Apr 062021
In this month’s Wood News Online, Bob Rummer discusses several heirloom pieces of furniture that have recently undergone a variety of breaks and scratches. According to Bob, “When we are looking broken-ness in the face, the first step is a decision to fix or not. We compare the cost and difficulty of repairing an item against the cost of getting a new one.”
This month we’re wondering what do you do with a broken piece of wooden furniture?
Being an O.F. I grew up at a time that it was not usually an option to buy a replacement, either used or new. I note that in your poll that the vast majority would fix themselves, No surprise considering the group completing the poll, But I believe, given to the general public the result would be “Throw it away” and buy new.
Today most commercial household items are not produced to last 100 years or more, or be repairable. Nor do most people expect them to be anything but throw away. We live in a throw away society. It is the price we pay for cheep poorly made goods.
I have done several dining room chair repairs for friends. Mostly the joints had worked loose and I could pry them apart without breaking anything. Often dowels had broken or the glue quit. I replace with larger dowels or Festool Dominos. Usually use Titebond II or III, unless I need some high strength and gap filling properties in which case I use epoxy. I am skilled in epoxy usage from boat repair and internal yacht furniture making.
For serious breaks where the structure has been damaged, I’ve had a few of these, I re-build with graving pieces and epoxy.