Chair Repair

[Byron Trantham]

I need to repair loose joints in a couple chairs. The joints consist of three dowels. They are loose enough to see about 1/8 to 1/4" space. I am using a Bessy in the push mode but they don't want to come apart. I can't see any mechanical fasteners in the joints so I don't know what is holding them in place. Any ideas? BTW, there are corner braces that were glued in place and they did come out. Would adding a screw at each joint strengthen them?

[Mike Cutler]

Byron.

Is there any way to post a picture? I hate telling someone to shoot a screw into furniture. Are the dowels possibly being held in place by remnants of the old glue?

One fix may be to fill the void space with epoxy and wood flour.

[Byron Trantham]

Mike, Here are a couple pics. Yes, the old glue may be hodling in place but it seems that if the joint is as loose as it is, the old glue shouldn't be a problem.

[Charlie Plesums]

Fourty years ago I bought some chairs

Twenty years ago I saw 1/8 to 1/4 inch of dowel. I couldn't get the chairs apart so I just added glue and clamped.

Ten years ago our son got the chairs

Last month I got many of the chairs back to fix them. Many joints were now loose. The ones that were improperly glued 20 years ago are a major pain, since they didn't clamp perfectly before (not perfectly aligned), but don't want to come apart now.

I recommend working harder to get the chairs apart... including joints that seem firm, but are preventing access to the known loose joints. Warm water may help. Rubber mallets help (sometimes the shock will loosen a joint that has britle glue). Multiple spreader clamps in different sections. If a dowel breaks, my preference is to drill out 80% then use an ice pick to get the rest away from the walls of the original hole. Check to be sure the hole is perfectly clean with a forstner bit.

For most joints, I used carpenters glue to reassemble. An arm chair needed many joints assembled simultaneously, so I used premixed hide glue (dries as fast as maple syrup)

I strongly recommend that you not add screws... chairs tend to push the wood to the limit, and additional holes and threads for screws may weaken the surrounding wood too much

[John Hart]

Charlie....I just learned A LOT from your last post. Thank you. :)

[Byron Trantham]

Fourty years ago I bought some chairs

Twenty years ago I saw 1/8 to 1/4 inch of dowel. I couldn't get the chairs apart so I just added glue and clamped.

Ten years ago our son got the chairs

Last month I got many of the chairs back to fix them. Many joints were now loose. The ones that were improperly glued 20 years ago are a major pain, since they didn't clamp perfectly before (not perfectly aligned), but don't want to come apart now.

I recommend working harder to get the chairs apart... including joints that seem firm, but are preventing access to the known loose joints. Warm water may help. Rubber mallets help (sometimes the shock will loosen a joint that has britle glue). Multiple spreader clamps in different sections. If a dowel breaks, my preference is to drill out 80% then use an ice pick to get the rest away from the walls of the original hole. Check to be sure the hole is perfectly clean with a forstner bit.

For most joints, I used carpenters glue to reassemble. An arm chair needed many joints assembled simultaneously, so I used premixed hide glue (dries as fast as maple syrup)

I strongly recommend that you not add screws... chairs tend to push the wood to the limit, and additional holes and threads for screws may weaken the surrounding wood too much

Charlie the mallet was the answer! They came apart and it surprised me how little glue was in the joint! This is the third or fourth time I tried to repiar chairs and this is by far the most sucessful. Thanks for yor help.

[Steve Clardy]

Third time to try to respond. My replies are blipping into the unknown I guess.

[Steve Clardy]

Well that one worked. Lol
Started to say they may have a wedged tenon

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Some time in the future the chairs will need to be fixed again. Make it easier on the guy who does it by using hide glue to repair the chair. Make certain the joints are clean and fit properly. Spread on the hide glue both on the dowels and in the holes. You don't need more than thin layer. Easiest way to clamp is to put a band clamp around the chair at the level of the joints and pull it together. Then use another band clamp or what clamps you have to clamp it down on a flat surface so that when the glue is dry the chair will not rock on a flat surface.