*
I bought a wooden chair, “some assembly required.” The underside of the seat has angled sockets for the legs, which were lathed. The instructions said to apply wood glue to the legs and inserting them into the sockets.
Problem was, the fit was so tight that all the glue on the sides was pushed out. So, I removed the leg and added more glue to the bottom of the socket, figuring that it would squeeze up the sides when I pounded the leg in with a rubber mallet.
It has been about five years, and one leg just fell out. There is no trace of glue on the sides, but there is a thin disc of glue at the bottom. Apparently I had not pounded it hard enough to seat the leg properly and squeeze the glue up the sides.
This time, should the wood be striated to allow the glue to spread?
Replies
*
Janet,
No. You want a tight joint and the tenon of the leg should have glue on it. Squeeze out is, IMO, somewhat of an indication that there was enough applied. The 1/16th or so space between the end of the tenon and the bottom of the mortise is to accomodate the excess, not to secure the joint.
The best way to remove squeeze out is to let it skim over, then it can be easily "peeled" away using a plastic putty knife.
Dano
*When I assemble joints such as you are talking about; I apply a very thin coat of glue to both the mortise and tenon. I would have lightly sanded the leg’s tenon to reduce its diameter first. Pouring glue in the bottom could, in some circumstances lead to disaster, since the glue can not be compressed and could split the work. This why dowels are sometimes grooved.
*I compromised and sanded the last half inch of the tenon, and avoided excess glue at the bottom. The chair wobbled slightly--I suspect that the other three legs have that thin disc of glue and stick out more! The wood is slightly worn where it contacts the floor, so I rotated the leg in the socket to bring the unworn section down and even out the length. Works fine; thanks for the advice. Especially the part about splitting the work, which I hadn't heard before.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled