Fixing Old Wooden Chairs

Fixing Old Wooden Chairs

IF you have some old chairs that have broken or missing rungs or posts. Don't throw away the chairs, repair them.

If you know what the wood is in the chair such as Oak, Maple or Pine, buy some 2" x 2" lengths in the same kind of wood to be turned on a lathe. Cut the 2 x 2s , 1" longer than the post to be replaced in the chair back. Better too long than too short.

Turn the 2x2s down to match the posts left in the chair, when you have enough for the back of the chair, then cut the posts to the right lengths according to the height needed for each.

Next if you need to replace rungs between the legs, you will need to turn them to match ones that remain in the chair. If you can get one of the good rungs out, match the new rung to the old one for length and design. If you need to cut any off the new one, cut the same amount off both ends of the new rung so the design remains centered when placed.

Now we are ready to glue the rungs in place. The glue I like is called Titebond ®. The glue is clear and waterproof when it dries. I do not use clamps to hold the chair together when I glue it.

Go to a tire place and see if you can get an old inner tube without too many patches. Cut the tube so you have one long piece, then cut 1" to 1 1/2" wide strips the length of the tube. Now when you glue the rungs between the legs wrap the rubber strips around all four legs and tie off. That will hold the rungs in tight.

Now for the back of the chair, put the glue where you need it, then set the posts or slats in place. Now take a strip of the rubber tube, leaving six inches or more on top of the back of the chair to tie to, go under the seat and up the front of the chair, pull the tube tight and tie it on the top of the back, this will hold the back down to the seat.

By using the rubber tubes instead of clamps you will not have to sand out any dents that the clamps will make. When the glue dries remove the rubber, then finish the chair however you like.

© copyright 2005 by Lee Bowman

***** Find more woodworking information at: http://www.leestoolbench.com

My experience comes from owning a camper manufacturing company. I built the cabinets and all of the interior and exterior from start to finish.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

An Israeli Armored Personal Carrier advances along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, seen in background, southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Israeli tanks, infantry and aircraft hammered dozens of Hamas targets overnight Wednesday as Israel's leaders discussed whether to expand the 12-day operation meant to stop rocket fire into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage. Despite the heavy fighting, strides were made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt.



President-elect Barack Obama gestures during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, where he introduced Nancy Killefer, not shown, to the newly created position of chief performance officer. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris, left, meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."



Rescue workers evacuate residents from a flooded neighborhood along  McCutcheon Rd. near Orting, Wash. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. The rapidly rising Puyallup River forced hundreds of people in the area from their homes. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)AP - Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt. More than 30,000 people were told to leave their homes in a flood-endangered valley southeast of Tacoma, as authorities warned of heavy flooding.



President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill  Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.



Workers put bullet proof glass on President-elect Barack Obama's Inaugural Reviewing Stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.



AP - You've heard of making cheese from goats' milk, but prescription drugs? In what would be a scientific first, an anti-clotting drug made from the milk of genetically engineered goats moved closer to government approval Wednesday after experts at the Food and Drug Administration reported that the medication works and its safety is acceptable.

Kid Rock, left, presents Ellen DeGeneres with the favorite funny female star award at the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)AP - "The Dark Knight" could soar away with several trophies Wednesday night at the 35th annual People's Choice Awards. The Batman film will vie for awards in such categories as favorite cast, action movie, on-screen matchup and superhero.



AP - An eastern Pennsylvania man may face up to 37 years in prison for tearing open a neighbor's door with a chain saw. Police say 34-year-old Robert Kane began sawing through the front door of Jamie Zaleski's apartment in Scranton while Zaleski and several friends ran out the back.

In this Nov. 30, 2008 file photo, New York Jets coach Eric Mangini looks up at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cleveland Browns have agreed to hire Eric Mangini as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)AP - Eric Mangini is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, a week after being fired by the New York Jets. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mangini will be introduced Thursday at a news conference at the team's headquarters in Berea.



An Israeli soldier stands next to blindfolded Palestinian prisoners after they were arrested during an Israeli military operation in the northern Gaza Strip January 7, 2009, in this picture released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday she had pressed Israel to seriously consider an Egyptian ceasefire plan as the U.N. Security Council weighed action to end Israel's attack on Gaza. (IDF/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip on Thursday and tanks pounded Palestinian guerrillas on the ground as U.S. backing for a proposed truce raised expectations of an end to the offensive.



President Bush greets President-elect Barack Obama at the White House, November 10, 2008. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, the result of an economic recession that has cut tax receipts and caused massive government bailouts of banks and automakers.



Senate-designate Roland Burris talks with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Reid's office on Capitol Hill, January 7, 2009. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.



United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger (C) addresses the media as UAW Vice-Presidents listen at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, Michigan December 12, 2008. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)Reuters - United Auto Workers bargaining teams are arriving this week in Detroit as the union gears up for negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, which are mandated to cut labor costs under a $17.4 billion federal bailout.



Reuters - U.S. cities are vulnerable to an attack like the gun-and-grenade assault that terrorized Mumbai for three days and killed 179 people, the White House homeland security adviser said on Wednesday.

Ali al-Marri, who has been held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, is seen in this undated photograph released to Reuters on January 6, 2008. An early test for President-elect Barack Obama will be the case of suspected al Qaeda 'sleeper' agent Marri, which will force Obama to take a position on his predecessor's claim that anyone the president deems a national security threat can be imprisoned indefinitely without charges in the United States. (Handout/Reuters)Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.



