Repair a broken chair leg

[David Tolsky]

411512411513411514411515 Hi friends, I do not have a lot of experience repairing furniture but was given the task to help a friend. See photos please. I'd love to insert a dowel but fear the two pieces would not fit like a glove like they do now. The break is not flat. If I misalign the dowel I could screw up the fit. Should I trust the wood glue alone? I figure once I glue, then sand, stain and finish. Any suggestions would be welcome!

[Yonak Hawkins]

David, how about, after gluing, drill and insert a nice big fat dowel up through the bottom of the foot ? Have you got or can you get a long enough drill bit ? You can get 3/8", 7/16" and 1/2" X 24" drill bits at Harbor Freight. Take it slow and drill straight.

[David Tolsky]

Interesting idea...

[Bradley Gray]

I would glue first then cut a mortise in the back for a piece of wood. I would use a hollow chisel mortiser but overlapping holes and a chisel would also work.

[David Tolsky]

Another great idea Bradley. I don't have a hollow chisel mortiser but I think I know what it is. Can that work with my drill press?

[David Tolsky]

Also Bradley, won't the mortise show on one of the sides of the chair leg after cutting and sanding the piece of wood flush? If the wood is not the same as the wood used on the leg will I know it is there even after staining and finishing?

[keith wootton]

west epoxy painted on the broken wood, then epoxy thickened with microspheres to fill gaps, then held together with out too much pressure until cured. this will be as strong as the wood, which in this case doesn't seem ideal....

[David Tolsky]

west epoxy painted on the broken wood, then epoxy thickened with microspheres to fill gaps, then held together with out too much pressure until cured. this will be as strong as the wood, which in this case doesn't seem ideal....

I'm a beginner at this. You lost me at "west epoxy" and then "microspheres". Please tell me how and where to get both. Thank you.

[lowell holmes]

I would make a jig to hold the pieces for drilling on a drill press, drill a hole for a round tenon and fit the pieces.
You might not even need to clamp the assembly, but you could make a clamping jig.
With the jig made, you could dry fit the leg before glue up. You can rotate drill press table to position the loose part of the leg.

[Jay Aubuchon]

If you want to add a dowel, but can't get the holes aligned well enough, perhaps you could drill the holes slightly oversized. Then use epoxy, thickened with wood flour or microspheres, to compensate for the loose fit.

[David Buchhauser]

David, how about, after gluing, drill and insert a nice big fat dowel up through the bottom of the foot ? Have you got or can you get a long enough drill bit ? You can get 3/8", 7/16" and 1/2" X 24" drill bits at Harbor Freight. Take it slow and drill straight.

I like Yonak's idea. Glue first, then drill from the bottom of the leg for a dowel. Or instead of a wood dowel - drill, then insert a steel rod with epoxy in place of the wood dowel. I think a 1/4" diameter rod would be sufficient for your application. Steel rods area available at Ace Hardware, or Home Depot. Home Depot also sells the extended length drill bits.
David

[Mike Henderson]

I like Yonak's idea. Glue first, then drill from the bottom of the leg for a dowel. Or instead of a wood dowel - drill, then insert a steel rod with epoxy in place of the wood dowel. I think a 1/4" diameter rod would be sufficient for your application. Steel rods area available at Ace Hardware, or Home Depot. Home Depot also sells the extended length drill bits.
David
I like David's idea of a steel rod. You just don't want that leg to break again when someone tips backward on the chair.

And I like the idea of gluing it and then drilling the hole. It will be extremely difficult to drill holes in the two pieces and have the holes line up when you put them together.

Mike

[Doug Garson]

If you can't drill up from the bottom after gluing the break together, glue the break together then cut thru the break and then drill both pieces for a dowell. As mentioned earlier, if you can't get the holes to line up perfectly, drill the holes oversize and glue up with thickened epoxy.

[Jeff Davies]

JB Weld is your friend. Being essentially epoxy and aluminum dust, it will fill an oversize hole and adhere a dowel or even a headless steel bolt. if you do use a metal dowel , be aware that threaded rod and rebar and the like are relatively flexible and should not be used on highly stressed joints- only tempered or hardened steel will do.

[David Buchhauser]

JB Weld is your friend. Being essentially epoxy and aluminum dust, it will fill an oversize hole and adhere a dowel or even a headless steel bolt. if you do use a metal dowel , be aware that threaded rod and rebar and the like are relatively flexible and should not be used on highly stressed joints- only tempered or hardened steel will do.

