Chair Repair Question

[Jason Tuinstra]

A woman in our congregation, recently widowed, asked me to fix her chair. Since I agreed to take a look at it, another one broke in the same way. Is this worth fixing? The break is right where all the weight will be put and the grain is ripe for this kind of break from what I know about chairs. On top of this, the break was in such a way that the two pieces don't join together all that cleanly. I was thinking about getting another leg, but I don't know how I would break the glue joint (I don't know if it's mortise and tenon but it is certainly glued to the sides) to put another one on. I find myself in a bit of a pinch. Has anyone been here before and how do you go about fixing the problem. I sure like building more than fixing :p :D

Thanks a lot.

Jason

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Jason, it looks like you have room to glue then add a dowel to strengthen the joint. It'll never be the same, but it should hold up for awhile. Is it from a dining set? If so, maybe she could place it in a position where it doesn't get used a lot. It'd still look like a complete set and she could use it in a pinch.

[Earl Kelly]

Jason,
Don't try to get too perfect with the repair. If the pieces fit together pretty good it will repair. If you come up from the bottom with the leg to fit into the stub it should fit better, because of the way it broke. I would glue the leg in and come from the back and put a screw into a counter sunk hole to pull the piece in tight and hold it forever. To cover the screw either use a wood plug or scrape the area a bit and bondo the hole up and touch up to match. I know the bondo thing sounds like a bit of a hack job, but if done properly and finished correctly, no one will ever be able to tell it's there. And the leg will be plenty strong for the chair.

As an edit: You can use clamps and cauls to clamp up the leg. Clamp it lightly top to bottom and on the sides. Which will hold fine, but it usually takes quite a bit of sanding to even out the joint. Then touch up the area.

[Brian Jarnell]

Definitely use an epoxy,such as West systems.

[Dave Richards]

I would agree with the suggestion to use epoxy for this repair. Before gluing, I would mask the extreior surfaces with packing tape so the squeeze out will come right off.

Use slow hardener and coat the faying surfaces. Let them stand a short time so some of the epoxy will soak into the wood. Then come back with another bit of epoxy.

If the surfaces don't mate perfectly, thicken a bit of epoxy with maple wood flour (it'll darken up to almost the color of the stain)

You shouldn't need to clamp it real tight. Just make sure the leg and chair are supported and clamp it tight enough to bring the faces together.

I'd possibly epoxy in a dowel from the back after the joint is epoxied together.

[tod evans]

jason, any glue is stronger than the wood providing you`re able to get good clean mating surfaces and proper clamp pressure.with these chairs you and the owner need to decide if it`s worth your time to repair them or if they would be money ahead to replace them. if two have broken i would think the design of the legs are not suitable for whomever is using them.(they`re scooting the chair with weight on the legs.) yes you can do an effective repair but should you? .02 tod

[Chris Giles]

Jason,
I figure you probably don't want to consider this because of the nice widow lady asking you to do this repair, but if this repaired chair(s) breaks after you have fixed it, someone could get hurt, and you may very well be held liable by that person's insurance company or lawyer. If you feel the chair design is defective and will fail down the road, don't touch them. You'll be doing her a favor and protecting yourself at the same time.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. You certainly gave me some good direction to go in. You guys are the best.

[Brian Jarnell]

I would do as Dave says,sounds nice and strong,I would let my granny sit on it afterwards.:)

[John Scarpa]

Jason,

During the visit with Sam Maloof he described and oops he did with a dril and the subsequent fix with some glue, a screw and a plug as described above.

To remove the tendency to "rotate from the repaired joint use 2 screws just far enough apart to prevent this. The plug serves a mechanical purpose as well as the screw will never be able to back out.

let us know how it went.