I bought a child sized chair at a yard sale the other day for five bucks.
It is in pretty good shape. It looks like a regular dining room chair of
the period, and has a back that is one panel cut out of a piece of what
looks like birch plywood, and is in a common pattern. The seat cover is a
vinyl, which I will replace with some nice cloth, and add a slightly thicker
pad.

It is held together with ALL straight slot screws, which tends to make me
think forties or fifties. I will do more research to date it. All there is
in markings is 804 in crayon underneath.

I don't want to completely strip it, but consult with a rebuilder to see how
to darken it in some areas where it looks like water got on it, and it has
whitened in a spotty pattern.

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.

I know that I will have to clamp it until dry with the long pipe clamps, or
perhaps some of the Irving slide clamps I have that will reach that far.

Help appreciated.

Steve

SteveB wrote:
....

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.
....

If by "dowels loose in their sockets" you mean they are loose enough to
wiggle and essentially simply fall out on their own, glue alone of any
type isn't the answer -- you need to first fix either the hole or the
dowel to have a snug fit.

As for wood glue, any of the yellow PVA glues are fine. White glue is
ok as well, but not quite as strong. Either, however, will rely on
having a clean wood-to-wood contact and a tight-fitting joint to begin
with. Old glue and a loose fit will guarantee a non-lasting joint.

The polyurethane glues (such as Gorilla) are not worth a flip for
gap-filling, being even worse than yellow. Even in a good fitting joint
it isn't as strong in almost all instances, despite the hype/advertising.

If it were mine and there were sufficient room, I'd probably drill the
holes out to the next larger dowel size. Failing that, I'd clean the
existing holes out well and turn new dowels to fit.

--

Norminn wrote:
....

trick is to jam in the tips of one or two toothpicks so there is a tight
fit. Clamp until set.

But, unless there's a tight fit all around the dowel, the glue has no
effective surface area to make a long-lasting joint and as soon as the
single-points of the toothpicks mash down, back in the same boat w/ a
bunch more new glue to clean out...

--

"SteveB" wrote in
:

I bought a child sized chair at a yard sale the other day for five
bucks. It is in pretty good shape. It looks like a regular dining
room chair of the period, and has a back that is one panel cut out of
a piece of what looks like birch plywood, and is in a common pattern.
The seat cover is a vinyl, which I will replace with some nice cloth,
and add a slightly thicker pad.

It is held together with ALL straight slot screws, which tends to make
me think forties or fifties. I will do more research to date it. All
there is in markings is 804 in crayon underneath.

I don't want to completely strip it, but consult with a rebuilder to
see how to darken it in some areas where it looks like water got on
it, and it has whitened in a spotty pattern.

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets.
What is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some
Elmer's before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a
particular brand of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue,
but with all the foaming and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.

I know that I will have to clamp it until dry with the long pipe
clamps, or perhaps some of the Irving slide clamps I have that will
reach that far.

Help appreciated.

Steve



Whatever glue you end up choosing, take a look a a couple of band
clamps. You'll find many uses for them over the years for irregular and
large clamping. BTW, awesome for chairs too :-).

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...=19 579920323

Search the Home Depot site for a pic of the same one partially opened to
give you a better idea.

"dpb" wrote in message ...
SteveB wrote:
...

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets.
What is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some
Elmer's before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a
particular brand of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but
with all the foaming and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.
...

If by "dowels loose in their sockets" you mean they are loose enough to
wiggle and essentially simply fall out on their own, glue alone of any
type isn't the answer -- you need to first fix either the hole or the
dowel to have a snug fit.

As for wood glue, any of the yellow PVA glues are fine. White glue is ok
as well, but not quite as strong. Either, however, will rely on having a
clean wood-to-wood contact and a tight-fitting joint to begin with. Old
glue and a loose fit will guarantee a non-lasting joint.

The polyurethane glues (such as Gorilla) are not worth a flip for
gap-filling, being even worse than yellow. Even in a good fitting joint
it isn't as strong in almost all instances, despite the hype/advertising.

