Science Forums 2

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by modest

Were you planning on sanding and refinishing the whole chair?

~modest

Oh hell no! Erhm...I mean, no Sir; I don't think that will be necessary. I did do a lot of planning over the two weeks while waiting for the clamps, but once I got them & started applying them I found that a certain premise of my planning was false and so it be for naught. I thought the hinge was flexible and was thinking of using some steam to soften it before clamping. Thinking further on this false premise, I was concerned that if I used steam the wood would swell and I wouldn't get the joint to close well. Anyway, I got the clamps & having made up my clamp boards earlier, I used one 4" C clamp & clamped them firm, but not tight, on the upper part of the leg above the break. Before adding other clamps I decided to push on the lower leg against the break to test how springy the hinge was and a firm, but gentle, push was all it took to pop what was a locked, not sprung, hinge and the break closed up 70%.

But I digress. I'm planning to not sand any of the intact finish, but fill the void(s) with common wood filler, sand the filler , and then use artist's acrylic paint to disguise the breach. I won't add any doweling, or nails, or screws as I think the glue is adequate. The chair was apparently upside down and on a table when the owner leaned against the leg & broke it and in normal use i don't think enough sideways force gets applied to break it in the same area.

It's worth noting that some reasons for using this construction method include economy, as it is cheaper to use smaller pieces that wouldn't normally be of use, and ecology, as you must needs cut down big trees to get big pieces and using big pieces to make intricate smaller pieces makes a lot of wasted small intricate pieces.

Now there is...nothing but laughter gurgling up in me, if not you too, so I better stop before I snork some hot coffee up my nasallities then cough and choke a sparay of it back out onto this monitor which is not mine.