Chair Leg Repair
We heard from a few readers who had more to say on the chair leg repair question addressed in the Q&A section of last issue’s eZine. – Editor
“With respect, I must bring up a point about Chris Marshall’s answer to the question on regluing chairs. I have been restoring wooden chairs for years, and I agree that sooner or later, glued chair joints will come apart. However, a well-done repair will last for many years and, with modern glues, it might outlast the first job. Cross pinning a chair joint with anything, be it dowels, screws, nails or anything else, is a renovator’s nightmare. The fact that the joints will certainly loosen with time makes it a sure thing that, after cross pinning, the joints will have to come apart yet again, and this time, it will be messy and expensive. The damage that ensues might even make the owner wish the chair had been burnt in the fireplace. But if not cross pinned, I can take it apart again if it loosens and fix it with moderate expense.” – Don Butler
“I’ve repaired many chairs for customers using West System Epoxy. Works great as it gap fills, creating a very strong joint. Never had a chair come back using this technique.” – Alan Goldberg
“I really enjoy your eZine. I’m a newbie at woodworking, although I have been doing little projects for a long time. I have to share my woodworking room with a remote control airplane building shop, storage area for outdoor tools, bicycles, you get the picture. I have built some boxes and smaller things, but am waiting for the workshop fairy to come.
“The reason I wanted to write is that Tim Inman, in an answer about regluing chair legs, talks about using cyanoacrylate and thinning it with alcohol. I wondered if he was aware of a very thin product available at hobby shops for the model builder. It is much thinner than what you find at the hardware stores and wicks very well already.” – H.D. Tripp
More on Floors
We also heard from a reader who read all about Rob’s household wood flooring project, and it sparked some reminiscing about his own project using wood flooring. – Editor
“Your readers might be interested in an unusual application I made of oak flooring about 30 years ago. We were building a new lakeside home with a giant loft over the living area. I intended to use glue-lam beams as specified by the architect, until I priced them. I then designed 2 X fir and 3/4″ plywood 4 ft. deep beams and had the tops and bottoms covered in oak flooring. They were beautiful, and still are, and completely functional. My load calculations indicated they were safe for up to 120 people up there!” – Hubert Davis
