Question about repairing wooden chairs
MyronWareham
| Posted in General Discussion on
I inherited from my parents a fine quality solid maple dining room table and eight matching chairs that were built in the mid fifties. I in turn gave it to one of my adult children, who being in the military (leaving again for Middle East in a few days) left the set in a storage shed for several years of hot and dry California weather. The problem is several of the chairs seats have partially or completely split where the wood was originally butt jointed. I’m a serious amateur wood worker with a decent shop and equipment. What is the best way to re glue these seats? Is it as simple as re glue and clamp or should biscuits be used? What would be the best glue? Thanks for you suggestions
Edited 7/31/2009 9:14 pm ET by MyronWareham
Replies
Can you post a photo of a typical failed joint?
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1
Thank you, Ring, for your response. I'll post several pictures this weekend (as soon as I can figure out how)
If you can take the rest of the chair apart, carefully re-joint the failed glue lines and re-glue. Biscuits are up to you, I never use them. Be careful about how much you have to remove in the jointer. If it is more than 1/8" total you will have to glue in a spacer of the same grain and species. Yellow glue or hide glue.
Did the SEAT come apart or did the seat FRAME come apart??? If it's the frame, check carefully and you will (should) see dowels or mortice/tennons holding the parts together. If it was good furniture, most likely it is hide glue in the joints. The good part about hide glue is that you do not have to remove all the glue to re-join the parts. The water in the new hide glue will re-activate the old glue. Your biggest worry is how to dis-assemble the chair and get more hid glue into the joints. Yes, you should remove any glue that is easy to get to, but you won't have to come down to bare wood. If other glues (urea, Urea formaldihide, white or yellow glue) was used, it's a whole different story.
Best way to check for hide glue is to moisten the glue with a little water or wet paper towel. Wait a few minutes... if it has that particular hide glue aroma, you're in luck. If the glue disolves or softens in a few minutes time, you've also in luck. If that doesn't work, try plain white vinegar. If it seems to soften the glue, then it's either white or yellow glue. That means work!!!
Keep us informed on your progress.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
Thank you for your responses. Unfortunately, I'm swamped on my end, and the restoration of the dining room table and chairs is on again, off again. I'm having pictures taken to post of my problem with the seats. The furniture was made by Roberti Brothers of Los Angeles in the mid to late Fifties. My research on them acknowledges their exsistence, but gives little information beyond. The furniture seems to be higher quality and the only problem that I have is the jointery on the solid seat. Legs and other turned parts are holding well. It appears from your suggestions that I may need to disassemble the chairs with out breaking the lathe work. I've not been able to check and see if hide glue was used, I'm hoping it was so I don't need to rejoint. Pictures will follow this week.
if you can't push the joint together with moderate clamping pressure you can fill the space with epoxy or re-cut the joint and re-glue. I suggest coloring the epoxy to match the chair color as best you can. Use a thin kerf blade to minimize stock removal. Make a sled to run the seats through the table saw. I use a piece of plywood and line the edge of the plywood with the glue lines on the seat. i use doubled backed tape to stick the seat to the ply.
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