Advice on repair - G Plan Teak unit

[CaptainTed]

Hello all, I’m new here so please be gentle!

Unfortunately our beloved G Plan sideboard has been damaged in transit due to a house move and has developed sever long cracks (roughly along the joint between the fascia edging and the main cabinet). It also now has a sizeable dent on the front.

Have attached some photos.

I’m keen to get your advice on how easily repairable is this, and what would be the best method for repairing these cracks? I’m keen to fix the dent too although the cracks are my biggest concern. I’m not a woodworking expert - far from it. Thanks in advance!

 

[TheTiddles]

The dent is fairly easy to make much better (steam it). Those cracks… are they just along the edging or is there a big vertical one on the face? If the former they may glue up ok, what happened to make them?

 

[Fitzroy]

If it was damaged by professional movers they should be insured. In which case find a furniture restorer and have them do it. I had similar a few years back.

 

[CaptainTed]

The dent is fairly easy to make much better (steam it). Those cracks… are they just along the edging or is there a big vertical one on the face? If the former they may glue up ok, what happened to make them?

Thanks for the response.
I will look into the steam method.
The cracks are just along the top edges, nothing on the face. Unfortunately the unit became uneven and toppled over when we had to do an emergency stop on the way, clearly didn’t tie it down well enough, and it hit pillar on the inside of the van.
How would you recommend gluing, would it be a case of applying and somehow clamping (not sure how best to clamp as expect it would be difficult to find a clamp that opens to the depth of the unit)? It takes a fair amount of force to close up the gaps by hand so I’m wondering if glue might just pull apart and whether it needs some kind of filler, but if so I want to make sure it’s as close to invisible as possible as it’s the focus point of our living room.

 

[CaptainTed]

If it was damaged by professional movers they should be insured. In which case find a furniture restorer and have them do it. I had similar a few years back.

Unfortunately not - it was my own fault in my own van.

 

[CaptainTed]

If it was damaged by professional movers they should be insured. In which case find a furniture restorer and have them do it. I had similar a few years back.

Out of interest how much would you expect to pay a restorer for this type of work?

Will look into local restorers tomorrow

 

[Fitzroy]

10yrs back the movers cracked an apron on my table by pushing on the van by the legs. Local chap came to my house opened up the crack, injected glue, clamped it all up. Came back the next day for his clamps. Invisible repair. Charged me £50.

 

[jcassidy]

**edited after I opened the pics on a bigger screen and saw where the cracks are**

If the crack closes neatly - even with some force - you can use glue and this should suffice. Unless you are the habit of knocking it about in the back of a van...

To apply the required force, get some ratchet straps, which are a lot cheaper than big glamps - the more the better. Wrap those around the cabinet and racthet tight, using offcuts, or thick cardboard wrapped in towels or something, to protect the edges from the straps. The more the better to ensure even pressure all along the repair area. Be careful not to overtighten, you want to avoid collapsing the front of the cabinet.

*edit*
My worry would be that the cracks are caused by the veneer lifting off the underlying panel and then pulling away towards the front. I can't tell from the photos.

That would be more of a complex repair as you'd have to both glue the veneer down flat, and at the same time, pull the front in to close up the crack.

You'd probably buy another GPLAN sideboard at auction, for what clamps or a professional repair would cost.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

If your G-Plan unit is the same as mine then the doors slide side to side thus will not give a great deal of support to the front lip if ratchet straps are used. I would suggest a cramp (huge G cramp or F-cramp) front to back to clamp without applying the twist you may get over the edge with a ratchet clamp.
Have fun.
Martin

 

[Terrytpot]

I’d suggest fixing a pair of parallel battens to a sheet of ply wider than the cabinet and inverting the cabinet upside down onto it, apply glue where required and then insert wedges between the battens and the cabinet edge pushing the gaps closed..no need then for any fancy clamps although looking at the cabinet’s edge profile you may need to fabricate a formed strip between the wedge and the cabinet to provide an spread of pressure to the cabinet.