Eggs are stacked up at an egg farm in San Diego County, July 29, 2008. (Mike Blake/Reuters)Reuters - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning has made 388 people sick across 42 states, sending 18 percent of them to the hospital, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.



Bernard Madoff is escorted in a vehicle from Federal Court in New York, January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff should be jailed for violating a court order by mailing $1 million worth of diamonds, watches and other jewelry to friends and family, U.S. prosecutors told a court on Wednesday.



Smoke billows following an Israel air strike in Rafah near the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.(AFP/Said Khatib)AFP - Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.



A local worker controls a gas valve and the gas pressure at the gas-main center of FGSZ Natural Gas, in Vecses, Hungary. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.(AFP/Attila Kisbenedek)AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.




Easy Renovations for Your Home

Renovating should be a fun and exciting process (really!). The key is... Read More

The Mighty Dust Mite and How To Deal With It

A Closer Examination of the Dust MiteThe dust mite's mouth parts are... Read More

Planning Permission Tips UK - Conservatories - Dispelling a Myth

It's now well into the new year and the residential development scene... Read More

A Lasting Scent

Look no further for long lasting perfumes. House of Rose makes them... Read More

Top Ten Air Purifier Questions

1. Do I really need an air purifier in my home? It... Read More

New Jersey Home Remodeling

The U.S. state of New Jersey lies on the Eastern seaboard, with... Read More

Window Shutters On A Budget

While there is great value in installing custom-made interior wood window shutters,... Read More

Choosing a Home Builder

So you've decided to build a new home. Like many home buyers... Read More

The Next Revolution in Home Entertainment - IP Based Multi-Room Distribution

The Holy Grail of distributed audio; unlimited zones and unlimited sources, cost... Read More

Planning Your Replacement Windows Installation

Windows are the eyes of a home. From inside, you see the... Read More

Tips on Ladder Safety

PLACEMENT?Ladders should be placed so each side rail is on level and... Read More

The Motors Best Friend

The starting current of motor can become 3 to 6 times the... Read More

Choosing the Right House Plan

Now that you have made that bold decision to build a home... Read More

How to Layout Recessed Lighting

One of the most important principles to understand when designing a recessed... Read More

Brighten Up Your Shelves With Picture Frames

Would you like to add a personal touch to your home or... Read More

Kitchen Remodeling Guide

A kitchen can make or ruin a family life. A badly designed,... Read More

Learning Interior Design

Learning interior design can be a simple or complicated task depending on... Read More

Area Rug Buyers Guide

When you begin decorating your home there are some important factors to... Read More

Planning Your DIY Project

Ready to start your first serious DIY project? Read through the checklist... Read More

Finishing Your Basement Can be Very Rewarding

Transforming your home's basement into a finished space can prove to be... Read More

Color Help: Color Theory and Design Psychology

Color theory is an entire science unto itself, and to get a... Read More

Heres How To Know Which Kitchen Design Is Right For You

Kitchen design is a sea of opportunity filled with potential. Color schemes,... Read More

Swim Spas Make a Big Splash with Baby Boomers

If you are an aging baby boomer like I am, you may... Read More

CCTV for the Home

Securing your property is one of the growing domestic issues in the... Read More

Useful Home Products Will Help Your House Sale Profits

Even if you've never been involved in the sale of house before... Read More

The Ten Most Important Feng Shui Design Tips

If you wish to learn how to manage interior design according to... Read More

Repairing Putty Window Glass

Have you ever thought about fixing a broken window in your house,... Read More

Old House Remodeling: Removing Old Tile and Glue

When you live in old house like I do, remodeling is always... Read More

Help With Buying A New Ceiling Fan

When you are choosing a new ceiling fan there are a couple... Read More

How to Design a Lighting Plan

You are doing a remodel and know that you want to add... Read More

Homeowners ? Here is a Step by Step Guide to Help You Hire a Quality Home Improvement Contractor

Before talking to any contractors the first thing to do is create... Read More

Heart of the Home

It started with my need for a new mixer. OK. Well, maybe... Read More

I Need What Part?

One of the first things you learn as a homeowner is that... Read More

What is Injection Waterproofing?

Injection waterproofing is often used to fill and seal cracks and crevices.... Read More

A Checklist for Bathroom Remodeling Plans

Careful planning is the key to a successful bathroom-remodeling project. Before you... Read More

New Tax Breaks for Energy Efficient Home Improvements

If you would like to make your existing home more energy efficient... Read More

5 Questions To Ask Before Starting Any Home Improvement Project

1. What experience does your contractor have with this type of project?How... Read More

What You Should Know About Steam Showers

"Steam" and "Steam Bath" Health Benefits:"Steam" and "Steam baths" in you own... Read More

5 Window Treatment Ideas To Improve Your Home

Coming up with interesting window treatment ideas that bring out the best... Read More

What Two Words Will Double the Space in Your Home?

Just two words and a bit of explanation about them will help... Read More

Laminate Flooring - Cleaning & Maintenance

One of the biggest advantages of laminate floors is that they are... Read More

Daydreaming About Your Home Makeover Projects

Most of us enjoy daydreaming about our perfect home. Do you ever... Read More

Choosing A New Floor

Is it time to give that tired kitchen floor a face lift?... Read More

Making the Most of a Small Bathroom

In bathroom terms at least, bigger doesn't have to be better ?... Read More

Choosing Window Frames

There are three main types of material used to manufacture window frames.... Read More

Building a Home Addition

Besides providing your home with more living space, a home addition can... Read More

Designing Your Log Home: Tips To Keep You Out of Trouble

Nearly every log home is a custom design, whether you are altering... Read More