A piece of trim was knocked off the base of one of the major sections. The trim was actually glued to end grain wood which looks like 1.25″ Douglas fir; no nails, no screws, just glue. The trim is some type of hardwood.
1) If we attempted to glue the trim back on what should we do to clean up the existing glue and what new glue should we use?
2) Do you know of a great repair shop in the Walla Walla, Washington area?
Gary
Replies
Hi Gary:
It's not a good idea to glue trim to endgrain because the board shrinks and expands in width due to seasonal humidity changes, and the trim doesn't. As a result, the seasonal movement will break the glue bond (yes, wood movement is stronger than glue).
Typically in situations like this, you would glue only one end of the trim to the board (maybe three or four inches), and secure to the other end with a fastening system that will allow the board to move. The easiest way is tiny trim nails, because they can pivot with the movement. More complex systems include dovetail keys (if you have a minute, check out this project article, which describes how they work).
Before you glue it back on, scrape away all of the dried glue with a chisel and then sand the area to remove any glue residue that would prevent the fresh glue from bonding with the wood. I prefer plaine old yellow wood glue.
I don't know a repair shop but I've worked with one of our authors in your area named Darrell Peart. He builds really nice arts and crafts style furniture. You could give him a call and if he can't do it (or is too expensive) I'm sure he can point you toward someone else.
Hope that helps,
Matt
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