Upholstery Related Wood turning Repair Issue....

[baileyuph]

Antique wood rocker - rungs showing up broken on ends of spindle turnings (arms and backs):  Requirement is to drill turning and receptible of same to accept a large dowel to facilitate reinstalling the broken component (so uph can proceed).

In drilling a turning to install a repair dowel, it would be interesting/beneficial to hear others technique.  Care to comment?

Techniques I have used are hand drill, horizontal drilling techniques (example Shop Smith equipment)

Regardless of technique, the challenge is to drill into a rung at the correct angle, I have built jigs to hold the rung during drilling.  Works if jig holds piece at correct angle and alignment and this might be the area any good ideas would be helpful and at least interesting.

Yes, considerable amount of this type of work is showing up (perhaps fixing older quality is better than buying cheaper made "new"?  Repairing does sustain the original look as replacement with new turning could reveal a repair has been done and likely cost more - incentives are there to fix.

Turning a new piece is not better when the original piece matches and is as strong.

Past postings indicated there are a few involved in this type activity as well as uph.

Thanks in advance.

Doyle

[MinUph]

Doyle it sounds like youve done this b4. There is no fool proof way to drill this by hand. As with dowel replacemnet I find dead center and use a center punch then a small drill and move drill size up gradually. If the pilot hole seems off it can be adjusted as you do a slightly larger hole and so on.

[kodydog]

Last weekend my mother showed me a spindle back chair she got from her grandfathers farm. She said when she got it the thing was a mess with broken spindles. My dad was an expert at woodworking and learned from his dad who worked in the factories in Holland Michigan. (Nowhere near Detroit Sofa). My dads solution was to turn new spindles to replace the broken ones. I don't know if you have the tools and capability's but his came out great, can't even tell which ones he replaced.

[byhammerandhand]

I've done this sort of work fairly regularly.

If the spindle is broken where it enters the seat, what I do is this.
* From the top drill a hole down through the broken end.  Follow the line of the spindle as much as you can.  Aim to drill the hole 1/3 to 1/2 the diameter of the spindle at that point.   Drill all the way through and come out the bottom of the slab seat.
* Reposition the spindle back where it belongs.
* Drill same diameter hole up through the hole you just drilled and into the spindle.  I'd probably go at least 1/2", but less if you are afraid you did not follow the line very well or there's a curve in the spindle.
* Glue the spindle in place, put some glue in the hole and run a dowel up from the bottom.
* When dry, flush cut and sand the bottom of the seat.

There are different techniques if the "spindle" is a stretcher that runs between the legs or a leg.

I like to use hickory dowels as they have a lot of strength.  There is a dowel factory near here where I get a few when I order other things.

I also have some Titebond "No Run No Drip" glue.   It's a super thick PVA glue and works extremely well for end-grain to end-grain gluing.  So would epoxy, particularly if you have gaps to fill from chip out.

I also like my Shopsmith in horizontal boring mode for doing a good end spindle drill.

I also highly recommend
http://www.amazon.com/Furniture-Repair-Restoration-Home-Improvement/dp/1580114784

as an excellent resource on all kinds of techniques for common parts repair.  I have the original, unabridged, version and I think I'd recommend that if you can find one used or remaindered.  
http://www.amazon.com/Furniture-Refinishing-Ultimate-Creative-Homeowner/dp/1580110061/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=  (See my review, listed as "most helpful favorable review." )

available on google books as
http://books.google.com/books/about/Furniture_Repair_Refinishing.html?id=lPYWVti6GR0C

[baileyuph]

Thank you all for the comments - Interesting and beneficial.

Keith, your idea of first establishing an undersized hole through seat then drilling the final dowel (hickory to be used) from the bottom of seat makes a lot of sense -- low risk and recaptures the dowel joint very strongly, given the glue you advised.

I would like to expand the requirement on the example (it represents reality btw), the other end of the turning is broken off where it is entered into the arm (underside of course).  The question now how to repair the turning at top end --  Would you set the Shop Smith up in horizontal drilling mode and drill for installation of a new dowel?  Actually, this would be step 1, your previous post then implemented would become step 2.

Thanks for your references Keith, I will definitely review those and already have interest in the repair manual you suggested.

As a comment, which will hopefully draw comments, when I use the Shop Smith to do horizontal drilling into the spindle, a v-grove jig is used to hold the spindle.  The SM invention appears to have been aimed at this type of work among others.

Hickory dowels and the glue you suggested (the thick stuff), hopefully is available here in St.Louis.

Doyle

[byhammerandhand]

For this type of repair, I would do the following:
- Glue the spindle back into position at the break.   Let it set up.
- Using a fine-tooth saw, make a clean cut where it enters the arm
- Drill into the spindle as you describe, then into the underside of the arm at the broken, now sawn, tenon.
- Glue and insert a dowel pin.

There are other techniques, depending upon where the break is along the stretcher (end, middle, tenon only) and type (cross grain fracture or long grain split), and whether or not the tenon is loose enough that you can get it out without having to drill it out.

Split:
My rule of thumb is if the grain is split at 30 degrees or less, glue and clamp the split and it will be strong enough.

Tenon-only:
You can add a block of wood to replace the tenon, held on with a dowel through both parts, then whittle or turn down the tenon to fit.

Near the end of the spindle, but more than just the tenon:
You can glue the crack, then when dry, reinforce with a dowel through the fracture

Out in the middle:
You can drill a hole for a dowel, through the nearest feature (bead/cove).  Then make a clean cut at that turning feature. Glue the break, clamp and let set up.  Then use the hole you drilled to drill into the other side of the break and reinforce both the break and your new cut with a dowel.

I also subscribe to "Family Handyman" magazine and they have a number of repair tips published online
http://www.familyhandyman.com/search?q=furniture%20repair

I would like to expand the requirement on the example (it represents reality btw), the other end of the turning is broken off where it is entered into the arm (underside of course).  The question now how to repair the turning at top end --  Would you set the Shop Smith up in horizontal drilling mode and drill for installation of a new dowel?  Actually, this would be step 1, your previous post then implemented would become step 2.