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I am repairing so old chairs for a local historical village.
For Loose joints that you really can't take apart, what method/product do you recommend?
Injector of some sort?
Thanks
Mark
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Did you try heat to disassemble?
Very warm glue can be injected with an animal syrenge, probably won't hold with old glue in the joint.
I just did a chair (not that old) that was falling apart, between a heat gun & screwdriver I tore it completely apart. Drilled out and replaced all the dowels, reassembled with clear Gorrila glue.
It has to be dampened but there is no foaming.
Ed
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Try using cyanoacrylate to repair the loose joints. The hardware stores sell it in a dispenser that allows it to go into the joints without taking the joints apart.
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I haven't done a ton of chairs, so keep that in mind...
On the chairs I have done, I've had the best luck w/ getting the joint apart, and using epoxy.
I don't remove the old glue, just what is loose. The old glue seems to function as a "key" that the epoxy can lock onto.
The chairs I've repaired have been somewhat modern with PVA glues. I don't know what epoxy would do to hide glue. If epoxy dissolves hide glue, then you'd want to not use my method.
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I too use epoxy and have had success. But have been able to either get the joint apart or at least able to move around to get glue in the holes. I only use SystemIII T88 epoxy for everything and has worked well for me.
John T.
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(10-25-2017, 07:04 PM)sawnuts Wrote: I am repairing so old chairs for a local historical village.
For Loose joints that you really can't take apart, what method/product do you recommend?
Injector of some sort?
Thanks
Mark
If the chairs have real historical significance you will be doing them a great disservice to use anything other than what they originally were glued with, which most likely would have been hide glue. You can get hide glue joints apart with heat and moisture; not always easy, but it can be done with patience and persuasion. Once you get the joints apart, clean them up as best you can, make any needed repairs, and glue it back up with fresh hide glue. New hide glue bonds to old hide glue and is gap filling so there is no requirement to get to bare wood or have perfectly fitting joints.
If the chairs are of no great value then, sure, whatever works best.
John
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(10-26-2017, 07:34 AM)jteneyck Wrote: If the chairs have real historical significance you will be doing them a great disservice to use anything other than what they originally were glued with, which most likely would have been hide glue. You can get hide glue joints apart with heat and moisture; not always easy, but it can be done with patience and persuasion. Once you get the joints apart, clean them up as best you can, make any needed repairs, and glue it back up with fresh hide glue. New hide glue bonds to old hide glue and is gap filling so there is no requirement to get to bare wood or have perfectly fitting joints.
If the chairs are of no great value then, sure, whatever works best.
John
Thanks all,
I'm sure I am working with hide glue. I have some experience with that and know it can be removed with heat/moisture.
Yesterday I took apart a little table that had dowels/ hide glue for the corners of the base and the top (4 piece) was nailed to the base with cut nails.
These do not have major historical significance other than locally.
Taking apart a chair or any other piece can be knowing more about when to stop than anything.
I think that taking apart a bent wood rocker with about 50 parts could be more trouble than its worth.
I'd like to use hide glue (never used the powder based stuff) but I am tempted to go the injector route and maybe use CA.
Mark
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CA works pretty well for lots of applications. It bonds to many things, is gap filling, and pretty strong after it cures. People keep telling me it has a short life but I have not found that to be the case. I use it to glue the returns on handrails. Some are now 7 or 8 years old and still holding fine.
John
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Repairing old furniture is one thing, chairs are another matter. They get more stress than any other piece and if they fail, it'll either be funny or someone will get hurt. Since we don't care about preservation I'd inject a ton of CA (many chair repair kits available that come with syringes) AND some well placed 2-1/2" deck screws. Cover the screws with plugs.
RD
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(10-26-2017, 07:34 AM)jteneyck Wrote: If the chairs have real historical significance you will be doing them a great disservice to use anything other than what they originally were glued with, which most likely would have been hide glue. You can get hide glue joints apart with heat and moisture; not always easy, but it can be done with patience and persuasion. Once you get the joints apart, clean them up as best you can, make any needed repairs, and glue it back up with fresh hide glue. New hide glue bonds to old hide glue and is gap filling so there is no requirement to get to bare wood or have perfectly fitting joints.
If the chairs are of no great value then, sure, whatever works best.
John
Agree!
A laid back southeast Florida beach bum and volunteer bikini assessor.
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