If it were mine and there were sufficient room, I'd probably drill the
holes out to the next larger dowel size. Failing that, I'd clean the
existing holes out well and turn new dowels to fit.

--

Thank you for the great explanation. I would have just thought that gluing
would be enough. Yes, on a couple, you can pull the joint apart because the
dowel/hole interface has too much slop. The only thing really holding it
together are the diagonal inside corner brackets. But they look like they
are still pretty good, without any of the screw holes being ripped out. For
those, will probably just do the toothpick glue trick to make the screws get
a good bite. Am going to keep the original screws, too, and IIRC, have a
couple of extra ones in my old screw/bolt bin in case these are stripped.
Or I can Dremel the groove a little deeper.

Main thing is that after redoing this, the chair is used only for looks, and
not for sitting. It's such a cute little chair.

Steve

In article , "SteveB" wrote:

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.

I've never used it myself but I've read some good reports on
Chair Doctor glue:

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3231

This might be helpful reading too:

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/repair.shtml

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SteveB wrote:

I bought a child sized chair at a yard sale the other day for five bucks.
It is in pretty good shape. It looks like a regular dining room chair of
the period, and has a back that is one panel cut out of a piece of what
looks like birch plywood, and is in a common pattern. The seat cover is a
vinyl, which I will replace with some nice cloth, and add a slightly thicker
pad.

It is held together with ALL straight slot screws, which tends to make me
think forties or fifties. I will do more research to date it. All there is
in markings is 804 in crayon underneath.

I don't want to completely strip it, but consult with a rebuilder to see how
to darken it in some areas where it looks like water got on it, and it has
whitened in a spotty pattern.

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.

I know that I will have to clamp it until dry with the long pipe clamps, or
perhaps some of the Irving slide clamps I have that will reach that far.

Help appreciated.

Steve




Old glue needs to be cleaned out. Elmer's wood glue is good. One old
trick is to jam in the tips of one or two toothpicks so there is a tight
fit. Clamp until set.

On Nov 2, 2:14 pm, "SteveB" wrote:
I bought a child sized chair at a yard sale the other day for five bucks.
It is in pretty good shape. It looks like a regular dining room chair of
the period, and has a back that is one panel cut out of a piece of what
looks like birch plywood, and is in a common pattern. The seat cover is a
vinyl, which I will replace with some nice cloth, and add a slightly thicker
pad.

It is held together with ALL straight slot screws, which tends to make me
think forties or fifties. I will do more research to date it. All there is
in markings is 804 in crayon underneath.

I don't want to completely strip it, but consult with a rebuilder to see how
to darken it in some areas where it looks like water got on it, and it has
whitened in a spotty pattern.

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.

I know that I will have to clamp it until dry with the long pipe clamps, or
perhaps some of the Irving slide clamps I have that will reach that far.

Help appreciated.

Steve

804 may be nothing more than a mover's marking from some long-ago
house move. We have some antique furniture from my wife's grandmother
that has crayon numbers on some pieces. Some of the pieces are from
Europe and have knock-down fittings, like the 6' x 9' x 3' armoire.
These pieces have crayon numbers on many of the pieces and I believe
they were made by the movers many years ago. The crayon numbers would
probably be replaced with bar-code stickers if they were moved
today. ;-)

Search ths group for a thread entitled "Glueing Chair Rungs" that was
started on Oct 27, 2007. Lots of chatter on Gorilla Glue, Chair Doctor
and fox wedging.

On the other hand, if you are going to consult with someone on
refinishing parts of it, I'm guessing that any restorer worth their
fees will know the best way to tighten up the rungs.

In article , dpb wrote:

SteveB wrote:
...

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.
...

If by "dowels loose in their sockets" you mean they are loose enough to
wiggle and essentially simply fall out on their own, glue alone of any
type isn't the answer -- you need to first fix either the hole or the
dowel to have a snug fit.

As for wood glue, any of the yellow PVA glues are fine. White glue is
ok as well, but not quite as strong. Either, however, will rely on
having a clean wood-to-wood contact and a tight-fitting joint to begin
with. Old glue and a loose fit will guarantee a non-lasting joint.

