Repair chair need help

[David Klug]

A friend of mine gave me and oak chair to repair. The back of it is an arch that has been steam bent. For some reason about a 1/4" split loose at the begining of the bend. A friend who has a restoration business said that injecting glue in the crack and clamping it wouldn't work because there is too much stress. He suggested using an epoxy to fill it.

This brings a new set of problems because it would have to be sanded down and then the stain would have to be matched (oh boy what fun).If anybody has done any thing like this I sure could use some ideas.

Dave

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

I kind of agree with your friend. Splits like that have usually existed for a while before the owner decides to have it fixed. What with oxidation of the wood surface and the collection of dust in the joint glue has a hard time getting something to hold on to. The dust can often be cleared with compressed air, but there is no good way to get in there to freshen up the surfaces so that glue can soak in and get hold of something solid. Probably epoxy is the best way to go. To match the finish use a little poly or even shellac and some universal colors to match the finish. As I have said before most wood finishes can be matched if you have both raw and burnt umber and raw and burnt sienna to add as needed. Hope this helps.

[John Preston]

I would use superglue, or CYA glue, or whatever the offical name is.

With it, you can usually get it exactly where you want it with a syringe, then clamp it back in its original location. The squeezeout isn't too bad to take off with a chisel, and it is very clear.

If the finish is chipped around the split, then you're going to have to fix the finish there no matter what.

You can probably repair the finish by rubbing on a little stain, then rubbing a little polyurethane over that once the stain dries. You should be able to get fairly close without too much trouble.