Poor condition of Stickley ottoman. What to do?

I ordered 5 pieces of Stickley furniture locally. I consider it a good store. Six weeks ago I was informed my Ottoman came in with cracked legs. I was told it had been reordered. Today, 12 weeks after my initial order, and 6 weeks after I was told a new one had been ordered, I received my Ottoman along with 4 other pieces. It must have been the original Ottoman, as after the delivery people left, it was very evident that cracked legs had been repaired. An outside leg (very visible to anyone) was repaired but the cracked part had not been re-stained to match the rest of the leg. I suspect a wood putty repair. That leads me to believe that a local repairer, rather than Stickley, performed the repair. The inside of two legs had been repaired. This was a special order, not an as is or floor stock piece. I'm sure they will offer me an adjustment, but I'm not sure about the integrity of the piece. It is a 48 by 25 Ottoman and will occasionally be used for sitting. It is also grade 3 semi aniline leather, and the dove grey matches the Mission Chair and its Ottoman. Not a cheap piece.

I'm leaning toward having it replaced, but it will be miserable living without an Ottoman for another 6 plus weeks. Are repaired legs safe?

I tried attaching a photo, but I'm confused by your process.













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Yes, that's a repair and not a very good one at that. My repairs are MUCH better! What i am seeing in that photo (subject to the limitations of what can be assessed in a photo) is a fill crayon repair overshot with lacquer. Now understand I'd have to see it in person to verify, so don't take this to the bank. A crayon fill repair is a 'jiffy repair' usually done on the spot in a customers home at time of delivery if minor. If that crack was not glued and clamped, it will open up over time.

A fractured leg can be successfully repaired to as good as new, but it takes several hours. First, wood glue has to be injected with a syringe into the crack and then clamped and allowed to dry. Then, the leg has to be sanded down until the break is flush. Once that is done , usually five to six coats of heavy-bodied sanding sealer is applied to fill the crack and smooth the surface, sanded to 150 grit between coats. Then comes the color coat, a lacquer topcoat sealer and then # 0000 steel wool to level it all in. When done like that, you will never see the repair and it has no chance of being a problem the life of the piece. You do not have this kind of repair.

If that ottoman was returned to Stickley they would not repair like that, they would put on a new leg. I suspect that was done at your dealer and why it took 6 weeks to cycle back to you on a 15 minute patch job is anyone's guess.

The store said they have ordered a new Ottoman, and that we can keep this one until the new one comes in. They couldn't explain what happened, but appeared to be embarrassed. We have covered the new one so no damage will occur.