Glue suggestions for dowelled joints

[gnu52]

Hello all,

I have to repair some aged office chairs, hav'nt seen them but believe they are solid maple and silky oak, with the traditional dowelled joints and a long history of heavy use. They are probably fairly loose and will require a general rebuild.

I would appreciate suggestions as to the best glue for the job, regardless of cost or difficulty cause i'm sure these chairs will spend some of their time on their back legs only.
Hope someone can help, Thanks, Bill

[beejay1]

Veritas chair doctor is ok if the joints arent too loose.

beejay1

http://community.webshots.com/user/eunos9

[echnidna]

Hide glue !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NewLou]

Garret and wade 220 GF Glue for me...................................If I can I also like to get a japanese pull saw and and make a 1-2 centremetre cut in the stretcher leg arm or what ever part of the chair I'm reparing from wear and tear then tap in a wedge of hardwood. I then tap this back into what ever kind of joinery hole the part goes into to complete the restoration of the chair.

Although I have not used this method a great deal of times .................so far it has worked really well for me on each occasion I have used it.................Hope it Helps!

Regards Lou

[craigb]

What Bob Thomas said.

After all, they were probably put together with hide glue in the first place.

[Sturdee]

What Bob Thomas said.

After all, they were probably put together with hide glue in the first place.

If they were originally glued with hide glue than you don't have to clean the joints as much as with other glues as hide glue is the only glue that will bond onto the old glue.


Peter.

[gnu52]

Thanks to you all for your comments.


Lou, The wedge idea sounds like it is a good idea.
Bob et al, I have never used hide glue. Do you mean the old two pots on the stove process I saw done about 40 years ago?
If so where do you source the materials.
Please excuse my ignorance but carpenters are not cabinet makers and I have done very little furniture repair. ( other than with maxbond and a screw gun) Again, thanks to all, Bill

[echnidna]

Neil (Ubeaut) sells hide glue.
If stuck for supplies Gelatine from the supermarket will do. (Its the same thing but being a food substance its made to health standards)

[Thom]

Have you used Gorilla Glue before? It is an exellent product and creates an incredable bond even if you have a few small gaps. Do a google search for availability and here is a picture of the bottle.

[snappperhead]

titebond

[Optimark]

Thom, that Gorilla Glue sounds interesting. I've never heard of it in this country, I could be wrong though.

I Googled it and came up with some fascinating information, it appears to be virtually perfect, are there any downsides that you know of?

ick.

[journeyman Mick]

Have you used Gorilla Glue before?...........

No, but then I've never had to fix a broken gorilla :D
Seriously though, I believe it's a foaming type polyurethane adhesive. There's a few of these available from other manufacturers here, AV Syntec do two variations. They have excellent gap filling abilities but as the glue keeps expanding as it sets you need to plan ahead to avoid lots of tedious clean up afterwards.

Mick

[Thom]

No, but then I've never had to fix a broken gorilla :D
Seriously though, I believe it's a foaming type polyurethane adhesive. There's a few of these available from other manufacturers here, AV Syntec do two variations. They have excellent gap filling abilities but as the glue keeps expanding as it sets you need to plan ahead to avoid lots of tedious clean up afterwards.

Mick
Mick, you are absolutly right. I have used paste wax and applied it to the areas that I expect the glue to ooze out on and after it sets up it will usually pop right out or peal off. I use a small disposable paint glue brush to apply the paste wax.

[Thom]

Thom, that Gorilla Glue sounds interesting. I've never heard of it in this country, I could be wrong though.

I Googled it and came up with some fascinating information, it appears to be virtually perfect, are there any downsides that you know of?

ick.
Optimark, I have not had any bad experiences with this glue. Except as Jorneyman Mick pointed out you really need to plan for the clean up. I have used it for repairing chairs and laying up venners (small pieces) and I have also used it in areas that I need a water proof glue. It is expensive though, so I use it for special applications only. You really can't beat the plain old wood glue for most woodworking applications.

[outback]

After doing a bit of research in the glue area lately I reckon hide glue is the go. If the chairs were made using it you'll have more trouble than speed Gordon with other glues, but as already pointed out, heaps less with hide glue.
This is the two pots stuff from 40 years ago. Ask Neil nicely and I'm sure he'll be happy to send some to you.

Which reminds me, one of the reasons for my initial research was an old stool I have been told to repair. Must get some glue to do it.

