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Never keep a piece of furniture in service after a portion of it has broken or a joint has become loose. Good furniture is made of relatively thin pieces of wood fitted together to provide the necessary over-all strength. When one part is broken, the entire structure will deteriorate very quickly. Trying to repair a piece of furniture which is in pieces is a job that may well require the services of a cabinetmaker. Loose jointsProbably the most common repair job on furniture is gluing joints that have worked loose over a period of time. Excessive heat and moisture will weaken most wood glues to the point where they will not hold properly, and this is another reason to keep furniture well away from radiators and registers during the heating season. When it is necessary to reglue a joint,
first remove all traces of the old glue from both surfaces to be joined.
This is very important. If any of the old glue remains, the joint will
not hold properly. The glue can be sanded away with a lightgrade sandpaper.
When both surfaces are clean, put a thin film of glue on each. It is not
necessary to use more than a very light coat of glue, as too much will
weaken rather than strengthen the joint. Remember, also, to use a glue
made for wood. Fit the two glued surfaces together and apply pressure
to the joint until the glue is dry. This pressure can be applied with
adjustable clamps, but if these are not available, wrap several layers
of string around the joint and insert a piece of wood under the string.
Twist the wood several times so that the strings are pulled tightly over
the joint. It is a good idea to put a piece of cloth under the strings
to prevent damage to the finish on the furniture. On joints where it is
impossible to use either strings or clamps, the necessary amount of pressure
can be achieved by placing bricks or books on the joint. It is very often found, when re-gluing chair rungs, that the rung has shrunk so that it fits loosely in the chair leg despite the glue. Do not expect such a joint to hold after it has been glued, for glue cannot possibly function unless the two pieces of wood fit snugly together. The only remedy is to make the end of the rung larger so that it will fit tightly in the hole. There are several ways of doing this. One way is to make a thin cut across the diameter of the rung with a fine saw. This cut should be about 1/2 inch deep, and should be located in the centre of the rung. After the cut has been made, drive a small wood wedge into it so that the sides of the rung are spread slightly. The wedge should be very thin, and great care must be taken when driving it in not to split the wood. Now apply the glue and force the rung into the hole. It may be necessary to tap the rung in by means of a hammer. If so, place a piece of wood between the hammer and the part of the furniture tapped, in order that the hammer will not damage the finish. Another way of making the rung fit tightly is to give the end a coat of glue and wrap silk thread around it until you have built up the surface to fit tightly in the hole. Apply another coat of glue over the silk and then force the rung in. Hardware and five-and-ten-cent stores sell patented metal fasteners that slip over the end of the rung. These fasteners are equipped with metal barbs that catch and hold the two pieces of wood together. Chair legs and rails cannot be expected always to remain firm, and if any looseness in the joint is neglected, the strain is likely to be thrown on the piece as a whole, necessitating major repairs. A great deal can be done with a little glue, and with angle pieces, or fiat metal plates, in effecting repairs. BreaksA chair rail that has cracked or snapped can be secured by means of a flat mending plate screwed to grip securely along both surfaces of the break. It may be possible to sink the fiat plate into the wood. If the broken rung or rail is too thin, or its shape unsuitable for the fiat plate attachment, the broken surfaces should be glued, brought close together, and secured with a thin screw, or with two screws if there is space enough. Where only gluing is practicable, maintain pressure by means of some cord or a clamp. A spindle that has broken off may be refixed by means of simple dowels and glue, or it may be possible to use long screws instead. The head of the screw should be countersunk in the part through which it passes. Where surfaces are fiat, strong joints can be made with angle plates or brackets. If possible, these metal plates should be placed where they are not visible. Bore screw holes to reduce strain while
screws are being worked home and to lessen the possibility of splitting
wood at the joints.
Repairing veneerMuch of the furniture in the home is made of veneered wood, that is, solid but inexpensive stock that has been covered with a thin slice of wood (veneer) that was selected for the beauty of its grain and colouring. The thin slice of wood serving as the veneer is attached to the solid but inexpensive wood with glue, and made fast and dried under heavy pressure. Sometimes due to heat or cold, dryness or moisture, the glue will fail to hold, causing the veneer to crack around the edges, or form blisters on the surface of the wood. When the veneer becomes loose along the edges of a piece of furniture, it should be repaired at once, for aside from the chance of moisture getting into the opening to loosen up more glue, the slightest knock, under such conditions, may chip off, split or otherwise damage the thin veneer. The first step in regluing the veneer is to slip the thin blade of a knife between the veneer and the base wood and scrape out as much of the old glue as possible along with any dirt or dust that may have collected there. The glue that remains can be roughened up a little with the knife so that it will make a good bond with the new glue. Now a thin coat of glue should be spread under the veneer and worked as far back into the opening as possible. A thin knife blade will do for this job. After the glue has been spread on, press the veneer down gently and use adjustable clamps to hold it in place until the glue has set. Protect the veneer from being damaged by the clamp, by covering it with a piece of cardboard and a block of wood. If the veneer is brittle, and there is a chance of its splitting or breaking as it is forced back into place, steam it to make it pliable. Levelling furnitureA mistake that is often made in the home is to saw off the ends of table legs in an attempt to make a piece rest level. This is done with the idea that the legs are not all the same length. The effected change may have disastrous results. In the first place, it is very possible that the legs are all the same length but the floor is uneven and hence the tilting. Should a fraction of an inch be cut off one leg, the piece might rest solidly on one particular section of the floor but would tilt or wobble if moved to a level surface. Another reason against shortening a leg is that it is difficult to know how much to take off. A simple and inexpensive method of getting a table to rest level is to glue or nail thin strips of wood to the bottom of a leg. Glue is better than a nail for this job because it eliminates any possibility of splitting the leg. After the glue has had time to set and harden, the piece of wood can be sanded down and stained to match the finish of the leg. It is also possible to purchase special castors for furniture that can be adjusted, within reason, to make the piece rest level.
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