Help: gluing up an old chair

I'm using a very standard old wooden chair for my desk (it feels good, for some reason), but the dowels that hold it together have come loose.

I've been gluing wood in various ways and for various purposes for 20 years, but I cannot seem to get glue to hold this chair together for more than a few days.

I've tried yellow glue, polyurethane glue, cyanoacrylate glue, even tried epoxy resin. But those joints just don't hold, esp. where the seat meets the back.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

s
Reply to
sam
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An antique dealer I used to work for swore by using strips torn from bandages. She disassembled the chair enough to get to the glue joints, scraped off the old glue, then wrapped the end with the bandage pieces, applied plenty of glue. OPnce it was all clamped back together, she used a sharp knife to cut away the excess bandage material and let it all dry.

Worked for her. She said the key was to get all of the old glue out so the new glue could bind it all together. Anne

Reply to
anne watson

On 2/1/2010 6:53 PM anne watson spake thus:

That actually doesn't sound like a bad way to approach it.

The problem with the OP's attempts to reglue the spindles is that you can't just pour or smear more glue on a bad joint and expect it to hold. To do it right, you really need to disassemble the joint and clean it, as you said. Now you're undoubtedly left with a joint with a gap, so you need to fill the gap.

I actually think the bandage idea, as weird as it sounds, is a lot better than, say, trying to get sawdust mixed with glue in there, though even that would be better than nothing.

And please don't let's anyone suggest epoxy, Bondo or such. It should be possible to fix this with the normal wood adhesives.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Two ideas:

First, Rockler (and I'm sure it is available elsewhere) sells a product that allows you to inject a liquid into loose fitting joints with a syringe. The liquid swells the wood and tightens the joint. I haven't tried it, but the representative I spoke with said it really works well.

The second idea is that I came across a product that is basicall small metal strips that have serrated teeth. These are used to wrap around the dowel or mortise and reinsert back into the joint. Made by "Woodmate's" and called "Mr Grip Furniture repair kit"

Hope that helps

Reply to
billtvt

As noted, the joints have to be cleaned of the old glue. Replace any dowels with larger dowels, where applicable.

I use the gauze bandage technique occassionally, as well as paper towels for that type of filling. Instead of wrapping it around the dowel, cut the gauze or paper towel into a cross, like the American Red Cross' symbol, and it stuffs into the dowel hole similar to loading a cloth wad into a muzzle loader. It folds itself into the hole. This allows for dry fitting, too, if you need multiple crosses. In cases where you think the stuffing may be too much and splitting of the wood is suspect: prior to assembly, tighten a screw clamp (hose clamp) around the suspect piece, then assemble. On a square member, where a screw clamp won't make complete contact on all surfaces, insert wedges into the spaces for more even compression all around.

Additionally, to assure your repair doesn't fail, never remove the clamps. Is it April 1st, yet?

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

That's usual for chairs - they see a hard life with lots of racking stresses on the leg joints.

There are three good approaches:

  1. Veritas' "Chair Doctor" glue. This is a watery glue that swells the existing tenons. When it works, it works well. However a chair that has been broken for long will have worn and rounded tenons and you need something that's gap filling too.
  2. Epoxy with a filler. Use good epoxy (West System) and an appropriate fibre filler, mixed to the consistency of mayonnaise. If it's really bad, use the epoxy on the tenon first (and stiffened to peanut butter texture) to get the tenon back to shape, let that cure and then shape it to fit, before re-gluing with slightly thinner epoxy (maybe microballoon filler rather than fibres).
  3. Antiques use hide glue, nothing else. Sometimes some complicated joinery too.

Cleaning off old glue first is important if it's thick, or if you're gap filling.

Don't use foxed wedges in tenons.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

I have tried it, and it does. IIRC, its called Chair Doctor.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

I'm going by Rockler's today to try this before the other solutions mentioned here. Thanks everyone!

s
Reply to
sam

RE: Subject

Until you are willing to take the chair apart and clean out the joints removing ALL the old glue, NOTHING including epoxy thickened with micro-balloons is going to solve your problem.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

FWIW, a friend of mine had a chair that was getting loose. Chair doctor fixed it for a while but then it loosened up again. I offered to tear it down and reglue it for him, but he's pushing 100 and it's a cheap chair and he'd rather a quick fix--he figures that at his age _something_ is gonna get him pretty soon--so I put corner plates between each rail and each leg--it's been two years now and it's still fine.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I went to Rocklers and they now sell something called Tite Chairs. It's made of ethyl cyanoacrylate and it cost 11 bucks. I wonder why I don't just use superglue.

s
Reply to
sam
[...snip...]

I've used those. They do help loose joints grip. I don't think they would work well over the long haul in a chair, however.

Reply to
Jim Weisgram

FWIW, there's a Bruce Hoadley article on dowel joints in the Fine Woodworking archive that might be of interest--he explains why they fail and has some suggestions on what do do about it. The article can be reached from

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but you need to have a Fine Woodworking Online subscription to see it--they have a two week free trial so you don't have to pay anything to get it unless you've already used up your trial.

Reply to
J. Clarke

On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 09:49:31 -0800, the infamous "Lew Hodgett" scrawled the following:

Yeah, what he said.

-- Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will. -- George Bernard Shaw

Reply to
Larry Jaques

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