[IanW]

Yeah - as someone who's gone back to hide glue after avoiding it for 40 yrs, I can say it's not as difficult as I remembered. Apart from being easier to take apart when necessary, and bonding quite happily to any remnants of itself, it has several other useful properties, such as the instant 'grab' as it cools. For parts that would be very difficult to clamp, it can be very useful (and a real pain if you happen to put the wrong piece in, and don't discover it for a minite or so...)

I've been using a 'proper' old cast-iron double boiler on the kitchen stove (got some funny looks from the other half at first!). It's a bit cumbersome, and sooner or later the inevitable is going to happen, as I wander through the kitchen and out to the shed with a fresh pot of hot water and glue. I'm looking for an old hotplate for the shed, but there have been several suggestions on this BB for adapting other appliances - one being a baby's bottle-warmer - but also saw another suggestion recently - can anyone remember what it was and jog my old-timer's-challenged brain?
Ta,

[bitingmidge]

but also saw another suggestion recently - can anyone remember what it was and jog my old-timer's-challenged brain?
Ta,

No, but I remember it was a good one, so you weren't imagining it!!! What about a "crock-pot"? They were pretty popular a good few years ago so are probably in their thousands at the op shops.

Cheers,

P

[beejay1]

re the gorilla glue. I used it a while back and its absolutely fine, however, it is pretty expensive over here and my only real complaint would be the short shelf life once opened.

It becomes very thick and it seals over in the bottle making re-use very difficult.
I now use a product called Fast Grab, a polyurethane which has initial grab in 5mins. requires moist surface to start the cure process and it of course foams but its an excellent product and keeps much better than Gorilla while being every bit as good..
Beejay1

http://community.webshots.com/user/eunos9

[Ianab]

I dont know about Aussie, but Gorilla glue is readily available here in NZ, not silly prices, and it goes a long way.
I've used it on a few projects and it works really well for simple screw and glue construction. Just dont intend on taking anything apart again... ever :D

http://www.holdfast.co.nz/pdf/Boatgorillaarticle.pdf

If you haven't used the stuff I recommend it. It has little chemical smell while curing, unlike a lot of other glues. Only problem I find with it, there is no initial holding by the wet glue, infact it's almost like a thick oil. So you have to clamp things in place properly or the foaming action will tend to make them creep around.

Otherwise, highly recomended, especially if your woodwork skills are pretty basic ;)

Ian

[IanW]

What about a "crock-pot"? They were pretty popular a good few years ago so are probably in their thousands at the op shops.
P

Now you mention it, I think that WAS one of the suggestions. Might have a poke about the op-shops as you suggest.
Ta Midge,

[outback]

I think I could lay my hands on an old frypan at the right price, not sure if I'm game to suggest the crockpot.

I just remebered where an old thingy was, like a mini deepfryer, would be OK. I might suggest this to SWMBO, it hasn't been used for ages.

[IanW]

I think I could lay my hands on an old frypan at the right price, not sure if I'm game to suggest the crockpot.

I just remebered where an old thingy was, like a mini deepfryer, would be OK. I might suggest this to SWMBO, it hasn't been used for ages.

The idea is to have the glue container clear of the boiling water so the temp of the glue in the inner (glue) container doesn't exceed about 60 deg (Celcius). Above this temp, the proteins in the glue start to degrade, and the glue strength will be seriously compromised. If you can whip mrs Outback's double-boiler (you know, those custard making thingies) out to the shed for the duration of the job, that would be perfect. As long as you clean up staright away while the glue is liquid, no worries. But if you forget and/or she catches you, well, it was fun having you on this BB, OB, old fella..... :D

[Sturdee]

A double boiler on a small electric one ring stove is ideal. If you don't have a proper double boiler two old saucepans will do. Place a small one inside the bigger saucepan and keep them apart with a small thick piece of steel, any 1" ofcut will do.


Midge I spent ages looking for a crockpot in op shops but they were very scarce and the few I found cost more than you think. So I used an old frying pan for a while with the home made double boiler until I got the above. ( From Al's Craporium of all places :D ).


Peter.

[outback]

If you can whip mrs Outback's double-boiler.......................... As long as you clean up staright away while the glue is liquid, no worries. But if you forget and/or she catches you, well, it was fun having you on this BB, OB, old fella..... :D
Hah Hah, your a funny fella, I'm too damn scared to even try. :eek: