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Thread: Chair leg, repair or rebuild.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Plano, TX
    Posts
    2,036

    Chair leg, repair or rebuild.

    The front leg of one of our dining chairs has been rendered un-operational once again. About three years ago the leg cracked around one of the threaded inserts. This was before I was doing any woodworking hence the clumsy repair job (more on this later). By the time we noticed it the top three inches were almost ready to split. Since I didn't know any better I cut off the top 4" and replaced it with a piece of Oak. I did know that I needed more surface area and additional reinforcement so I made a complementary step in both pieces and inserted a couple of vertical dowels through both. Imagine that when all I needed was a little glue and a couple of clamps to glue back the original piece. But I wasn't aware of the power of glue at that time.

    Any way, the current status is the repair job is wobbling, i.e. the glue is coming loose in the dowels, possibly because this is the front leg and gets dragged in and out a lot. So should I attempt another end grain repair or just rebuild the whole leg. In case of repair how should I approach that. I was thinking something along the lines of finger joints, plenty of glue surface area and mechanically a lot of support for shearing load/force. Sure the joint lines will show but we can "hide" the chair so that the leg is not clearly visible.

    As a side note this is the chair that was used as an excuse to start my woodworking hobby, nothing unethical about using the same project as an excuse to buy a bandsaw . How else am I going to cut the curve for that leg if I decide to rebuild.
    The means by which an end is reached must exemplify the value of the end itself.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Harrisburg, NC
    Posts
    2,255
    Yea, but it doesn't end with the bandsaw, you will most likely need a drum sanders and a Fugi HVLP spray system to get things right.

    Richard

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Wolf
    Yea, but it doesn't end with the bandsaw, you will most likely need a drum sanders and a Fugi HVLP spray system to get things right.

    Richard

    Yes.
    And a finish room, shop addition, etc.

    Post a pic of the leg?
    How about making a whole new leg?


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