Chair loose joints and fractured wood

G-Man · 06-01-2019 7:54pm #1

Several of these chairs...of sentimental value with loose and crumbling joints. Fixing the loose joints has been straightforward with new dowels, drill, glue and strapping...

However many joints are crumbling into sawdust... what do do here... It looks like cutting out to much wood for so much work.. I am tryinv a few steel braces too.

recipio · 07-01-2019 2:16pm

Try and let in new wood by half lapping the joints.Cut out the bad wood and simply glue in a good hardwood to match. Its rare that the entire joint is rotten. If the chairs are worth salvaging try and do it properly - metal brackets are a bit of a bodge at the best of times.

G-Man · 08-01-2019 5:46pm

Thanks... my partner has the idea we can perfect restoration..., which I thought would be along those lines of cutting away wood.

Don't think I could easily do that hardwood matching you suggest..Hence I am limiting my material choice to that I can easily handle.

tabby aspreme · 09-01-2019 9:46pm

The easiest way to match the wood is to use wood of a similar age and type, can get some old mahogany to use a doner wood,

G-Man · 26-01-2019 11:07pm

Thanks.. I have an old mahogany shelf.. Well some sort of heavy darkwood. I guess if it makes someone happy its worth it.. Should I be going with old cow hoof glue was well, or is PVA ok..

recipio · 27-01-2019 10:48am

You will have to cut out any bad wood and remake the joint. You can glue a few pieces of the mahogany shelf together to get the required thickness.
Looking at the photo the frame is quite thick but is not a 'chippendale' alas so you can use PVA glue for restoration. The trick as usual is to have the right clamp for the job. You might have to use some wood dye and coloured wax to blend it all together - all part of the challenge.

Prenderb · 27-01-2019 11:16am

Some pics of the whole chair would be helpful?

Another option is to go the opposite and use a timber that contrasts with the existing so that you acknowledge your repair and highlight it for it's own sake. Accept the imperfection and it might look better than trying to approximate the aging with dye or stain. Not saying you want to but it can look well too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

Chair loose joints and fractured wood

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