Hi Jeff,
For this particular application, either of the items you have mentioned will work fine. Take is from a mechanical engineer with many years of experience. Let me know if you require a further explanation.
David

[Jeff Davies]

Hi Jeff,
For this particular application, either of the items you have mentioned will work fine. Take is from a mechanical engineer with many years of experience. Let me know if you require a further explanation.
David

Hi David,
For most applications ,I will agree that any metal might be 'overkill', that's why I said "highly stressed". But nobody mentioned any sizes, and his pictures would not 'download for me. Take that from a cabinetmaker that started fixing broken chairs in 1969. I'll stand by what I wrote .

[David Buchhauser]

Hi David,
For most applications ,I will agree that any metal might be 'overkill', that's why I said "highly stressed". But nobody mentioned any sizes, and his pictures would not 'download for me. Take that from a cabinetmaker that started fixing broken chairs in 1969. I'll stand by what I wrote .

Hi Jeff,
Effective around the beginning of May 2019, you will now need to become a "Contributor" to see photos at SMC. You can become a "Contributor" for as little as $6 per year. Perhaps if you could see the photos, you would have a more clear understanding of my response.
David

https://sawmillcreek.org/announcement.php?f=7&a=26

[Jacob Reverb]

be aware that threaded rod and rebar and the like are relatively flexible and should not be used on highly stressed joints- only tempered or hardened steel will do.

With a tensile yield strength of 36 ksi, I suspect ordinary mild steel would be about 100 times as strong as any wood known to man...or 50X as strong as any epoxy...not that I've ever seen any threaded rod or rebar made from A36. (Usually it's stronger.)

[David Buchhauser]

With a tensile yield strength of 36 ksi, I suspect ordinary mild steel would be about 100 times as strong as any wood known to man...or 50X as strong as any epoxy...not that I've ever seen any threaded rod or rebar made from A36. (Usually it's stronger.)

Exactly my point. Heat treated alloy steel rod or a hardened grade 8 bolt are not required for this.
David

[roger wiegand]

Unless it's a priceless antique where originality is paramount I'd make a new leg with the grain running the right direction. Any of the "insert a whatever" solutions will be difficult to set up and do and probably leave evidence of a ragged break. Just re-glueing will probably also not be perfect and will be subject to another break nearby.

[Mark Gibney]

I think the suggestions of gluing the leg back together with slow setting epoxy, and then later drilling up thru the foot and gluing in either a steel rod or a hardwood dowel with straight grain would work.

You should avoid having to sand any of the surface of that leg - you'll never be able to re-stain and finish it to match what it looks like now, unless you have years of experience refinishing furniture.

If you use epoxy to re-glue the leg together, you can use white vinegar to clean off the epoxy squeeze out. If you use alcohol or acetone you might strip the finish and stain.

[David Tolsky]

I'm finding that my Gorilla wood glue that I typically use, or even Titebond is not appropriate for this job. I'd like to try a good epoxy to start the project's initial break, then I will attempt to drill up from the bottom. Please recommend a good epoxy to buy, and if I have to pre-mix it pryer to applications that's fine. Lowe's and Home Depot are nearby, Woodcraft is a good 50 minutes by car. What epoxy do you suggest?

[David Tolsky]

Hi Jeff,
Effective around the beginning of May 2019, you will now need to become a "Contributor" to see photos at SMC. You can become a "Contributor" for as little as $6 per year. Perhaps if you could see the photos, you would have a more clear understanding of my response.
David

https://sawmillcreek.org/announcement.php?f=7&a=26

yep, I couldn't even see my own pics until I paid for it :)

[keith wootton]

you can order epoxies online and get them delivered. west, and system three are two good name brands that have good online support and guidance. there are many more that would work. most epoxies are too thin to fill gaps, so adding small amount of wood flour (superfine wood dust from your sander) or microspheres helps the epoxy span gaps.

[David Tolsky]

Unless it's a priceless antique where originality is paramount I'd make a new leg with the grain running the right direction. Any of the "insert a whatever" solutions will be difficult to set up and do and probably leave evidence of a ragged break. Just re-glueing will probably also not be perfect and will be subject to another break nearby.

It's a fancy carved design leg so that probably won't happen. Would never match the other 3 legs

[Randall J Cox]

Also be aware the JB weld is black, don't get any on outside of leg....

[Tom Bender]

If the leg breaks again it could hurt someone, possibly badly. That leg was made with defective wood. The grain is all wrong. A new leg is needed and a careful examination of the others is in order.