Furniture Joint

[arildthegreat]

Had a dining chair fail on normal use. Less than 2 years old. I can't get my head round this joint (photos of both parts). How did the staples get there. What do they do? Was it bound to fail? Greatful for advice.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

They were driven in to hold the joint while the glue sets. As you can see, the profile of the tongue here is probably too small to support the load [unless you've abused it!]. Even if it was big enough, you would struggle to glue this back together. I would put a couple of large screws into piloted holes to repair this [missing the bolt that passes through the leg].

 

[big-all]

i fully agree with "why not indeed"
buuuuuttt because the side you are screwing into may be around 8-12mm before reaching the pocket [mortice]before hitting the tennon i would washer the screws as well