Barstool Repair

[Dave Novak]

6 stools shown below came with a house I recently moved into. They match the bar well, so I'd like to keep them. Problem is I had a christmas party and literally every one of them failed. In the second photo you can see the way they're constructed. I'm considering removing the steel inserts (which have stripped out) that accepted bolts with dowels. I guess I'd pull the inserts out, drill through to clean the holes out a bit, and glue in dowels. I was thinking maybe the dowels should be slightly undersized and that I should use an epoxy glue that would fill any void (as opposed to soak into the wood). Any better ideas or suggestions? Think there's much chance for success on this project? Sorry the pics are sideways, they're correct on my computer.

photo-19.jpgphoto-20.jpg

[Sam Murdoch]

Will you be able to spread the legs out far enough from the hoops to slip them over the extra length of the dowels?

I think as these are not antiques I might remove the inserts as you suggest, add some epoxy in the pocket, then drive a decorative through bolt through the entire assembly at each leg. Do not use the same insert holes but rather, drive a new hole between them so you only need one 1/4" or 5/16" bolt. There are some nice washer head bolts in black or bronze colored (or you can spray paint) that use a hex head or torque drive and you could add an acorn nut to the inside. McMaster Carr has quite an assortment of bolts in all styles and sizes if you can't find what you like in your local hardware store.

[Dave Novak]

Love your idea, thanks Sam. I can whip the project out in a few hours vs. all day glueing and clamping.

[Larry Edgerton]

Every barstool broken? Must have been a heck of a party........

[Sam Murdoch]

Glad I could help Dave, but on 2nd thought - forget the washer head bolt with a fancy type of slot - just use a carriage bolt with no slot on the outside. What was I thinking?

[Dave Novak]

Every barstool broken? Must have been a heck of a party........

That it was.

[Myk Rian]

You need to learn how to rotate pictures. This looks like a CL ad.