How to re-affix the wooden top of a chair?
June 20, 2015 11:00 AM Subscribe
How can we fix this chair in a way that stays? We can't sit in it. Others have tried wood glue + dowel-bits but the dowel-bits snapped.
Chair image.
Is there a way to fix this with: 1) Some wooden dowels, 2) something vastly cheaper than a power drill, and 3) maybe some epoxy?
Wood glue was tried before and didn't seem to work. We have epoxy. Can buy wooden dowel bits or whatever small stuff we need at a hardware store. Closest thing we have to a drill would be the awl on a Swisschamp. So if there's some cheap equivalent to a drill we can buy, we're open to that.
There's also some sort of metal pin things that were inserted in the bigger holes. Guess we'll have to pull those out.
Thanks!
Chair image.
Is there a way to fix this with: 1) Some wooden dowels, 2) something vastly cheaper than a power drill, and 3) maybe some epoxy?
Wood glue was tried before and didn't seem to work. We have epoxy. Can buy wooden dowel bits or whatever small stuff we need at a hardware store. Closest thing we have to a drill would be the awl on a Swisschamp. So if there's some cheap equivalent to a drill we can buy, we're open to that.
There's also some sort of metal pin things that were inserted in the bigger holes. Guess we'll have to pull those out.
Thanks!
Best answer: Some Home Depots rent tools --- quick look at one near me says $11.00 for 4 hours + $50.00 deposit. If you are anywhere near Berkeley, CA there is the tool lending library. I agree that you really need a drill.
posted by agatha_magatha at 11:18 AM on June 20, 2015
posted by agatha_magatha at 11:18 AM on June 20, 2015
Best answer: Agreed, you need a drill, but it doesn't have to be a power drill. And be sure you also get a center punch to make starter holes in the center of each existing dowel so that your drill doesn't wander when you start the hole. And you need a hammer to use the center punch properly.
You will need to cut off the existing dowels flush with the rest of the wood first. To do that, you could wrap half of a hacksaw blade with duct tape to make a handle for a cheap, flexible, improvised saw.
Be prepared for some frustration when your dowel holes don't line up perfectly, though. It will be very difficult to drill out just the dowel, directly on center, for each of ten fragments. There may be some cursing when you attempt to put the whole thing together.
posted by bricoleur at 12:09 PM on June 20, 2015
You will need to cut off the existing dowels flush with the rest of the wood first. To do that, you could wrap half of a hacksaw blade with duct tape to make a handle for a cheap, flexible, improvised saw.
Be prepared for some frustration when your dowel holes don't line up perfectly, though. It will be very difficult to drill out just the dowel, directly on center, for each of ten fragments. There may be some cursing when you attempt to put the whole thing together.
posted by bricoleur at 12:09 PM on June 20, 2015
Best answer: DIY Tip: don't try to do a job without the correct tools.
An entry level rechargeable drill can probably be had for $30, and it will be useful in the future.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:32 PM on June 20, 2015
An entry level rechargeable drill can probably be had for $30, and it will be useful in the future.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:32 PM on June 20, 2015
Best answer: Maybe you should be using steel instead of dowels.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:33 PM on June 20, 2015
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:33 PM on June 20, 2015
Best answer: Pre made dowels are made out of relatively weak wood. If you use lengths of dowel rod made from a hardwood like oak you might have more luck. Your dowel thickness should be 1/3rd the width of your narrower material. A substitute like bolts with the head cut off might work better but they also might just tear through as expansion and contraction breaks them loose from the wood.
Dowels are a cheap construction method. This chair should have been mortised and tenoned from the start and you could make that repair now with nothing more than a chisel, hammer and small backsaw. However the back of the chair would end up shorter by the length of the tenon. You could use a loose tenon instead. Again that could be done with a chisel, hammer and saw. A loose or floating tenon is basically just a dowel cranked up to 11. If you go to the lumber store and find a piece of molding about 3/8ths by 1 inch you can carve out a pair of matching mortises in your two outside members with the chisel and then use a regular dowel to secure the center sections.
posted by Mitheral at 1:32 PM on June 20, 2015
Dowels are a cheap construction method. This chair should have been mortised and tenoned from the start and you could make that repair now with nothing more than a chisel, hammer and small backsaw. However the back of the chair would end up shorter by the length of the tenon. You could use a loose tenon instead. Again that could be done with a chisel, hammer and saw. A loose or floating tenon is basically just a dowel cranked up to 11. If you go to the lumber store and find a piece of molding about 3/8ths by 1 inch you can carve out a pair of matching mortises in your two outside members with the chisel and then use a regular dowel to secure the center sections.
posted by Mitheral at 1:32 PM on June 20, 2015
Best answer: Sorry to belabor the point, but brass would be even better than steel. You can easily get a brass rod at a hardware store, and it can be cut with a hacksaw to whatever length you need.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:14 PM on June 21, 2015
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:14 PM on June 21, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks everybody! Seems like a little bit of a job given my skill set but I'm up for it. :-) A fellow mefite even offered to send some hardware my way! Really appreciate the help and what a great community.
posted by circular at 9:19 AM on June 22, 2015
posted by circular at 9:19 AM on June 22, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'd go with slightly larger dowels that go a bit deeper than the old ones, if possible.
This will not be a reliable repair without drilling new dowel holes. There is too much motion between the back legs and the chairback - the glue/epoxy will crack and split. The dowels will provide the stability the glue needs.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:13 AM on June 20, 2015 [3 favorites]