Hi,
My sister in Montreal is considering buying wood dining room chairs (antique I think), and she asked me how difficult it is to repair the "wobbly" chairs I decided to ask here.
Having done a lot of woodworking, my opinion is that the job is not as simple as it may appear; it requires skill, knowledge and time. I.e, carefully remove all necessary parts, carefully remove old glue etc. from all surfaces with fine (400 grit?) sandpaper, etc.
Suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks.
Dugie
There are two ways. One is to do as you are suggesting, but be very careful as you don't want to remove any of the wood that is likely already worn as the professor indicated. Some times the use of some flat tooth picks can be helpful.
There is another possibility. That is the material made just for the job. I believe it is sold under the name Chair Lock and maybe some other names. The few times I have used it, it has worked. Worked for over 30 years so far on some kitchen chairs that were a wedding present to my mother and father and are now being used by my daughter and her family.
I have a chair that I reglued. It was a captains chair and all I did was to knock apart the joints that were loose slather in some of the carpenter's wood glue (the light brown stuff) and reassemble. This was several months ago and it is still holding strong.\\
This might not be the best option on some pricey antique however, but for my thrift shop chair it seemed to work out just fine.
My sister asked me to thank you all for your help.
"That is nice that these folks share their knowledge for free! Would you please thank them for me?"
Dugie
The Lurkers Creed 'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool... Than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
I add one additional piece of information since no one has posted it already. If you decide you need to disassemble the stretchers many brands of bar clamps will allow you to reverse the movable jaw and the clamp becomes a spreader. Don't know if you need to go that far. Its like surgery, the least invasive the better. JoeG
My parents have, or had, wooden chairs. That was a continuing struggle for my Dad, to keep the chairs glued.
The chairs I now h ave, when they come loose I drill a 1/8 hole from the inside of the hole out through the horizontal rod. Push em back together, and drill a slightly smaller hole into the end of the rod. Small dab of vaseline on the end of the rod, into the hole to lube the threads.
Zip in a black head drywall screw. 1 5/8 inch long works nicely. Hardly visible, unless you really know what you're looking for. And folks who do chairs will understand.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.