and use the big area where the TV went for fabric storage after adding some shelves.

On my to-do list for the future there's a new set of end tables to replace a mismatched pair in the living room. One of those is the ubiquitous NYW shaker table I built even before the entertainment center that was originally used as night stand in our bedroom, then lived in the basement a few years before we needed a second end table. The next trip to the basement might be its last. It actually would be a nice project if I took time to strip the icky Minwax Polyshades finish and did it right(er). I like the other table too, but building one that truly matches might be tricky and besides I'd kind of like to do something different, just to do something different.

I've thought about donating to Habitat for Humanity as well for them to sell in the ReStore. And I've also thought about hauling them to the local auction house where my mom has sold some furniture and has said she's done OK. Of course she's also bought more there and bragged about how cheap she's gotten stuff. These tables, especially the shaker one refinished, might be nice enough for a charity auction if I knew of one.

[Bob Riefer]

I think your idea to donate some items to Habitat Re-store is a good one. Some items might be useful at schools or churches in the area too.

[Don Bullock]

The trestle table that I made for our dining room from solid 8/4 ash in about 1973 is now an assembly table in my workshop. It's perfect for the shop. It's almost impossible to dent ash and the table is very flat. Other furniture I replaced recently went to Salvation Army. They had a big furniture refinishing facility near my home. Now that I've moved my mother-in-law is working for a local charity and they get our "castoffs."

[Troy Turner]

I've yet to give anything away, but I usually repurpose it. Made an futon frame a while back. Not an heirloom by any means. After a couple of moves, it was just sitting around broke. So I took the wood and turned them into picture frames.

Most of the pieces I made when I first started, I've redone vs. building new. My wife still likes them, but I just wanted to make them better. There's a good sized (5' x 8' x2' deep) pantry I made as one of my first projects. She absolutely will not let me turn that into frames :)

I have given away some items to friends that needed them. I usually try that route first and it works out vs. taking it off. I know the ReStore is a great place to leave items, but I try and see if someone I know needs them first. By the time it comes around to get rid of it, I've usually gotten my money's worth out of it.

[Lee Schierer]

We started turning over projects and most has been donated to local goodwill stores. The tax credit would cover a portion of the materials at least. Some things have been handed down to other family members so they are still in use. It remains to be seen if items made for grandchildren make it on to the next generation. Guess I'll have to stick around and see.

[Paul Murphy]

Matt, you bring up a good point. Seems to have two aspects,
-What to do now with obsolete designs or projects that longer satisfy you?
-How to prevent future “obsolescence”.

First for my money, when you no longer can use or repurpose something it becomes clutter, and the material cost has already been amortized over its useful life. Turn it over to someone who can make use of it, and donating it can also help others in more than one way.

Second, to enhance future functional flexibility, consider making larger case pieces more “modular” in construction. If you build something like a wall unit, or wide kitchen cabinet you can build it at least 3 different ways.
-“Built-in”, usually a more monolithic structure, hard to move, hard to repurpose, possibly even constructed in-place.
-“Integrated” free standing. Much like the “built-in” piece, but not attached to the house structure.
-“Modular”. A larger piece assembled from smaller units that integrate visually so as to appear unified. Can be disassembled into the separate modules, and more easily repaired, refinished, or repurposed.

I work alone and live in a rural setting. I love it, but there is usually no one immediately available to help move items around. I now look for ways to construct things so I can move them by myself, and found that modular design has also made repurposing so much easier.

I enjoy making furniture, and accept the finishing as a necessary part of the process. I don’t really enjoy the finishing, and refinishing appeals to me even less. If I would rather build a new piece than refinish an older project, then that is what I do. I don’t worry about original material cost, and reducing the clutter of unused items is worth plenty to me.

[Matt Meiser]

Yes, there are definitely some things that will be stored even if we no longer use them. Actually the cradle is already stored.

Paul, the funny thing on the EC was that I did plan for reuse because everyone was talking about these futuristic flat TV's you could hang on the wall when I built it. It had flapper doors but I used hinges that could be replaced with standard euro hinges. The idea was that it could be an armiore for our bedroom. And I made the side cabinets as separate units but did a poor job planning for assembly so the sides were rather scarred up after several times moving it. But we moved to a different house after design/construction and there isn't wall space or a need for an armiore in our master bedroom in this house.

