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?

Joe writes:

Is there any way to salvage
this crack from expanding and falling apart or should I just send it
back?


If the crack is not exposed, you can get those truss plates for making deck
joints at Home Depot, and screw one in, perhaps with some epoxy cement run
into the dammed crack.

hard to say without seeing the part. if possible I would wood glue it,
and drive some innoculous screws in from the side to clamp it. the glue
will provide the real strength, but leave in the screws anyway.

Empressess #124457


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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?

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
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

what are the odds that I'll make it worse by adding the screws. That's
the big thing that I'm worried about - drilling the holes and screwing
in the screws only to find that the wood cracks the opposite way and
then I'll out about $400 because I most certainly violate my warranty.
Any tips on how I can be avoid that fate?

Joe wrote:
what are the odds that I'll make it worse by adding the screws. That's
the big thing that I'm worried about - drilling the holes and screwing
in the screws only to find that the wood cracks the opposite way and
then I'll out about $400 because I most certainly violate my warranty.
Any tips on how I can be avoid that fate?

Here is a picture of the damaged Ottoman. As you can see the start of
the crack is very high up and threatens the integrity of the leg - upon
further inspection I noticed that the leg on the opposite side is also
slightly cracked.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7040/dscf0549th9.jpg

You have several options depending on how much the piece is worth to
you:

1) Send it back for a full refund and spend $400 on something else.
It's just furniture and the value of the piece will NEVER increase.

2) Repair at minimum cost with the risk that it may need major surgery
to restore it to minimum function. Spend $10 now when the $400 is
still available to you.

3) Obtain estimates and have another copy of it made. Take pictures
and measurements, then send the broken piece back for a refund. You
will spend more for a copy than the original cost you.

4) Take apart what you have, replace the broken parts and re-assemble.
Now you have a $600 ottoman.

At this price point, for just an ottoman, send it back. Hopefully,
this ottoman is not the focal point for all of the interior decorating
in the room. It's probably not.

On 27 Sep 2006 06:11:56 -0700, "Joe" wrote:


Joe wrote:
what are the odds that I'll make it worse by adding the screws. That's
the big thing that I'm worried about - drilling the holes and screwing
in the screws only to find that the wood cracks the opposite way and
then I'll out about $400 because I most certainly violate my warranty.
Any tips on how I can be avoid that fate?

Here is a picture of the damaged Ottoman. As you can see the start of
the crack is very high up and threatens the integrity of the leg - upon
further inspection I noticed that the leg on the opposite side is also
slightly cracked.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7040/dscf0549th9.jpg

Joe wrote:
Joe wrote:
what are the odds that I'll make it worse by adding the screws.
That's the big thing that I'm worried about - drilling the holes
and screwing in the screws only to find that the wood cracks the
opposite way and then I'll out about $400 because I most certainly
violate my warranty. Any tips on how I can be avoid that fate?

Here is a picture of the damaged Ottoman. As you can see the start
of the crack is very high up and threatens the integrity of the leg
- upon further inspection I noticed that the leg on the opposite
side is also slightly cracked.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7040/dscf0549th9.jpg

Send it back. No repair will look good without refinishing.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Joe wrote:
My wife bought a large ottoman (3'x3') from Overstock.com and it was
damaged in shipping.

No way do you accept it. Send it back right away. This is a good
reason to shop locally for such things.

Lawrence wrote:
Joe wrote:
My wife bought a large ottoman (3'x3') from Overstock.com and it was
damaged in shipping.

No way do you accept it. Send it back right away. This is a good
reason to shop locally for such things.

Everyone locally wanted over $1000 for the same type of ottoman.

Joe wrote:
Lawrence wrote:
Joe wrote:
My wife bought a large ottoman (3'x3') from Overstock.com and it was
damaged in shipping.

No way do you accept it. Send it back right away. This is a good
reason to shop locally for such things.

Everyone locally wanted over $1000 for the same type of ottoman.

Suggest you cast a wider net, then. What you have was poorly
designed/built, and
is likely dangerous to sit on, whatever. You can get some really nice
stuff custom-built
for a grand. $400 even.

HTH,
J

Joe wrote:
Lawrence wrote:
No way do you accept it. Send it back right away. This is a good
reason to shop locally for such things.

Everyone locally wanted over $1000 for the same type of ottoman.

Try printing out the page from the net which says the price. Then take
it with you to show the salesman. Say somthing like "I would like to
do business locally but you have to give me a big break if I'm to
afford it". Be prepared to spend slightly more but also expect to get
a huge discount from the list price.

Joe wrote:
what are the odds that I'll make it worse by adding the screws. That's
the big thing that I'm worried about - drilling the holes and screwing
in the screws only to find that the wood cracks the opposite way and
then I'll out about $400 because I most certainly violate my warranty.
Any tips on how I can be avoid that fate?

Repairing it will be chancy. If the $400 is the main concern, send it
back and hope to find something you like at a price you can afford.

If you really want to try and fix it: it looks like what's cracked is
the rail. As others have said, gluing and screwing is the way to go.
I would recommend wood glue. I take it you would be installing the
screws upward from the bottom of the rail so they will be hidden unless
you turn the ottoman upside down. The way to avoid making it worse is
by drilling the right kind of pilot holes before installing the screws.
First, drill a hole as deep as the length of the screw, or longer (all
the way through is fine) with a drill bit that is sized to match the
shaft of the screw without the threads. That is, if you put the drill
bit in front of the screw, you should still be able to see the threads
on either side, but the shaft is hidden. Then, you drill down to the
break with a bigger bit that will make a hole that the screw just fits
through. That is, you should be able to slip the screw freely down to
the break. Then, countersink the hole slightly so that when you
install the screw, the head will just fit flush with the surface of the
wood. Countersinking means you're making a sort of conical pit
surrounding the top of the hole. There's a special drill bit for doing
that. Any good basic woodworking book or web reference will have
pictures of all this. Anyway when you do all that, then when you
install the screw, the action of the screw will be to grip the wood on
the far side of the break, and bring it up snug against the wood on the
near side of the break.

-- H

Cut a piece of wood to fit behind the cracked piece. Get a bottle of Gorilla
glue, apply, and clamp the whole thing in place. The stuff is unbelievably
strong, but dont overapply it as it expands while curing.
--
-bye,
Rich
"Lawrence" wrote in message
ups.com...

Joe wrote:
Lawrence wrote:
No way do you accept it. Send it back right away. This is a good
reason to shop locally for such things.

Everyone locally wanted over $1000 for the same type of ottoman.

Try printing out the page from the net which says the price. Then take
it with you to show the salesman. Say somthing like "I would like to
do business locally but you have to give me a big break if I'm to
afford it". Be prepared to spend slightly more but also expect to get
a huge discount from the list price.