Impressive woodworking

[kodydog]

I wanted to share some work from a refinish shop I do a lot of business with. They just did some incredible work on these two chairs.

the customer wanted the chairs to sit 2" higher so he added the brass wheels on the front. That meant adding 2" to the back legs as well.

The tape shows where he cut the leg off at an angle and added a new piece plus 2".
This pic shows the finished product.

[Peppy]

Wow! That's really something! I had to look twice, I thought the taped on was the after!

[mike802]

That's a really nice job, it is very difficult to deal with a compound angle in that spot and pull it off.  If it was me I would have rather made the alteration to the rear legs farther up the chair, under the upholstery.  It would have required working with the rear leg, side and back stretcher, but their would have been no joint visible.

[kodydog]

Good point Mike. It would be more work but the end result would be a stronger joint and no visible cut line.

Question for you. I have a small, 60 year old pedestal table with three legs on the bottom. The pedestal is fairly delicate and at one point in its life a leg was broken off. Someone did a really bad repair job, its uneven and they used two screws to hold it together while the glue dried. My question is how do you soften the glue enough to take it apart without destroying the leg? I want to repair the old leg as I'm not sure I have the skills to make a new leg.

[mike802]

Kodydog:  It depends on what type of glue was used in the repair, or the construction.  If a natural glue was used, say a hide, or fish glue it can be softened with water.  I like to use boiling water pored over the joint, or submerged if possible.  If a modern type of glue was used there is no way to soften it and the joint will have to be cut and, or the glue scraped off.  I have had modern glue ball up while softening old hide glue, but usually that is because all the old glue was not removed before the new modern glue was applied.  Using hot water will most likely ruin the finish, so expect to do some refinishing.  If the finish is schlack usually a rag damped with denatured alcohol can be rubbed over the finish that will turn white will restore it some what, then a couple coats of new schlack will repair the damage.

[byhammerandhand]

Hide glue:  Warm water, steam, or denatured alcohol injected into the joint.   For the water and alcohol,  you can buy (in USA) hypodermic syringes at pharmacies (no Rx needed), or places like Tractor Supply in their vet section.   I've not used steam myself, but a luthier friend uses it all the time to remove necks from guitars  and other string instruments.  I believe he has a teapot with a hose with an inflation needle on the end.

PVA (white and yellow woodworking glues):  Vinegar and water.

Epoxy : heat will soften somewhat.  But generally considered not as reversible as above two.

Gorilla Glue (polyurethane glue) : Evil incarnate.   No known solvent.  But unless it was a very good glue job (i.e., without gaps), the foam easily breaks apart as it has no structural strength.


While it's unlikely that your leg is turned, for future reference : I have used a place called Normal Square Woodworking to duplicate turnings for chair parts and upholstered furniture legs.  Even with two-way postage, they are faster and less expensive than hiring a local turner to do it.   And less frustration on my part as I'm not a very skilled turner.
http://www.woodchairparts.com/about.html

Question for you. I have a small, 60 year old pedestal table with three legs on the bottom. The pedestal is fairly delicate and at one point in its life a leg was broken off. Someone did a really bad repair job, its uneven and they used two screws to hold it together while the glue dried. My question is how do you soften the glue enough to take it apart without destroying the leg? I want to repair the old leg as I'm not sure I have the skills to make a new leg.

[byhammerandhand]

No sure how you would pull this off?   If you have to lengthen the visible part of the leg, you are, by definition, going to have some unfinished wood showing there.  And there will be joinery mortises, screw and/or dowel holes that will need to be filled and colored.     After all, it is just a back leg.

That's a really nice job, it is very difficult to deal with a compound angle in that spot and pull it off.  If it was me I would have rather made the alteration to the rear legs farther up the chair, under the upholstery.  It would have required working with the rear leg, side and back stretcher, but their would have been no joint visible.

[mike802]

No, I would have just cut out a new leg and joined it under the upholstery to the side  and back stretchers.  The angle cut visible on the legs pictured could have been made where the back frame is joined to the legs.  Of course this all depends on how the frame is all connected on the inside.  Thanks for the tips on softening modern type glues.  Steam works really good for removing dings in wood as long as the wood fibers have not been cut.  The steam kind of puffs it up like it does with foam.  I have had good luck putting a wet rag over the ding and applying a hot iron over the rag to generate the steam, I suppose a steamer could be used, but I have not tried it yet.

[kodydog]

Great tips. I'll give em a try. Thanks

[kodydog]

Gorilla Glue (polyurethane glue) : Evil incarnate.   No known solvent.  But unless it was a very good glue job (i.e., without gaps), the foam easily breaks apart as it has no structural strength

My dad used to swear by Gorilla Glue. I never really liked it. I find it's messy, sets up to fast, not as strong as wood glue, and doesn't hold a finish. Is that what you mean by evil incarnate?

[byhammerandhand]

Ah, I see.  Didn't think of that.

I use my burn-in knife to steam out dents.   I generally find I can get them 80-90% of the way back, then fill the rest.

Using a large-scale steamer might blush the finish.  Not an insurmountable problem, just a problem you need to be able to reverse.  Someone told me recently to mix denatured alcohol with the water as it helps it soak in more & faster.   I have not had a chance to try this yet.

No, I would have just cut out a new leg and joined it under the upholstery to the side  and back stretchers.  The angle cut visible on the legs pictured could have been made where the back frame is joined to the legs.  Of course this all depends on how the frame is all connected on the inside.  Thanks for the tips on softening modern type glues.  Steam works really good for removing dings in wood as long as the wood fibers have not been cut.  The steam kind of puffs it up like it does with foam.  I have had good luck putting a wet rag over the ding and applying a hot iron over the rag to generate the steam, I suppose a steamer could be used, but I have not tried it yet.