Stool with overdone folk repair

Here is a nice old stool, but what makes it is the repair job. One of the spindles is missing so they drilled a cross bar with a decorative finial in the center. It is stable for sure and it is unexplicable why someone would go out of their way to repair it in such a tedious manner, but all I can say is I love it. Measures 18" H with a 10" diameter seat.