The polyurethane glues (such as Gorilla) are not worth a flip for
gap-filling, being even worse than yellow. Even in a good fitting joint
it isn't as strong in almost all instances, despite the hype/advertising.

If it were mine and there were sufficient room, I'd probably drill the
holes out to the next larger dowel size. Failing that, I'd clean the
existing holes out well and turn new dowels to fit.

--

This seems to be a common problem with old chairs. I know epoxy is good
for gap filling; is it useful for wood in this case?

Smitty Two wrote:
In article , dpb wrote:

SteveB wrote:
...

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their sockets. What
is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I have used some Elmer's
before, and the things came loose soon after. Is there a particular brand
of Elmer's, or another? I have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming
and expanding, I'm not so sure of using it.
...

If by "dowels loose in their sockets" you mean they are loose enough to
wiggle and essentially simply fall out on their own, glue alone of any
type isn't the answer -- you need to first fix either the hole or the
dowel to have a snug fit.

As for wood glue, any of the yellow PVA glues are fine. White glue is
ok as well, but not quite as strong. Either, however, will rely on
having a clean wood-to-wood contact and a tight-fitting joint to begin
with. Old glue and a loose fit will guarantee a non-lasting joint.

The polyurethane glues (such as Gorilla) are not worth a flip for
gap-filling, being even worse than yellow. Even in a good fitting joint
it isn't as strong in almost all instances, despite the hype/advertising.

If it were mine and there were sufficient room, I'd probably drill the
holes out to the next larger dowel size. Failing that, I'd clean the
existing holes out well and turn new dowels to fit.

--

This seems to be a common problem with old chairs. I know epoxy is good
for gap filling; is it useful for wood in this case?

Not very. Although for OP's question when he came back to say this
particular chair is for exhibition, not use, simply filling w/ yellow
glue will be adequate.

--

On Nov 2, 3:17 pm, dpb wrote:


snip

This seems to be a common problem with old chairs. I know epoxy is good
for gap filling; is it useful for wood in this case?

Not very. Although for OP's question when he came back to say this
particular chair is for exhibition, not use, simply filling w/ yellow
glue will be adequate.

A two part epoxy is superb for redoing old furniture, boats, whatever.
The only real caveat is to remember that you need wood to wood
surfaces for the adhesive to bond to, not old dried up glue. The
ability to fill gaps of impossible sizes make it the woodworkers
dream. The best formulations are the slow setting 1 to 1 mixes.
Epoxies have been a staple tool in my shop since the 1960's, but not
the only adhesive. TiteBond types, Elmers and the many other glues on
the market today each have special properties that can make them the
prefered choice in certain circumstances. LIke they say, use the right
tool for the job to get it right. HTH

Joe

As Joe said. Glue doesn't stick to glue. For decoration only,
get some of the chair doctor wood swelling stuff and inject it
with the needle:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,110&p=30261

The only other solution is to remove the dowels, clean out the
glue in the holes and on the dowel ends, perhaps even split and
bottom wedge the dowels, and reassemble.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"SteveB" wrote in message
...
I bought a child sized chair at a yard sale the other day for
five bucks. It is in pretty good shape. It looks like a regular
dining room chair of the period, and has a back that is one panel
cut out of a piece of what looks like birch plywood, and is in a
common pattern. The seat cover is a vinyl, which I will replace
with some nice cloth, and add a slightly thicker pad.

It is held together with ALL straight slot screws, which tends
to make me think forties or fifties. I will do more research to
date it. All there is in markings is 804 in crayon underneath.

I don't want to completely strip it, but consult with a
rebuilder to see how to darken it in some areas where it looks
like water got on it, and it has whitened in a spotty pattern.

Now for the question. Most all the dowels are lose in their
sockets. What is the best glue to use to get a good joint? I
have used some Elmer's before, and the things came loose soon
after. Is there a particular brand of Elmer's, or another? I
have seen Gorilla Glue, but with all the foaming and expanding,
I'm not so sure of using it.

I know that I will have to clamp it until dry with the long pipe
clamps, or perhaps some of the Irving slide clamps I have that
will reach that far.

Help appreciated.

Steve