Advice on Stool Repair

[Michael Dromey]

This is a stool top that is very old that also has sentimental value. I need to repair for someone but I am not quite sure what to do. I would normally just make straight cuts then reglue. But she doesn't want that done because of the history of it. Has anyone made a repair like this gluing then filling the voids? The breaks are not very smooth. I guess I am asking if anyone can think of a slick way to repair but not making strainght cuts. If not I am just going to give it back to her unrepaired.

Mike




249896

[Jim Andrew]

I have glued similarly broken pieces. Just clamp to see how it looks, if it goes back together and looks right, then take the clamp off and put glue on all the broken surfaces and reclamp. Wipe off the excess and let it dry.

[Mel Fulks]

I would clean off loose dirt, reglue as is ,then screw a couple of battens on the bottom.NO glue on the battens. Some paint able putty or caulk in any voids. Dark paint on battens, none on the stool itself.

[Lee Schierer]

I have glued similarly broken pieces. Just clamp to see how it looks, if it goes back together and looks right, then take the clamp off and put glue on all the broken surfaces and reclamp. Wipe off the excess and let it dry.

That's how I would proceed as well. I would recommend that you cut some clamping blocks from 2 x 4 with semi-circle cut outs to match the curve of the stool to allow you to use 3 clamps to close the gaps.

[Gregory King]

I would be hard pressed not to make a new top and install picture wire on the old one so that she could hang it on the wall above the stool. Looks like the old one needs a good prescription of epoxy injected. Greg

[Mel Fulks]

Gregory,if its too ugly to sit on ,it's too ugly to hang on the wall....unless ,of course, a fiber glass butt is covering it. The piece might really be old and has sentimental value. If she can tolerate it broken she can tolerate it fixed.Drink the coffee from the fine chipped china cup.....don't insist on a perfect paper cup!

[Brian Tymchak]

I might be inclined to use a bunch of dowels to put the pieces back together. But those might be visible if you can't get the pieces to fit back together snugly.

[Jamie Buxton]

You've shown us just the stool top. Do you have the rest of the stool, which she also wants repaired, or does she just have the top pieces?

[Jeff Duncan]

The thing that is most important which nobody is talking about is the clients expectations! If she is expecting this to look nice and clean....I would return the top as it's better than a failed attempt, or even a successful repair that still does't meet her expectations. If you decide to attempt a repair you MUST have a talk with her to measure her expectations BEFORE you try the repair! Remember the average person doesn't understand anything about how wood works and what can and cannot be done with it;)

As for possible repairs....it looks like the breaks are all the way through? If so you could try using epoxy to "hold" them together. My concern would be that it looks like the wood has been exposed to the elements? Which makes me wonder how well glue will stick to the rough and dirty edges? If the wood is not completely separated I think you may have to fully separate it before gluing it back to remove any stress trying to counteract the repair. Hard to really offer more than that without seeing it in person.....but good luck!

JeffD

[Sean Hughto]

Do you have a lathe? If so, you could make a carriage to hold these seat parts together wile you turned out the underside. Then turn a sturdy disk of fresh wood - orient the grain the same way as the original - and glue the old parts to the new disk. The old parts become a "skin" on some strong new bones and muscle.

I suppose a router could accomplish the same sort of excavation and also the cutting of a new disk if you had no lathe.

[Mel Fulks]

I think the piece MIGHT be from an early Windsor chair shop and still have some original paint. If that is the case the antique value will be greatly reduced by permanent removal of the original surface.I agree the client needs to be consulted
but she has already wisely rejected cutting it to make a repair. Fix it in a professional manner or reject the job,that means
doing as little as possible to hold it together ,advising her to not paint it ,and refusing to paint it yourself. Any filler
needed should be painted in,but not sanded.