Furniture Repair Tips…. What NOT To Do

I’ve done lots of repairs over the years, some simple, some complex and some that have been “repaired” by Uncle Bob who took shop back in 1958. Sure Bob meant well, but his talents in woodworking fall a little short. Repairing his “repairs” usually takes a little longer.

There are some repair mistakes that I see frequently that cause the damaged area to fail again. The most basic error is trying to re-glue something back together. New glue won’t stick to dry glue. You have to have a wood to wood bond for your new glue to adhere to. So the first thing you have to do is sand or scrape off all of the old glue. Once your joint / repair is clean, you can glue it up and clamp it together.

Another common error in repairs is excess fasteners. I recently repaired an arm on a chair that had been “fixed” several times. This small joint, about 3 square inches, had seven screws and three nails in it. That many fasteners weakened what little wood was there. The repair in this case meant removing all the fasteners, filling and gluing the arm back together, cleaning up the old glue, and re-attaching the arm with just two screws and some glue.

An in home repair that I see a lot is “the cover up”. While not really a repair, covering the top of a table, desk, etc, with a doily or tablecloth hides the damage, it’s not the best solution. Scratches can sometimes be fixed with a wax stick. Water rings can often be lifted out with alcohol (rubbing, not tequila) or rubbed out with a mild abrasive. With a little work you can have the top of your furniture back and not have to hide it.

As for repairs to particle board furniture, well, let’s just say the best repair for those is replacement. Once the board has been cracked, chipped, torn, swollen, etc. there is no good repair. This material doesn’t take glue well, doesn’t hold fasteners well, and will never support weight again.

These are the most basic DIY repair errors that I see. Keep them in mind next time you have a repair on your hands. Of course if you’re not sure what to do, call your local professional woodworker, and leave Uncle Bob out of it.

An Interesting Repair

A customer came to me with an antique three legged table, the problem was it used to have four legs. During a recent move one of the legs broke off and was lost. The leg was turned, meaning it was round rather than square, and to make matters worse it also had a series of V-grooved beads along the main portion of the leg.

Measurements - I started by taking measurements of one leg; both diameter and where it occurs on the length. Those measurements were used to create a drawing to work from.

Preparing the Blank- Next I glued up a blank that was 3” square and 24” long for the new leg. The next day I cut the corners off of the blank using a table saw, forming a long octagon. The blank was then mounted in my lathe and I transferred the measurements from my drawing to the blank.

Turning the Leg – Using gouges, skews and other turning tools I created the curve of the leg on my blank. When the turning matched my drawing it was time to sand it smooth. The lathe is set at a high speed and very fine sand paper is used to clean up any tool marks.

Groove & Beads – This detail was on a serpentine section of the leg, and required a special jig and a router to cut. The jig followed the curve of the leg and supported the router at a specific height over the leg. The router bit cut the detail, the leg was rotated 20 degrees, and the process repeated eight times.

Assembly – I trimmed the broken leg on the table and then drilled a hole in the center of it. A matching hole was drilled in the new leg and the two halves were joined with a dowel pin and some glue.

Finish – The table had a natural finish but the new leg was much lighter. I stained it to match the rest of the table, and gave the new leg several coats of varnish to protect it.

Many people would think that without the original leg, the table couldn’t be fixed. Before you make that decision about your broken furniture, check with an expert.

The chest that couldn’t be repaired – or could it?

I was recently contacted by a customer who had a cedar chest she wanted repaired. It was her mother’s hope chest that has been in the family for over 60 years. She didn’t want it cleaned up or refinished, she wanted it re-veneered. She spoke with several woodworkers about the job and they all said the same thing. Because of the curved top, it couldn’t be done. Then she called me.

I went to their home, looked at the chest and said “I’ll do it”. I must say the chest looked a little worn and had a few repairs that needed to be un-done.

The first step was to remove the old veneer. Some areas just flaked off, while others need a hot air gun, a putty knife and lots of patience.

Once that was done I used a chisel and a palm sander to smooth out the surface. There were several digs and tears in the cedar that needed to be repaired. A little wood filler and some final sanding and it was ready for the next step.

Using a mahogany veneer and contact cement the new face was applied. Special care was used on the curved top and the book-matched front. Some light sanding and it was time to re-assemble the chest.

Some custom mixed stain to match the original chest and I finish it off with several coats of urethane. Finally it was delivery day. Both mother and daughter were overwhelmed with the finished piece, especially after being told several times that the job could not be done.

Some pieces are too far gone to repair, but often times the repair is a matter of finding the correct craftsman. In this case the furniture was structurally sound and just needed some cosmetic work. A family now has a second chance to enjoy an heirloom piece.