How would you fix these?

[Wild Turkey]

The late Sunshine for some reason decreed that the bunk beds were banished from the basement to the unheated barn some 15 years ago.  Now they are needed so I'm sanding and scratching my head about how to get them back in decent condition -- still have the dresser, desks and bench that go with the set. (My mother bought these 60+ years ago, I grew up with them as did my boys. Good stuff.)

But unconditioned storage was rough on them.

I'm thinking epoxy in crack and screw to pull it together, clamp for insurance.

[attachment=46369][attachment=46370][attachment=46371]

Holes in top are for pegs to mount them as bunks; you could also use desks as bed ends.

[Petertaylor]

What you said is what I would do.

[Tapper]

Nice story and glad you've decided to save them from the Grim Reaper. My guess is that Titebond and a passel of clamps would do the job.

Let us know how it turns out.

Doug

[hcbph]

The late Sunshine for some reason decreed that the bunk beds were banished from the basement to the unheated barn some 15 years ago.  Now they are needed so I'm sanding and scratching my head about how to get them back in decent condition -- still have the dresser, desks and bench that go with the set. (My mother bought these 60+ years ago, I grew up with them as did my boys. Good stuff.)

I'm going to go against the crowd here based on many years of doing restores and restoration work.  Based on the pictures, looks like at least 1/2 the one legs glue has already failed so just trying to shove some glue or epoxy in the opening is likely (IMO) to fail down the road.  If I was doing the repair I'd take the legs off and use a long thin blade like a fro, separate the 2 pieces on the glueline.  Clean the glue line by either scraping or sanding it.  Use some short dowels to align and reinforce the joint and help keep it tight.  This way you can get a proper coating of glue on the parts.
Now having said all this, if it was mine I'd prefer to make new legs that would be a lot more solid and sure than what you currently have, but that just my opinion.
Good luck.

[R Clark]

I'm going to go against the crowd here based on many years of doing restores and restoration work.  Based on the pictures, looks like at least 1/2 the one legs glue has already failed so just trying to shove some glue or epoxy in the opening is likely (IMO) to fail down the road.  If I was doing the repair I'd take the legs off and use a long thin blade like a fro, separate the 2 pieces on the glueline.  Clean the glue line by either scraping or sanding it.  Use some short dowels to align and reinforce the joint and help keep it tight.  This way you can get a proper coating of glue on the parts.
Now having said all this, if it was mine I'd prefer to make new legs that would be a lot more solid and sure than what you currently have, but that just my opinion.
Good luck.

I guess I'm in this camp, too, at least about what to do about the glue line.  As for making new parts, I only do that if something is broken across the grain.

The pics sure look like a failed factory glue line that should be (somewhat) easy to separate, clean, and then make a new glue-up.

But like everybody so far, I think this piece can enjoy a new life.

[Gary G™]

Re-read the OP… I would also split it on the glue line, scrape and clean, then re-glue with Titebond II.

[branchacctg]

I would also go with splitting along the glue line, scraping off old glue and regluing with Titebond or some other glue.

[Wild Turkey]

They are going to my sister for grandchildren.  

Big problem is I need to take them to Texas (from Kentucky) and I leave Wednesday.


May have to reconsider.

[Pirate]

Clamp it dry first to see how much it closes, and how much pressure required.

[Willyou]

I would normally agree with a total separation and re-glue. But with your time constraint, work the glue in and clamp it shut. Don't use screws. They are not needed and would look bad. Use floss or fine fishing line to work the glue down into the narrow part of the gap.