ANOTHER antique chair repair!

[fletty]

Once again, a damaged chair followed me home from a friend's place! This time however, it wasn't due to an oversized nor over-excited guest sitter......

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.....it was due to over-excited borers who had neatly and precisely dined on the floating tenons? I don't want to remove the (fairly fragile) upholstery to open up the joint, so digging out and replacing the floating tenons isn't my first choice? I'm looking at drilling and fitting dowels from the outside where their exposed ends will be hidden by the upholstery? I'm at that stage of restoration and repair where divine inspiration is desired ...... but pragmatism steps forward!

fletty

[Lappa]

From the picture I'm just wondering why you can't dig out the floating tenon. Any chance if some more pics? Can't fully visualise the situation

Cheers

[fletty]

This is a picture from underneath of the corner where the leg should be...

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I would need need to remove all of the upholstery to spread the joint far enough to replace the leg with 2 new tenons at 90 degrees to each other BUT I could probably fit a new tenon in the fore and aft direction only and then drill from the outside and fit a new dowel in the cross direction.
fletty

[woodPixel]

That's an itty bitty photo!

ill watch this thread. I enjoy fixing chairs.

[fletty]

That's an itty bitty photo!

ill watch this thread. I enjoy fixing chairs.

Hmmmm, yes, it IS tiny! At least they didn't rotate this time

[crowie]

At least they didn't rotate this time

Yes, some of the phoney photos I've recently added to the toy build have worked first time...pleasant surprize...

Good luck with the chair Alan... Cheers, Peter

[fletty]

I mentioned the word BORERS to the owners and now I don't think they want the chair back!
I've poked around and found that it's probably not a floating tenon but a tenon cut into the side and front rail. The borers however have feasted along the rails and there is limited solid timber adjacent to the leg. I've drilled a 12 mm dowel about 100 mm long through the leg and into the side rail and 3 'satay' tenons through the leg and into the front rail. I kept drilling until I found enough solid timber so the satay tenons were about 80, 80 and 100 mm long! I syringed epoxy into the dowel holes and onto the faces before clamping it up.

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It it looks a bit messy but I'll clean it up before reattaching the upholstery which tore during the event NOT the repair. Then the standard chair test of standing on it ........ and twisting, wriggling and squirming!
I have advised the owners that a real repair will require new front and side rails but I doubt they value the chair that much?

[rustynail]

It's a shame to reduce a tenoned chair to dowels. The normal method of repair, where the upholstery needs to be left in place, is to release the edge braid (where fitted), denail bottom edge of upholstery at each leg, fold back onto chair seat and pin. Same to bottom lining. All legs are now exposed. An old chisel with a notch out of the middle of the edge makes a good tack lifter if you dont have the proper tool.
This method allows you to remove the leg completely from the chair, giving easy access to both rail and leg tenons. Best to remove only one leg at a time, so the chair retains some rigidity. Hope this helps.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Coming from a dyed-in-the wool antique collector and restorer this is going to sound harsh, but, my solution for borer-ridden furniture is the fire. They burn quite well and take the little blighter borers with them. Borer-susceptible timbers remain susceptible all their existence, not just when they are green, and borers are always on the lookout. Also, once they have eaten their fill the wood is dangerously weak and using such a piece of furniture can cause injury. Single dowels are not very strong, even when epoxied in, especially with borer-weakened timber.

Given that "brown furniture" has so little $ value these days, and that extensively repaired brown furniture has even less value (usually $0) it may be wise to enjoy some winter warmth!

David

[fletty]

The purist in me is cringing but the pragmatist is relieved. The chair repair is finished..

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The owners are aware of the borer damage and that the repair was 'sub-optimal' but it is returning to its siblings who may be similarly afflicted. This one passed the 'standing-on-and wriggling-test' but I have advised them NOT to try it on the others.
As David sadly advises above, this culmination of centuries of woodworking expertise, is now virtually valueless and, worse still, is subjected to the insertion of epoxy covered satay sticks!
Now, back to re-French polishing the classic 6 drawer dresser which will probably sell for less than $200?
fletty

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Now, back to re-French polishing the classic 6 drawer dresser which will probably sell for less than $200?
fletty

If your chest of drawers is cedar it may even fetch $500 - $600 depending on how 'original' the new finish looks. But, if it is mahogany, once the king of timbers with Australian Cedar regarded as inferior, then yes, about $200 would pull it up. An appreciation of Australian timbers by Australians is partly sustaining Australian antique values, but the imported stuff - nope, even though some of it is absolutely superbly made and top quality. There are bargains to be had!

"Brown furniture" will come back into favour one day when people realise the value of objects that have stood the test of time (those chairs may not qualify if borer ridden). My daughter (mid-20's) disdained antiques in her teen years and even spent a small fortune (for what she got) of $600 on an Ikea chest of drawers. That Ikea chest looked pretty impressive, solid (finger jointed) timbers for the carcase and drawer sides, but very thin mdf for the drawer bases and back. It was a big chest and those thin drawer bases couldn't hold any weight so they just fell out. Then the fancy metal lock joints used to assemble the drawers worked loose and one fell out and was lost somehow. The result - a useless item that she ended up giving away to a destitute friend. Instead, she has the 1860's chest that we bought her when she was a child - solid cedar carcase, drawer fronts and back with solid Huon Pine drawer sides, back and bases. Its a fairly 'ordinary' chest as antiques go but now she has an appreciation of the lasting value of well-made older items and loves it. Being conservation minded she also has an appreciation that the old items are not costing the planet anything (though they did when made) so that re-use is the responsible thing to do. Many young people are like-minded in regard to conservation, so, to have a revival in a love of "brown furniture" they just need to realise that antiques and old furniture are perfect for conservation.

So I have hopes for the future with our antiques. It's not the $ value that bothers me - I don't sell (or buy much anymore) and never intend to - it will be handed to our children when we die, but the appreciation of the "culmination of centuries of woodworking expertise" (to quote Fletty) is important to me.

David

[fletty]

Now, back to re-French polishing the classic 6 drawer dresser which will probably sell for less than $200?
fletty

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[aldav]

Then the standard chair test of standing on it ........ and twisting, wriggling and squirming!

I hope you're hanging on to a high bar when conducting your test fletty. Most of us aren't looking for another way to potentially injure ourselves!

[fletty]

I hope you're hanging on to a high bar when conducting your test fletty. Most of us aren't looking for another way to potentially injure ourselves!

I once told a potential repair and restoration customer that I "set the bar high' when it came to my work but, what I didn't tell her, was that the bar I set high was the one I hang on to when I jump up and down on her beloved chair ☺️?
fletty

[jacobkevin567]

I am not the expert of this but there is a website called jwpolishing.com.au i hope you'll get some new idea by them