I have an old (but good quality) carver dining room chair which has finally sucumbed to my bad (office inspired) habit of rocking backwards. I have done piecemeal repairs in the past but not been totally satisfactory.
It needs all joints breaking and reglueing, but what glue to use?
Hot melt gluegun does not work because the glue sets too quickly before all joints can be put together and tightened. I generally use a rope tourniquet to finally tighten joints until set. Not adverse to adding a couple of screws if necessary. Historically the old carpenters gluepot would have been ideal, but I guess that it is not pc anymore - probably because it used to contain elements af rhino horn and sperm whale? :)
Any advice?
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Whilst there are plenty of modern glues that would do the trick if you want to use the old style animal glue, sometimes known as Scotch glue, you can still buy it. Brings back memories of my childhood. I can smell the stuff even now.
www.amazon.co.uk/Bolgers-Pearl-Natural-Cloth-Leather/dp/B00KB2GUHE
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It partly depends on how tight a fit the joints are. If they are all tight as new and you simply want to stop them sliding apart again then a thin glue works best.
But usually if the furniture has been abused and the sections have been working against each other and strained then there will large gaps and voids, and I find an expanding gap-filler glue works best.
The Gorilla Glue foaming stuff works well.
Or if you have fractures then you need a different order of strength, something like a marine adhesive that produces a bond stronger than the wood itself.
Resorcinol or epoxy are excellent - I've mended a broken yacht mast with epoxy, splicing in a new top section, and it has a slight gap-filling ability.
If the joints are only slightly loose, just wobbly, you can get wood glue in a small bottle with a needle in the cap (Joint Doctor?) and you don't do any dismantling at all - just inject the glue down the cracks into the heart of the joint and clamp it in the correct position until dry.
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Wots wrong with the standard PVA wood glue in ubiquitous use all over the place and available everywhere?
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 9 Apr 18 at 10:28
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I have used PVA in the past and it has not performed well for this sort of repair.. I guess it probably needs a good clean flat surface to surface contact. CPs link to void filling is probably the clue.
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PVA - Not a lot of gap-filling ability - it tends to run out.
Not very strong for an actual repair such as a snapped leg.
But good for ordinary joints that aren't too loose, and for large areas of contact where strength is less important - gluing beading, veneers, pasting fabric or cardboard, etc.
Last edited by: Cliff Pope on Mon 9 Apr 18 at 10:34
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CP
Thankyou, Googling joint doctor takes you into the world of cannibas based products for body joint health!
However thank you for the suggestion of 'chair doctor glue' - it gives several products that would be ideal for the remaining chairs that are begining to show signs of weakness.
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We used PVA glue for compound fractures of the backs of some Chinese hardwood chairs. The repairs lasted about 30 years . We then sold them to someone who shipped them to his French property. Fed up with that, he shipped them back some years later. He must have sold them on as next - now 47 years after the repairs - my wife spotted them in good health in a nearby house.
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I've used PVA + tourniquet (a Rohan webbing belt!) to repair similar damage to both breakfast stool and dining chair with results that have lasted.
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Wood glues - CGNorwich
