Need help with antique footstool repair

[David D]

I have an antique footstool that belonged to my grandparents that I want to repair. The cloth was done by my grandmother and is in near perfect condition, but the wooden frame needs a LOT of work. Most of the joints need to be re-glued and fastened.

One of the legs is split in two and I have prepared the surfaces for re-gluing, but I am not sure if I should somehow reinforce the joint. There is a corner block that will nest where the legs form a corner and that may will help, but I want to be sure the broken joint is strong too. The thickness of the wood at the break is about 1/2".

Have a look at the attached pics and let me know how you think I should repair this. Thanks!

[JR]

I'd use a couple of dowels to reinforce that joint. You could just drive a coujple of holes in one piece, then use dowel centers to mark the location for the mating holes.

JR

[LCHIEN]

if the crack is a bit uneven, I'd just use glue. Glue is stronger than wood if you have some surface area. Uneven pieces tend to be self aligning.

[Pappy]

1/2" by what looks like 2 1/2" - 3" long should give you plenty of glue surface if the breaek was clean and give you a tight joint. When you add the strength of the glued miter joint and inside corner block, you shouldnt have any problems. If it is used as a foot stool and not a chair it should hold fine.

To preserve its value as an antique it is best to leave the finish alone. If the finish is too badly damaged and you want to refinish it for asthetics, try to duplicate the original as best you can.

[Hoover]

The glue block will help reinforce the break. Allow the glue to set up before attempting to put any weight on it.

[David D]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking just glue, but wasn't sure.

The finish is in horrible condition, and I want to refinish it. I wouldn't classify it as a "true" antique, so I doubt a refinish will harm it's value. It probably dates back to the 40's. The real "value" is the needlepoint cushion that my grandmother made for it years ago. Absolutely priceless to me!

[phi1l]

I would go for a heavier duty repair. When a piece of furniture breaks once, it is likely to break there again unless your repair makes the piece much stronger i that area.

Apparently, reducing the thickness of the wood at that point was a serious design flaw.

I reinforce the repair with 2 or 3 wood screws inserted up through the bottom. Make sure that the screws are counter sunk enough so that the all the threads of the screws are in the top part of the repair so that the two pieces will be pulled tight.

As the OP suggested I would also add a reinforcing corner block to this corner as well as the others, since ther is a demonstrated weakness at that point.

You don't want to have to come back later to have to repair a repair.

[cabinetman]

If you have the skills and tools, making another piece would be nice. If the fit is a perfect fit, being glued and clamped with TBII or TBIII, may be sufficient. If the fit is a bit less than perfect, use a two part epoxy. Another suggestion would be to use a hardwood spline with the grain direction 90 degrees to the grain of the repair. It could be grooved fairly deep.
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[David D]

Due to the thickness, or lack thereof, of the wood at the break, I would have to use a small (1/8") dowel if I doweled it. I have thought about using trim head screws as well, and might even use those to secure the legs onto the base. I will take some more pics of the whole assembly later today and post here. Perhaps that will give you guys a better idea of what I am working with. Thanks for the help so far!!!

[David D]

As promised, here are some more pics of the underside of the stool. You can see the corner blocks I mentioned. My intent is to get some 1" flat head screws and secure the corner blocks in place along with some glue. That should help toward making sure the stool lasts another 100 years or so.

[phi1l]

On further consideration, I would definitely add a support block behind the broken piece. From the nature of the break it looks like that is a quarter sawn piece which would be very weak & prone to break near that location again.

Inspect the other pieces, if possible & if any of those are quarter sawn, reinforce those as well.

[ironhat]

The last picture tells a lot about how it was originally supported. Why not make the replacement block in a triangular configuration and as wide as possible less a tad (just under a skosh). You will have the entire back of the most narrow portion of the leg supported and it won't be visible. I'm in the glue only camp. Although phi1l makes an interesting observation about the quarter sawed cut of the wood, I have seen wood glue demos and have never seen the original break separate. JMO, FWIW

[David D]

I think the idea of adding a larger support block behind the legs is a good one. As an engineer-type who tends to "over-do" things, I'm inclined to add screws as well as glue. Any suggestions as to what type of wood to use? I think the footstool is made of mahogany?

[SARGE..g-47]

[QUOTE=David . Any suggestions as to what type of wood to use? I think the footstool is made of mahogany?[/QUOTE]

David.. if this is truly an antique and it is made of mahogany.. I wouldn't consider anything else but mahogany to replace it with to maintain the value. If it's just a keep-sake.. different story.

Good luck...

[Alex Franke]

The last picture tells a lot about how it was originally supported. Why not make the replacement block in a triangular configuration and as wide as possible less a tad (just under a skosh). You will have the entire back of the most narrow portion of the leg supported and it won't be visible.

This is probably what I would do, too, even though it wouldn't match the others.