# Just how safe ...?



## Droogs (2 Dec 2019)

is the furniture You make and do you even think about it when you design it?

I've just watched a rather interesting episode (Ep3) of the "Broken" series that is currently on Netflix. It covers various areas of furniture industry sourcing and practices, but also covers the aspect of safety in the design of items. It has made me wonder just how prominent this aspect is in hobby woodworking when making things like dressers and wardrobes etc.


----------



## Geoff_S (3 Dec 2019)

Absolutely!!

I am currently making some racks to store my vinyl LP collection.

If that collapsed on someone, it could seriously damage my collection!


----------



## doctor Bob (3 Dec 2019)

Always a consideration, fixing methods, little fingers. Laws etc.


----------



## Farm Labourer (3 Dec 2019)

This topic really chimes with me. I tend to over-engineer everything. I've built two hardwood kitchens and because I could envisage a couple of hefty farmer mates hoisting themselves up onto the work surfaces after a few beers, made it all terribly oversized.

This had three side-effects - it cost more, took longer to make and were bloody heavy to shift.

Co-incidentally, I also build model aircraft wings. One day I saw a full-size wooden wing, stressed to +6g/-3g for an aircraft weighing 1750lbs. The spars were smaller in section than my cupboard uprights and were made from Sitka spruce - they were triangulated and proven not to fail below a bending force of 3500lbs. The wings were secured to the fueslage with 1/4" bolts.

I now make my furniture bits a little "flimsier"!


----------



## Phil Pascoe (3 Dec 2019)

Farm Labourer"
... This had three side-effects - it cost more said:


> It can have four - it can make something ugly.


----------



## AJB Temple (3 Dec 2019)

I over engineer. 
I tend to assemble in situ. 
The cost of extra strength is trivial. 
It looks better.


----------



## HappyHacker (3 Dec 2019)

Farm Labourer":2zk2aoig said:


> This topic really chimes with me. I tend to over-engineer everything. I've built two hardwood kitchens and because I could envisage a couple of hefty farmer mates hoisting themselves up onto the work surfaces after a few beers, made it all terribly oversized.
> 
> This had three side-effects - it cost more, took longer to make and were bloody heavy to shift.
> 
> ...



But for each little bit of extra weight the plane has less payload and costs more in fuel of each hour it flies for the entire life of the plane. So it is cost effective to put in a considerable amount of research and design effort to ensure that each component is strong enough to get through testing and no stronger. 

I saw film of the full airframe of a commercial aircraft going through stress testing and it reached the test limit with the wings bent nearly straight up at the ends. They then kept on going and it only lasted slightly longer before disintegrating, at which point the staff watching all burst into cheering. They had made it strong enough and no stronger. 

The original design criteria may not apply when a few of your large mates sit on your furniture so I would keep on over engineering it.


----------



## Racers (4 Dec 2019)

Geoff_S":1pgrxys1 said:


> Absolutely!!
> 
> I am currently making some racks to store my vinyl LP collection.
> 
> If that collapsed on someone, it could seriously damage my collection!



Ikea Kallax

Job done.

Pete


----------



## Geoff_S (4 Dec 2019)

Racers":3uww6ue6 said:


> Geoff_S":3uww6ue6 said:
> 
> 
> > Absolutely!!
> ...



Nice.

I’ll sell my tools straightaway :lol:


----------



## Racers (4 Dec 2019)

Geoff_S":9mvwfqlt said:


> Racers":9mvwfqlt said:
> 
> 
> > Geoff_S":9mvwfqlt said:
> ...



It's the only piece of furniture in my living room I didn't make.

Pete


----------



## Geoff_S (4 Dec 2019)

Racers":2e7hyk1a said:


> It's the only piece of furniture in my living room I didn't make.
> 
> Pete



I did actually check this out along with others a while ago. But I have a lot of "scraps" left and so a challenge!


----------



## Racers (4 Dec 2019)

I wanted to make one my self from oak veneered MDF, bu it would have cost a fortune.
We went to Ikea after work, paid £15 to have it delivered the same night!

Saved me days of planing down lipping.

Pete


----------

