Repair

Structural & Joinery Repair

Re-gluing loose joints, stabilizing racking frames, and repairing broken legs, stretchers, and drawers so a piece is sound before any finish goes near it.

Photos coming soon

In short Structural repair addresses the joints and frame of a piece rather than its surface: loose or separated joints, chairs that rack under weight, split legs and stretchers, and drawers that no longer run true. On most older furniture the original animal-hide glue has simply released, so the correct repair is to take the joint apart, clean out the old glue, and re-glue it — not to inject fresh adhesive into a dirty joint or reinforce it with brackets, both of which make a proper repair harder later.

A good fit for

Chairs that wobble, rack, or creak under weight
Loose or separated joints in tables, chairs, and case pieces
Broken or split legs, stretchers, rails, and drawer boxes
Drawers that stick, drop, or no longer run square

Not the right fit

Pieces built from particle board or with failing composite panels, where there is no sound material for a joint to hold to
Surface-only issues — scratches, rings, and finish wear are finishing work, not structural

A piece has to be structurally sound before it is worth finishing. Refinishing a chair that racks under weight produces a beautiful chair that still racks — and the movement will eventually break the new finish at the joints.

Why joints fail

Most furniture built before the middle of the twentieth century was assembled with animal hide glue, which is reversible by design. It releases with age, humidity swings, and use. That is not a defect; it is what makes older furniture repairable at all. Florida’s humidity cycle moves wood more than most climates, which is why loose joints are among the most common problems that come through the workshop.

The repair that actually holds

The temptation is to inject glue into a loose joint and clamp it. It does not work for long, because modern adhesives do not bond to old hide glue residue. The joint is separated, both faces are cleaned back to bare wood, and it is re-glued and clamped square. Where a tenon has worn undersized, it is built back up rather than packed out with filler.

Checking the whole frame

A wobble felt at one leg frequently originates at a stretcher or a rail on the opposite side. The frame is checked as a whole and set square while the glue cures, so the piece sits flat when it comes out of the clamps rather than being clamped into a new distortion.

Step 1

Find the actual failure

A wobble often originates somewhere other than where it is felt, so the whole frame is checked before anything is taken apart.

Step 2

Disassemble the joint

Affected joints are separated rather than glued over, so the repair holds and the piece stays serviceable in future.

Step 3

Clean back to bare wood

Old glue is removed from both faces of the joint — fresh adhesive over old glue is the most common reason a repair fails a second time.

Step 4

Re-glue and clamp

The joint is re-glued and clamped square, with the whole frame checked for wind and racking while the glue sets.

Step 5

Address the surface

Once the piece is sound, any finish damage caused by the repair or the original failure is dealt with.

Common questions

My chair wobbles. Can it just be glued?

Squeezing glue into a loose joint without taking it apart is the repair most likely to fail again within a year, because fresh adhesive doesn't bond to old glue. The joint has to come apart and be cleaned back to bare wood first. It's more work, and it's the reason the repair lasts.

Can a broken leg be repaired, or does it need replacing?

Most breaks along the grain can be glued and reinforced invisibly. A well-prepared long-grain glue joint is typically as strong as or stronger than the wood around it, given clean, well-mated surfaces. A short-grain break across a curved or carved section is harder, and sometimes a new section spliced in is the sounder answer. Photos of the break tell us which case it is.

Do you use metal brackets to reinforce joints?

Only where there is no better option. A bracket transfers stress to a new point and often causes the next failure, and it makes a correct repair harder for whoever works on the piece after us. Re-cutting or re-gluing the joint properly is the first choice.

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