That client who asked for a 45 degree corner joint at 4 PM Friday

Last Thursday, I had a guy come into my shop in Portland wanting a custom bookshelf. He kept pointing at pictures on his phone and saying he wanted all the corner joints cut at 45 degrees. I told him that's fine for trim but not great for a shelf that will hold real weight. He got real insistent, said he knew what he wanted. So I cut it his way, glued and clamped it up nice. Three hours later he calls me saying one corner already split open. I had to explain that miters on load bearing shelves need splines or dominos to hold up. Now I always push back harder when someone asks for something that looks cool but won't last. Anyone else ever had a customer insist on a bad design choice and then blame you when it fails?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesley1819d ago

I mean 45 degree miters on shelves have been done for centuries in fine cabinetry, the guy probably just glued it wrong or didn't use enough clamps.

julia5499d ago

Yeah @wesley181 I kinda used to think that too honestly, that miters were always fine if you did them right. But after building a few heavy loaded shelves myself and seeing them fail even with good glue, I totally changed my mind. It's just not worth the risk for something that has to hold real weight day in and day out.