We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

On 16/03/15 13:09, Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

Araldite would probably be your best bet.

Now - my father used a writing bureau as a hifi centre (turntable in the
top).

He made a simple-ish mod to solve this problem:

Cut 2 5-7mm wide slots over the top of where the pull-outs run (ie one
slot over each, in the base of the top compartment).

Screw a right angle hook http://goo.gl/nTh9h2 in the top of the sliders
near the back so it presents up through the slot you made.

Fix this:

http://www.inbrass.co.uk/acatalog/LiftUpStay.jpg

to the door, lose the plastic block and drill to accept the hook you put
in the pull outs.

I don't think he actually used a screw hook - more likely he made a
bracket and skipped a bolt through the stay and the bracket with a
locknut to allow the joint to be loose enough to pivot - but it was
easier to describe it. I hope you get the idea...

As you open the door, the stays pull on the top hook/bracket on the
pullouts and pull them out - nice smooth automatic action. Closing does
the reverse.

Don;t know why bureau makers didn't do this as standard.

Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?
PVA will be more than strong enough provided most of the surface to be
glued is clean virgin wood. Wood with existing glue on it will not bond
well.
eg Evostick resin W wood glue (not a builders grade PVA)

You will need to clamp the two parts together with a minimum of four
clamps. Not to exert extreme pressure and squeeze out all the glue but
to apply distributed pressure along the join.

Fit the clamps with no glue to start with to workout what will happen
and where you want to place them. pieces of tape on the jaws will help
prevent marking the wood.
Fit some clamps on one side and the rest alternately on the other. this
will help keep the assembly flat.

Slacken the clamps and apply glue on both surfaces.

PVA is a water clean up product so anything that does squeeze out should
be wiped off with a damp cloth before it dries.

Leave clamped and undisturbed for 24 hrs for best results.

Good luck

On Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:18:26 PM UTC, Tim Watts wrote:
On 16/03/15 13:09, Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

Araldite would probably be your best bet.

Now - my father used a writing bureau as a hifi centre (turntable in the
top).

He made a simple-ish mod to solve this problem:

Cut 2 5-7mm wide slots over the top of where the pull-outs run (ie one
slot over each, in the base of the top compartment).

Screw a right angle hook http://goo.gl/nTh9h2 in the top of the sliders
near the back so it presents up through the slot you made.

Fix this:

http://www.inbrass.co.uk/acatalog/LiftUpStay.jpg

to the door, lose the plastic block and drill to accept the hook you put
in the pull outs.

I don't think he actually used a screw hook - more likely he made a
bracket and skipped a bolt through the stay and the bracket with a
locknut to allow the joint to be loose enough to pivot - but it was
easier to describe it. I hope you get the idea...

As you open the door, the stays pull on the top hook/bracket on the
pullouts and pull them out - nice smooth automatic action. Closing does
the reverse.

Don;t know why bureau makers didn't do this as standard.

They're called 'lopers' and better quality bureaus have this auto pull out feature. I suppose the less expensive ones omitted it to save costs.

On Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:09:46 PM UTC, Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

PVA 'White' glue is stronger than the wood when used correctly. No need for any exotica.

On 16/03/15 13:33, fred wrote:

They're called 'lopers' and better quality bureaus have this auto pull out feature. I suppose the less expensive ones omitted it to save costs.

Fascinating - I did not realise they had a name

On 16/03/15 13:30, Bob Minchin wrote:
Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?
PVA will be more than strong enough provided most of the surface to be
glued is clean virgin wood. Wood with existing glue on it will not bond
well.
eg Evostick resin W wood glue (not a builders grade PVA)

You will need to clamp the two parts together with a minimum of four
clamps. Not to exert extreme pressure and squeeze out all the glue but
to apply distributed pressure along the join.

Fit the clamps with no glue to start with to workout what will happen
and where you want to place them. pieces of tape on the jaws will help
prevent marking the wood.
Fit some clamps on one side and the rest alternately on the other. this
will help keep the assembly flat.

Slacken the clamps and apply glue on both surfaces.

PVA is a water clean up product so anything that does squeeze out should
be wiped off with a damp cloth before it dries.

Leave clamped and undisturbed for 24 hrs for best results.

Good luck
+1 for PVA. Ive broken PVA joints on plywood* and its always the wood
that goes, not the glue

*aeromodelling crashes..


--
Everything you read in newspapers is absolutely true, except for the
rare story of which you happen to have first-hand knowledge. €“ Erwin Knoll

On 16/03/2015 13:35, fred wrote:
On Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:09:46 PM UTC, Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

PVA 'White' glue is stronger than the wood when used correctly. No need for any exotica.

We used to have an oak bureau in the family which had suffered such a
failure, leading to a long split. Given that the failure region
experiences large bending moments on repeat events, I wouldn't trust it
to glue, I would dowel it. (Or perhaps biscuit joints, these days).

On 16/03/2015 16:32, newshound wrote:

We used to have an oak bureau in the family which had suffered such a
failure, leading to a long split. Given that the failure region
experiences large bending moments on repeat events, I wouldn't trust it
to glue, I would dowel it. (Or perhaps biscuit joints, these days).

Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that.

An advantage of epoxy there (real stuff, such as West, not Araldite) is
that it's a much better gap filler than PVA - so I can have sloppy holes
to suit my clumsy inexact drilling, and yet still have it all line up

Andy

fred wrote:
On Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:09:46 PM UTC, Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

PVA 'White' glue is stronger than the wood when used correctly. No need for any exotica.

Can you get titebond in UK, they have three strengths 1 11 111 no three
is waterproof and the strongest but dries a bit dark.

On Tue, 17 Mar 2015 10:34:50 +1100, F Murtz
wrote:

fred wrote:
On Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:09:46 PM UTC, Broadback wrote:
We have a writing bureau with a drop down lid that should be supported
by 2 arms. My wife (first rule always blames someone else) opened the
lid without pulling out the supports. As a result the drop down lid has
broken off just above the hinge, It looks as though a strong wood glue
would do the job. Any suggestions please?

PVA 'White' glue is stronger than the wood when used correctly. No need for any exotica.

Can you get titebond in UK, they have three strengths 1 11 111 no three
is waterproof and the strongest but dries a bit dark.

Yes. I don't have a local supplier (that I know of) so I get it from
eBay. I use Titebond Original and it's superior creep resistance over
ordinary white PVAs make it particularly suitable for my applications.

Nick