On Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 12:21:25 PM UTC-4, Jack wrote:
On 4/9/2016 9:09 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
The drawer knobs were a little loose, so I removed the "screws"
(nope!)
planning to add some glue and toothpicks to tighten them back up. It
turns out that the "screws" are actually bolts that thread into metal
inserts in the knobs. The inserts have a pair of points that dig into
the drawer front to prevent them from turning. Well, that's the theory
anyway.
http://imgur.com/0nhHOKd
The problem is that once the knobs get loose, they spin and the points
carve a circular groove in the drawer front leaving nothing for the
points to hold onto. Some of the inserts are also stripped, so I have a
some work to do on the knobs.
The inserts in the knobs look like standard modern day Tee-nuts. Don't
know when they were invented, but the two pin ones are older than the 4
pin nuts.
Having used my share of Tee-nuts, I can say with confidence that these are
similar but a far cry from "standard modern day Tee-nuts". The pins on a
Tee-nut point in the same direction as the threaded shaft and are used to
hold the tee-nut in the material that the tee-nut is in.
http://www.theboltbin.com/89-home_de...-4-prong-z.jpg
These inserts have the points pointed in the opposite direction so that they
stick into the material that the object with the insert is attached to.
At any rate, you shouldn't need the pins at all to stop
spinning. Current day knobs just tighten down and don't spin. If these
don't tighten down enough to stop spinning, I'd think the bolt is too
long,
Maybe the bolt stretched over the past 100+ years? (kidding!)
or the knob is spinning around the tee-nut. If spinning around the
tee-nut some epoxy should fix it.
Actually, on the ones that won't tighten down, it appears that the
inserts are stripped. I used the standard glue and toothpick method
and I was able to crank down on the bolts with substantial force.
We'll see how long they hold.
The biggest problem with the dresser is that the bottoms of the long
drawers sag a bit (actually, a lot) so I may need to add some "beams"
to flatten them out. (suggestions welcome)
http://imgur.com/Y7aKfPU
The picture indicates the bottom is either nailed to the bottom, or
fitted in groves on 3 sides, and open/nailed to the back, so removal
should be easy. I would remove the bottom, flip it over and screw it
wherever nails were used previously to attach it.
I wish removal was easy. I tried to remove one of the bottoms and it
certainly doesn't slide right out. The other one seems looser but I
haven't removed the nails yet to see if it jammed like the other one.
In any case, the interiors of the bottoms (and of the entire drawer) are
finished as shown he
http://imgur.com/wOABR4V
http://imgur.com/DlOn3QB
There is also damage (grooves) on the bottoms where they have dragged
on the metal tabs used as stops. The grooves are too deep to be sanded
away and besides, I'm sure I would never be able to match the bottom
finish to the side finish *and* make it look 100+ years old.