Restoring Charleston on DIY network

[Cooler]

So our company was closed for a week and a half in observance of the religious holidays and I filled a few hours of that time watching TV.

A show I had never seen was playing on DIY Network called "Restoring Charleston".

http://www.diynetwork.com/shows/restoring-charleston

This guy named Trent finds derelict buildings that are seemingly beyond salvaging and restores them.  Much of what he does is admirable.  He opened a ceiling and ended up with some 120 year old lumber which he sent to a mill shop to get milled into boards about 1-1/2" thick.  He then glued them up to make a table top.  So far so good.

Then he makes the trestle table base assembling the butt joints with long screws.  I did not see any glue being used.

But this is the part that bothered me the most:

He took the recently assembled top made from reclaimed 120 year old lumber and used long screws to attach it to the base FROM THE TOP!!!  He drove the long screws through the top into the base.  Who does that?

[Bill Holt]

I'm with you! 

I built a trestle dinner table from 130 reclaimed lumber and used NO fasteners in the construction. I did use the "figure eight" brackets under the top to attach it to the base.  I'll bet he also did nothing to allow for wood movement.

[TomFromStLouis]

I have not seen the show, but it sounds like someone who can fix plumbing and electric and replace your roof trying to make furniture without adapting the finer aesthetic required.

If woodworking teaches anything, it is the patience to do something right.

[Wipedout]

Was the reclaimed wood full of nail holes etc already?

[Cooler]

Was it full of holes?  I could not tell.  It was from the rafters, so I imagine a few holes, but not "full of holes".  He did say he made an effort to remove the nails before sending it to the milling shop.  So some nails.  But even so, I would not want to see a phillips head screw showing on my trestle table top. (It would have to be a cut nail).

[badwhiskey]

I cannot be in the room when the tv is on DIY or HGTV. Between the slap-together construction and sketchy safety procedures my blood pressure skyrockets!