Asking for help on a chair repair problem

I have a frequent guest who has something of a weight problem and gets up from chairs by leveraging herself on one corner of the back. As a result my chairs tend to develop problems - specifically the bracing separates from the main supports. In the past I have tried to fix these by separating them a bit more, adding glue, and then clamping them together as tightly as possible. This works for some time, but over time the problem recurs. This last weekend one of the chairs cracked - see photos.

I don't want to drill holes from the outside of the chairs to put fasteners through the legs and I can't disinvite her. So, can someone please tell me how to fix these chairs ( we have four of them) so this stops happening?

The problem that occurs with chair repair is; you are putting glue on top of old glue which is just designed to fail. The chair must be disassembled as much as possible, old glue removed and new glue applied. Even with this type of repair your chairs may be destine to fail under such loads. So more of a mechanical joint must be used. A well placed screw or doweled joint to add extra support.

The cracked and broken rail must be repaired first, being a fresh break, there is no old glue in there, so that can simply be glued and clamped first before an attempt at fixing the joint.

From the looks of the chair, they are of fairly light construction, and your best bet would be to politely direct this woman to a stronger chair, which may require some tact.

I had this problem with my brother who weighted 450#, but I didn't have to be discrete with him, I just told him to keep his fat ass off my shaker chairs and provided something else.

I would suggest a pocket screw with a matching plug to fill the counter bore and a touch up of stain.

You are always going to have a problem with those chairs breaking because they were never meant to be used by people that large. I think you need to pull that chair apart and re-glue it. While you are at it measure it and make a couple stronger versions using thicker and wider wood with additional stretchers/braces and the strongest joints you can make. While you are at it you can make them wider. If you don't there will be a day when the chair breaks and they are injured. If she feels insulted that you made special chairs for her she can choose to not come to eat.

Wow! That's a tough position to be in. I don't envy you.
You can only repair those chairs so many times, and it looks like you're probably there. You will need to replace the broken members with new material.
You can either go with thicker material, or change the material. Replace those broken members with something like Jatoba, or Ipe, and they may last a bit longer.
You're in a tough position.:(

It appears that you have thoroughly tested this chair design, and construction, and found it is not up to your needs. You could continue to periodically make half-baked repairs, you could possibly ruggedize them with the addition of substantial reinforcement, or you could replace them with a better designed, better built set.

It hasn't been stated, so I'll just add that it appears, from the photo you posted, that your chair joinery is relying on dowels. That type of joint is very weak, and will never hold up to the rigors of a heavy person. As stated, your best bet is to find chairs that are made with mortise and tenon construction. If properly made, they will hold to the weight of any person (within the realm of reason). I used to sell a lot of my chairs with a photo of my truck jacked up in the air, and a chair under each corner. Not a gimmick. M&T joinery is what you want for a chair that will last forever, as long as it's not in a fire.

As Jeff so rightly pointed out, they are dowel jointed construction and are not up to the job. They need to be mortise and tenon. Adding steel fasteners and more dowels won't fix anything as these approaches remove more timber and weaken what is minimal to start with.

They are repairable by knocking apart, cleaning and re gluing. This will be OK for normal service but as you know, this doesn't solve your problem.

The design is not going to let you do much either. You won't be able to hand make a set to recreate that design successfully with m and t as the timber sections are a bit slim and you won't get a successful joint.

A solution is to scout around garage sales and second hand shops to find a set of compatibly designed chairs that are a bit more robust. Cheers

OK, I'm not as polite as many. I would be very direct and tell her she is breaking my chairs.A nd ask her if she would bring one with her from her own house to use when she visits, or even buy one to keep at your house. You want her to visit, but you can't keep repairing your own chairs.

Thanks to all!

So, I'll take the chairs apart, clean the dowels, and reglue them.

And look for a couple of tougher chairs too..

Make her a nice wooden cane to use to lever herself up out of chairs everywhere.
Bill D

Buy better chairs, not sure how big she is but there is no reason a correctly made chair can't handle 400lbs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rudy de haas

Thanks to all!

So, I'll take the chairs apart, clean the dowels, and reglue them.

And look for a couple of tougher chairs too..

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Dowels aren't going to be sufficient. Take the chair apart and make loose tenons for those joints. The strength of the joint is mainly dependent on the long-grain-to-long-grain glue surface and a tenon has more of that type of surface area than dowels. Dowels are good for alignment but not for strength.

Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Henderson

Dowels aren't going to be sufficient. Take the chair apart and make loose tenons for those joints...

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^^^^^^^^^^^This.

You could try a Tenon-Lok™ Wedge Rings after cleaning them up. I see Rockler is no longer selling the bits though. I will have to check my supply and order them before they go out of stock, or sell my set when I run out of the rings. I used them a while back, but ended up getting different chairs. They worked, but you had to be careful and not split the dowel during assembly. Dan

I think these are side chairs. Arm chairs are stronger, easier to get up out of and provide a better handle to lean on. It may be possible to rebuild one as an armchair or just buy one. You take better care of your guest and your furniture.