Re: Help with glues - Serious help only please - desperate

Aug 09, 2003 3 Replies

On Sat, 9 Aug 2003 00:01:12 -0600, "Ed's Stuff" Crawled out of the shop and said. . .:


Hi folks
>I have a special problem. It deals with glues. I refinished 2 Vilas chairs
>for a friend.
>Today they came back unglued at the bottom of the spindles. The spindles
>that go into the seat. I recognize the problem that when I clamped the
>back to the seat, the clamp had a tendency to pull forward, so when my
>rather large friend sat on it the spindles broke their glued condition. My
>question ( I said this was a long story, no) is can I use the same glue
>without ripping out the glue in the holes and simply reclamp the back
>properly. In other words - will the glue hold. The glue i used originally
>was Elmer's ProBond glue for interior use. Can a glue bond to itself? > >Ed >

i would remove the spindles, clean the holes of glue, and then use some poly urethane glue such as gorilla brand or some like.


Traves

Ed's Stuff asks:

Short answer, no. And you need to make a check to see for sure why you're getting a poor fit in your joints. Correct that, after cleaning off ALL the old glue, both in the mortise (hole) and on the tenon (spindle end). You might want to use a polyurethane glue, but a good yellow glue should work, if the joints fit decently.

Check your clamps. If the cause is your using straight clamps, a band clamp might help. You can make your own band clamp: wrap llosely a couple of times with light rope (NOT twine). Run a dowel through the loose part of the rope and twist until it's tight. Secure the dowel so it can't spin out. Let the glue dry at least 24 hours before anyone uses the chair.

Charlie Self

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a *part* of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a *part* of Europe." Dan Quayle

If the mortice/tenon fit is loose, fit a single thickness of an old nylon stocking over the tenon. Clean off as much of the old glue in both the mortice and the tenon as you can.Butter both the tenon and the mortice with your favorite glue, place the piece of nylon, and assemble. Clamp it and let it sit overnight. trim off the excess nylon with a shorp blade. Done.

I live in a house my grandfather bought 100 years ago - I obviously have had some experience in upkeep. :-) I've never had to redo one.

Check to make sure you can reseat the tenon before any glueing DAMHIKT!

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