Thoughts on this furniture repair

[spanner48]

Trick is to keep offering it up until it closes as tightly as possible, then try and work out how to hold it there. More than once I have resorted to covering a piece of wood in cling film, then using car body filler to make a lump of material that fits it exactly and can then be shaped so the clamp can work as required. All good fun.
I agree with Spanner 48 on the use of Araldite in general.
Only thing to consider here is it does set to a darkish colour, so might not be suitable for your light wood.
But you do want something that doesn't go off too quickly, so you have time to make small adjustments. I find Gorilla glue is pretty good.

You're right: Araldite does dry dark. What I do is to add just a few grains of TiO2 [Titanium dioxide] to the Araldite mix. It's a very powerful white pigment; so a tiny amount will work. If it turns out too light, you can adjust with shellac.

 

[johnnyb]

I have repaired a few and the finish used to be ronseal varnish on tops and simple wax everywhere else(according to the company.)
I reckon there's a good reason they don't make this style anymore....

 

[Fergie 307]

You're right: Araldite does dry dark. What I do is to add just a few grains of TiO2 [Titanium dioxide] to the Araldite mix. It's a very powerful white pigment; so a tiny amount will work. If it turns out too light, you can adjust with shellac.

Good idea, I shall have to try that.

 

[spanner48]

Hi Tony.
You have a very nice Robert Thompson (Mouseman) stool. The top is not bent but hewn out by hand with an adze. In perfect condition it would fetch around £500 in auction and probably over a thousand with a dealer so well worth doing a proper repair.
It looks as though the Pickfords repair was glued with cascamite, there is still some residue in the break which is what is preventing a good join. All of the old glue will need picking/scraping out carefully so as not to damage the edges. There is enough glueing surface for the repair to be done with scotch or fish glue. It will need clamping with care so as to get a good join.

Just noticed that the top has been quarter-sawn, and is beautifully figured with the medullary rays. Also makes the top stronger against splitting . . .

. . . but even that can't beat a removals cowboy!

 

[Chubber]

How alike are the corners? If very similar, using cling film as a shield a piece of ply and a polyfilla type substance could give you an appropriately shaped former with a useful flat face to clamp against?

 

[spanner48]

How alike are the corners? If very similar, using cling film as a shield a piece of ply and a polyfilla type substance could give you an appropriately shaped former with a useful flat face to clamp against?

Use only the diagonally opposite corner as a master. And be aware that, as a hand-made piece, it will be very similar, but not identical.

 

[Fergie 307]

As I say I have done similar but by wrapping the actual piece in clingfilm and then using car body filler to make a sizeable lump in the appropriate place on the side. It looks to be just big enough. This can then be shaped as necessary to get the clamp to work in the right direction.
You can also clamp a piece of wood on top, and one underneath the top next to the section that is damaged and then clamp between these pieces and your "cast". The shape will make it all more of a challenge than if it was flat.

 

[okeydokey]

Araldite have a clear version - does wood and other things where clear is helpful
https://www.go-araldite.com/en/aralditer-crystal-2x15ml

 

[spanner48]

Araldite have a clear version - does wood and other things where clear is helpful
https://www.go-araldite.com/en/aralditer-crystal-2x15ml

Agreed. And it does help, particularly when repairing glass and china, as it doesn't 'yellow' with time.

But, when mixed with sawdust or woodflour to frm a gap-filling mastic, the resultant mix still goes dark

 

[okeydokey]

Didn't know that-must be the wood colour coming through like wet wood colour

 

[Silken]

What a mess they made of that repair, looks like they gave it to the wood butcher. Clearly a specialists job, should look great once done correctly

 

[Fergie 307]

Araldite have a clear version - does wood and other things where clear is helpful
https://www.go-araldite.com/en/aralditer-crystal-2x15ml

I use it all the time. Only issue is that, as far as I'm aware, it only comes in a quick setting formula so it starts to go off in a few minutes.

 

[spanner48]

Didn't know that-must be the wood colour coming through like wet wood colour

Yes; it's strange. It happens even with light-coloured woods like beech, ash or holly.

 

[aesmith]

Thanks again. I had a quick look again today. Quite a lot of the break surface is free of any glue, but there's also some sort of filler in places that doesn't really match anything. The actual glue softens with acetone. The filler doesn't so it's going to be a bit of a pain removing that. I'm not sure whether the filler was added because the join didn’t close right up, or whether the filler is what's stopping it closing.

 

[spanner48]

Thanks again. I had a quick look again today. Quite a lot of the break surface is free of any glue, but there's also some sort of filler in places that doesn't really match anything. The actual glue softens with acetone. The filler doesn't so it's going to be a bit of a pain removing that. I'm not sure whether the filler was added because the join didn’t close right up, or whether the filler is what's stopping it closing.

Glad that acetone did the trick on the glue. For the filler, scrape it mechanically across the whole break surfaces EXCEPT the visible edges. Then see how close the fit is. Then, if there are still gaps, carefully pare away the edge filler next to wherever there is a gap. But bear in mind that there may well be distortion and splintering of the wood itelf, from the moment of breaking.