What do I use

[Lori Kleinberg]

I need to re-glue most of the parts of an old chair. What would be the best way/product to do this.
Thanks for your help

[Jim Becker]

Many older chairs are glued with hide glue and it's a good choice for repairs, too...mostly because it's actually repairable!

[Lori Kleinberg]

Thanks Jim. Can I get the hide glue anywhere ie: Borg or Ace or does it have to be a woodworking place.

[Lee Schierer]

When I repair chairs, I use yellow carpenters glue. The trick is to get a tight fitting joint. You need to clean out all the old glue and repair materials on both sides of the joint. Then if the tenon is loose in the mortice, break out your trusty hand plane and make some maple shavings about .005-.010 thick. Coat the tenon with glue and wrap a shaving around it until you get a tight fit in the mortice. Coat the outside with glue and put the two parts together. Make sure your chair is sitting on a flat surface when you get it glued up so it doesn't wobble later. DAMHIKT. :D

[Jim Becker]

Lori, hide glue is "most often" available from the woodworking concerns and for simple repairs, there is a pre-mixed bottled version. I don't know if it's as good as the hide glue you heat in a glue pot, however...not something I typically use. Like Lee stated, you can use PVA. The joint really does need cleaned well as the glue needs to deal with a wood-to-wood situation. I'd also suggest type I PVA (Titebond I "original") over type II or III as the former still can be disolved if necessary for future repairs, although it takes effort...much more than with hide glue.

[Per Swenson]

Try Chair DR.

Lee valley of course.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,110&p=30261

Per

[Martin Shupe]

Try Chair DR.

Lee valley of course.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,110&p=30261

Per

I tried Chair DR, from Lee Valley, and I was unimpressed. Maybe I did something wrong, but I had to repair the same joints several times, and now they are loose again. I am seriously considering trying epoxy this time around. Hide glue will work if the original was hide glue, I am not so sure how well it will do if the original was PVA. I just don't know.

[Mike Armstrong]

If it is an old chair, it was probably originally assembled with hide glue. I've been using it more and more the last few years, particularly with intarsia projects. I'll spare you a long post about how versatile it is and how much I like it and refer you to a couple sites for info and a source that I've use. I get it in flake from Pat Edwards and am not familiar with his Old Brown Glue. I don't know who carries it.

If you do consider using it, I would recommend avoiding the Titebond [cold] liquid hide glue. I used it once and found it to be nothing like the real stuff.

FAQ's:

http://www.player-care.com/hideglue.html

One source of many:
http://home.pacbell.net/ebeniste/gluepage.htm

Mike

[Frank Fusco]

Isn't there a glue just for this sort of repair that swells and 'locks' the parts in place?

[Randal Stevenson]

Isn't there a glue just for this sort of repair that swells and 'locks' the parts in place?

I picked up some of that chair doctor stuff from my local Woodcraft. It is supposed to. However it only works if they are already snug, not loose. I unfortunately can tell you from experience.
Thinking of trying gorrilla glue in my case (commercial environment), as these chairs have seen more use, then most due in their and their kids lifetimes.

[Fred Voorhees]

Isn't there a glue just for this sort of repair that swells and 'locks' the parts in place?
Frank, the stuff your thinking of is actually called chair lock. At least I think it is. I tried the stuff once or twice and while it does a somewhat decent job, I do beleive that I eventually ended up repairing the same joints again. This time with polyurethane glue.

[David Rose]

I think there is a post on SMC that shows that basically no glue will stick to white or yellow glue. If it is all removed, then you have your choice of glues. I think that hot hide glue is the only thing that will rebond to itself. Supposedly nothing else will bond well to anything, if I remember the post correctly.

David

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

I would absolutely recommend hide glue if it is a chair you care about. If it is not then use Tightbond II. Avoid the stuff that is supposed to swell the wood and "make it as good as new". There is no free lunch and if you use a no work solution you will get a no work result (pun intended). There will be times when the quick fix will work for a while but eventually it will fail and much sooner than a good fix would have. I expect my repairs to last at least thirty five to forty years for normal use and longer for occasional use chairs. If the temperature and humidity conditions are good the fix should last longer. Just my humble opinion based on years of experience.

A well made chair made the old fashioned way doesn't need glue. I have worked on many old Texas kitchen chairs made by German craftsmen that are well over 100 years old and they are just as solid as the day they were made. Put a raw hide seat on them and they will last indefintely.

[Frank Fusco]

I have fixed some chairs by splitting the ends of the tenons with a fine saw then driving in toothpicks (I could never run a shop without toothpicks), glueing the whole works and driving into the hole. This spreads the tenon and secures it.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Thanks Jim. Can I get the hide glue anywhere ie: Borg or Ace or does it have to be a woodworking place.

No!! The stuff they sell in the bottle isn't very good.
Make your own. A crock pot or hot wax pot is quite good for heating the glue.

check this link out
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=33303&highlight=hide+cow%27s