Replies

1. 
   oldusty | Jul 25, 2006 06:51am | #1

   Nick ,

             Imo , you would be better off taking the chairs apart where needed and cleaning the old glue off and re gluing . If there was a screw originally , use screws again . sharpen dowels the right size on the belt sander or sometimes you can use a pencil sharpener .

       Glue the dowels and tap them in , let them dry and re glue and screw and clamp the chairs back together as they were made originally or take them to a professional furniture repair person .

      Do it once , do it right and make the makers proud .

                        regards   dusty

2. 
   byhammerandhand | Jul 25, 2006 03:08pm | #2

   See if you can find a copy of Bob Flexner's "Repairing Furniture" video (Taunton Press); it will tell you all you need to know.

   Screws in an otherwise sound mortise and tenon joint are likely to do more harm than good. They almost always crack the wood because all the forces are leveraged at that point. At least you can normally easily remove screws which is more than you can say for nails and way more than you can say for staples.

   Mark the pieces, disassemble all the joints that easily come apart, clean up the joints, replace dowels where needed, add veneer to loose fitting joints, reglue, clamp and check for square and level. You will be good for a number of years.

   If you don't want to mess with hot hide glue as Flexner recommends, you can use cold hide glue (particularly good if hide glue was on the originals because it reactivates itself) or good old white glue that has less intital tack so you can get through an assembly before the joints start to grab.

1. 
   Nick25 | Sep 12, 2006 01:13am | #3

   Thanks for your help guys I will continue to appreciate your helpfullness every night as I eat dinner.