[bradley strong]

I think it depends on the piece of furniture. If it is a truly a nice piece with no flaws, it should be sold or given to someone who will appreciate it.

Aren't we really talking about the pieces that didn't turn out quite right? I doubt James Krenov ever gave away something he didn't like :rolleyes:. He would never have put his name on something like that.

If it is truly a niece piece, you should be able to find a better outlet that Craig's List. Try a local consignment shop. I've never sold anything in one, but there is one in my town. I've been in them, and they sell pretty nice stuff. You would at least have the satisfaction of knowing it sold to someone who walked in and bought it because they liked it and are going to use it in their home.

Truly nice pieces get fought over. I made some foot stools for Christmas 12 years ago. I gave one to my Grandparents, one to my parents, and one to my brother's family. These were instant heirlooms - beyond my expectations. When my Grandparents passed away, my Aunt eagerly snatched up the foot stool, and her daughter has already spoken for it next. Then, one of her boys will get it and so on. All 3 of my nephews have used the one I gave my brother in front of the vanity to brush their teeth. They want 2 more so all the boys can have one. My parents display theirs in their living room in front of an antique rocking chair that belonged to my Great Grandmother.

Repurposing something is a great answer too. I just turned an old entertainment center into a tool cabinet for my shop.

Recycle the lumber. Why sell something to a stranger for less than the cost of materials when you can reclaim the lumber? I once got a small writing desk for nothing out of a storage unit. It was a piece of junk. What joinery there was was falling apart. It looked like a high school wood shop project that got a D-. It was made from hard maple and had pretty good proportions, so I cut it down. It wound up a little smaller in all dimensions, but it had mortise and tenon joints, tapered legs, and a nice finish.

I made a display cabinet last year. It is made form curly bubinga and mahogany crotch veneer for the back panel. The proportions are nice, but the back panel has a flaw in it that I am not happy with. I let it sit on a table in the living room for a month to see if I could live with it. I decided that I'm going to cut it back down and have another go at it. Our neighbor saw it and oohed and ahhed over it, but I'm not happy with it.

Never give away or sell something that would devalue your work, even if the value is only your pride.

[Steve Kohn]

I have 3 married children. All of my castoff's (and a bunch of newly constructed furniture) seems to end up in one of their homes. They are better "customers" to me than my own wife is.

[David Hostetler]

I built a very basic rolling cabinet out of 2x4s and T1-11 a few years ago to house a cheapie router table and handheld power tools. It became obsolete as soon as I picked up my BT3100 and moved the router to the wing on the table saw. So the 2x4s got ripped to 2x2s and reused for my clamp racks. I have given away a set of end tables because I didn't like them, and the folks I gave them to were nuts about them. Most of my give away stuff though has been purpose built. I have made a few small cabinets, tables and such for folks in our church, that sort of thing...

[Mike Davis NC]

My wife wanted a drop leaf table when we first got married, being young, energetic, broke and willing to please my new bride I decided to make her a table. So, we shopped for the wood and measured some tables at the furniture store. It took me a month but she was very happy with it for about two years, at which time we sold it and bought a nicer factory built one.

I took the old one I made to a consignment shop and got about what we paid for the wood, so I was fairly happy to have a table for two years at no cost beyond my labor which was cheap at the time.

Well, a few months later I was cruising the antique stores and in one of the nicer shops sat my table. The clerk swore it was an early example of farm made furniture and worth several hundred dollars. That is until I turned it up and showed her where I signed the bottom of the table top.

[Jaze Derr]

My wife wanted a drop leaf table when we first got married, being young, energetic, broke and willing to please my new bride I decided to make her a table. So, we shopped for the wood and measured some tables at the furniture store. It took me a month but she was very happy with it for about two years, at which time we sold it and bought a nicer factory built one.

I took the old one I made to a consignment shop and got about what we paid for the wood, so I was fairly happy to have a table for two years at no cost beyond my labor which was cheap at the time.

Well, a few months later I was cruising the antique stores and in one of the nicer shops sat my table. The clerk swore it was an early example of farm made furniture and worth several hundred dollars. That is until I turned it up and showed her where I signed the bottom of the table top.
Oh, that is too funny :) you should have dated it, as well as signed it, I guess.