How to repair damaged timber chair?

[Elljames]

 Is this chair fixable? Clamp and glue? If so, what sort of clamp and which glue?

[EricL]

Hello @Elljames 

Thanks for sharing your question about repairing your chair. I suggest measuring the thickness of the chair seat and drilling holes along the length and installing dowels between the two pieces. I suggest using Gorilla 236ml Wood Glue for good holding strength. I recommend using two of the IRWIN 610mm Quick Grip Medium Duty Bar Clamp to hold the piece in place while the glue cures. For extra support I suggest installing Carinya 57 x 17 x 2mm Zinc Plated Mending Plate on the bottom of the chair.

Let me call on our experienced members @JoeAzza, @TedBear, @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Dave-1]

Morning @Elljames 

@EricL has pointed out the steps I would be following as well. With the legs being so close to the broken section I would have a close look and see if the repair will hold up. With that type of chair I have found that once the timber has dried out/been exposed to the elements it cracks a lot easier. Is there any other parts of the chair that have that weaking look?

With the metal strapping, I would make sure you drill small pilot holes and go easy on the screwing it in, Id do it by hand. The reason I am suggesting it is the age of the timber and dryness of it. I would also consider putting strapping or another piece of timber across the width of the underside. If its flat

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @Elljames 

I actually think if you clamp and use just the wood-glue @EricL recommends allowing 24hrs to fully cure you should be right without any other reinforcement. Use a damp cloth to wipe away the excess which will ooze out once clamped.

A good wood glue is extremely strong, especially on a clean break like this. As an experiment, I glued a broken piece of pine and then once cured, hit it with a mallet. It broke, but not at the glued join.

Nailbag