How to repair damaged timber chair?

Elljames

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

EricL

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