Partially broken chair?

[toller]

chair has gotten wobbly enought that I don't think it is safe to sit in, but I can't pull it apart to reglue it. I have put a fair amount of force, but it will not budge anymore than shown in the photo. I am afraid to force it, as I expect it will do some difficult to repair damage.

Any suggestions. Would working some glue in and clamping it do anything?

I assume it is held together by dowels, but do not actually know.

thanks

[toller]

chair has gotten wobbly enought that I don't think it is safe to sit in, but I can't pull it apart to reglue it. I have put a fair amount of force, but it will not budge anymore than shown in the photo. I am afraid to force it, as I expect it will do some difficult to repair damage.

Any suggestions. Would working some glue in and clamping it do anything?

I assume it is held together by dowels, but do not actually know.

thanks

[Al Holstein]

Toller,

Assuming that it is held together with dowels and all of the joints are a bit loose, I have had success with using a rubber mallet to take the chair apart. I couple of taps with the mallet will tell you whether it is going to come apart. If the existing glue is brittle it will break up and the chair will come apart. I have had luck with this technique, but I suspect that the chairs were not glued together well in the first place.

Good luck,

Al

[Phisherman]

After you get the joint apart you may want to open the mortise a little at the bottom and make a fox joint. Clean off all the old glue.