Joe wrote:
My wife bought a large ottoman (3'x3') from Overstock.com and it was
damaged in shipping. We emailed to see if they could send us a new
one but they don't have anymore. We really liked the ottoman and
thought that since it was just a small crack that wasn't very
noticeable we could deal with it. Well the crack has expanded and
now it threatens the integrity of the ottoman. I was wondering if I
drilled a hole from narrow edge of the wood on the bottom of the
ottoman through the cracked piece of wood and place a long screw
through it would it reinforce the wood or crack it further? Is
there any way to salvage this crack from expanding and falling
apart or should I just send it back?

1. Drill small through holes (1/8 - 1/4 dia.) at each end of the crack
to keep it confined.

2. Work epoxy glue into the crack with a toothpick/whatever. Do so
with the part horizontal so the epoxy can run down into the crack.
Protect anything under the crack or put a strip of masking tape over
the under side of the crack.

3. Drill one or more screw holes as you suggested and pull the parts
together as much as possible. If you have clamps, clamp the pieces
together before drilling the screw holes. An alternate to screws
would be dowels but I like screws better.

If you should use dowels, use 5/16 or 3/8, at *least* two, clamp the
parts together before drilling the holes and drill the holes for them
at opposing angles.

4. Wipe off any epoxy that squeezed out.

Should wind up stronger than it was originally.

--

dadiOH
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