I have an old Stickley Chair (not Arts and Crafts style) that was given to me by my uncle. It was broken and had signs of previous (bad) repairs, so I am not trying to “restore” this chair, only repair it to be useful again.
The problem I am having is attaching the spindles on the back to the top piece- most of the spindles had cracked right there, so I cut off the old part, and drilled it to accept a new dowel. The problem is the spindle is rather thin, and in order to get a new dowel in the spindle, there is very little original wood surrounding it.
Am I on the right track? Would inserting a steel rod through the center of the dowel and further down the spindle add any strength? I don’t have a lathe, so creating a new spindle is something I’m trying to avoid.
Thanks for any recommendations/suggestions.
Replies
I would contact someone at the Stickley Furniture Company. You could be losing a lot of value by making repairs.
Domer
This is basically modern factory furniture. Without repairs it is worth essentially nothing. Repaired it has value as used furniture. It can, of course, have sentimental value.
Steel pins won't help much at all if I am seeing this right. First, they don't shrink/swell like wood so their attachment will always weaken before too long. Second, by the time you drill another hole , this time in the dowel you have even less wood to hold the pin, especially since it's pretty hard to drill such holes with serious accuracy.
By far and away, new spindles would be the best repair, though I don't suppose this economy is the best time to suggest buying a new tool. You might be surprised what is available on Craigs List. Used lathes are particularly desirable since they often come with a few lathe tools and some accessories.
Spindles can also be manufactured by hand. Cut the basic tapered shape on table saw or jointer. Then use planes to round them, first making them octagonal, and then knocking off the corners of that with a few more plane passes before smoothing with sandpaper.
It's easy to fix those spindles, simply scarf joint a new piece of wood to the end of the spindle and shape the graft to the same taper/diameter of the original. A long bevel combined with epoxy glue will provide a sturdy patch and the patina of the original spindle is saved.
I typically cut the scarf bevel on the broken spindle with a hand saw and finish it with a hand plane. Carefully align the grain pattern and direction of the new patch to make an invisible joint. Make the patch 3 or 4 inches longer than needed, the added length makes it easier to shape the new wood. A spokeshave will make quick work of the project since there are no beads or coves to deal with.
Roland Johnson
Thanks- that is likely the method I will try. I had actually done a scarf joint to repair the fat spindle on the left near the armrests, and it worked quite well. I questioned whether it would work on these skinnier spindles, but i suppose if there is enough glue surface area there shouldn't be any problem.
Other than selecting material well, grain- and color-wise, any other recommendations to make the joint disappear?
If that fails, it looks like I'll be getting (or borrowing) a lathe.
Thanks.
Position the scarf so that it has the bevel line on the side of the spindle that way only a short glue line will show on the front and back.
If you don't have a spokeshave a low-angle block plane can do a pretty effective job of whittling the excess material off the new stock. Make sure the grain on the added piece is running the same direction as the grain on the spindle.
A good ratio for adequate surface on a scarf joint is 8 to 1 (eight inches of run to one inch of rise).Roland
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