Tighten up legs?

[Chris C]

Found a pair of these chairs in my mother's attic. One of them is solid but for the seat joint coming apart. I've already fixed that problem. The other is wobbly as the legs are loose. At some point nails were driven in to tighten them up. I successfully removed the nails and the legs but now I wonder how to fix this problem. Suggestions?

 

[Berta]

Can you tell what kind of glue was used?

 

[bowman]

Is it possible to drill out the nail holes and glue in a dowel?

 

[Berta]

Maybe cut a kerf in the top of the leg and insert a wedge. First, clean up the dried glue. Then glue the newly wedged legs in place.

 

[Chris C]

Can you tell what kind of glue was used?

Hide glue I believe

 

[Ed D]

If the chair legs were loose, the joint was made worse by the use of nails. I recommend epoxy. Epoxy is gap filling, and creates a very strong bond. I have had very good luck with both Loctite 5 minute epoxy, and Gorilla Glue 5 minute epoxy. Both have a 5 minute open time, and cure in an hour (if I remember right, I always give it overnight).

Beautiful chairs! Nice project, be sure and show us the finished product.

Ed

 

[Rwe2156]

You really just can't beat a wedged tenon for strength.

So I would drill those leg mortises all the way through the seat top and wedge just like you see the back. You would make a slightly longer tenon on the leg top.

If that's unsightly, then I would pin the tenon with dowels......or do the quick and dirty glue and screw (yuck!)

If the tenons are chewed up by the nailing, I would dutchman on a new tenon. Keep the lap joint positioned so it won't be noticed.

I would also use epoxy glue.

 

[Mike Davis]

Looks like some fairly old chairs. If in the future they may need to be repaired again due to a leg breaking or the seat breaking or other parts needed to be replaced then epoxy will make any future repairs more difficult. Go with hide glue same as original.

Repair the tenons and holes as needed clean everything then glue up with the hide glue.

 

[Jeff]

Clean the chair bottom mortises as well as possible and then do the same with the chair leg tenons. Try a test fit. Are they all really "sloppy" or maybe a little "wiggly"?

Wrap the leg tenon(s) individually with Sisal twine or unwaxed thread and test fit again. If all is well, glue it all together using hide glue and no screws, nails, or dowels.

http://www.oldbrownglue.com

 

[Chris C]

I think I might try a blind wedged tenon as I'd rather not drill the seat. We'll see after I clean them up and check the fit. Should be an interesting experiment...

 

[Jeff]

I think I might try a blind wedged tenon as I'd rather not drill the seat. We'll see after I clean them up and check the fit. Should be an interesting experiment...

How do you do a blind wedged tenon in a chair leg? Not like a Windsor chair where the seat is drilled all the way through and the wedge is inserted into a slot in the top of the leg tenon.

 

[Chris C]

How do you do a blind wedged tenon in a chair leg? Not like a Windsor chair where the seat is drilled all the way through and the wedge is inserted into a slot in the top of the leg tenon.

Cut a shallow kerf in the leg and insert a thin wedge. Insert into seat bottom and drive it home. May take some fiddling to get the fit right. Seems like I remember RU doing it on an episode...

 

[danmart77]

Found a pair of these chairs in my mother's attic. One of them is solid but for the seat joint coming apart. I've already fixed that problem. The other is wobbly as the legs are loose. At some point nails were driven in to tighten them up. I successfully removed the nails and the legs but now I wonder how to fix this problem. Suggestions?

Chris
From the photos of the chairs they show all of the signs of a "dipped" piece of furniture. Someone at some time put that chair thru the stripping steps in a tank. The joints are ALL weakened- especially if they were glued with hide.

Do not use epoxy or this is a one time deal. Your chair is gone if you need to repair it down the road.

You can blind wedge the leg tenons in a closed mortise(seat) and you can blind wedge or "Fox" wedge the stretchers if the holes are too big.

In all cases, the mortises need to be cleaned and confirmed that hide glue is in the joint. Take hot water and a brush and see if the old glue melts and gets sticky from the hot water. If so, your life has become better. If not, go get a beer and think for a while. You have a ton of work to do.

DO NOT USE hide glue from the bottle if you find the old glue is hide. You need to be re-joining and reactivating the old glue with hot hide that is about 150-170 degrees. The cold liquid hide will not reactivate the hard old stuff enough.

This is a big project if you want to do it right. If this is sentimental, there's no time or money scale. If its to get some cheap chairs at the table, you have to work out the way you will repair it and how much time you will invest.

later

 

[Chris C]

Thanks Dan. I'll check the glue. These chairs have been in my mother's attic for the last 40 years.... No idea where they came from but my wife is in love with them. I really need to do it the right way.

Where is the best place to buy hide glue?

 

[danmart77]

Thanks Dan. I'll check the glue. These chairs have been in my mother's attic for the last 40 years.... No idea where they came from but my wife is in love with them. I really need to do it the right way.

Where is the best place to buy hide glue?

Hide Glue – Eugene Thorndahl (CharlotteNC) source for granulated hide

http://www.bjorn.net/

This is very high grade glue and what's more he is the only source that I know of selling gram strengths between 120-450.

All of the stores selling it by the pound only offer 192 which is a good choice for all around work. Kind of like a combination blade on your TS.

You can call or email Eugene.

Note: He sell in minimum 5lb lots. Any combination but no less than 5lbs. Remember, this is the guy who supplies hide glue to cigarette production lines and companies making jello.

He likes to work with woodworkers and he's been doing it a long time.

Find some other guys in your area and go in together.

I have written extensively about hide glue here so you can search out a couple threads for further info. I also did a workshop on veneer work and I covered quite a bit on hot hide.

good luck

 

[Jeff]

Note: He sell in minimum 5lb lots. Any combination but no less than 5lbs. Remember, this is the guy who supplies hide glue to cigarette production lines and companies making jello.

His website lists 1 lb of 192 for $12.00, not a 5 lb minimum order.

http://bjornhideglue.com/cart/

Nonetheless, I'd still use liquid hide glue for repairing only 4 chair legs in this case with the hidden wedged tenons in the legs that Chris is suggesting.

 

[Chris C]

His website lists 1 lb of 192 for $12.00, not a 5 lb minimum order.

http://bjornhideglue.com/cart/

Nonetheless, I'd still use liquid hide glue for repairing only 4 chair legs in this case with the hidden wedged tenons in the legs that Chris is suggesting.

I hope so.... because I didn't want to order 5 lbs.

 

[Chris C]

Hide glue it is....

Before brushing on hot water....



After...