Tell Me if This will Work...

[JoeyGee]

OK, so I now know I am officially turning into my dad, the master "Juryrigger". I have to replace a spndle/slat (or whatever you call those things) on a Mission style rocker. They are attached with M&T joints. I don't want to break the whole thing apart, so I need to get a replacement in somehow.

I thought of a standard tenon on the top, and then drill a hole in the bottom of the slat for a floating tenon or dowel. Now, I would drill the hole extra deep, and put a spring in, then the tenon/dowel. The idea is, I would glue the tenon and two mortises, fit the top tenon in and then "snap" the bottom in. The spring would only have to act to push against the floating tenon until the glue dries.

I would think I would need to drill the hole in the rail a little wider to make the the spring would be able to push the tenon into place. Maybe use Gorilla Glue to expand to the rest of the hole?

Bad idea? Alternate suggestions?

[Mr__Bill]

Clever idea, the spring.

A few thoughts, it sounds like you will have no way to know if the dowel had completely seated. Gorilla glue, to my understanding, gets weaker as it expands, not much strength to the foam.

Is it possible to drill up from the bottom and drive in a dowel? If so that would ensure a tight fit and full insertion. Have you completely ruled out duct tape and Sheetrock screws?

Bill
on the left coast

[Rand]

I'm not a big fan of Gorilla Glue either. Epoxy maybe?

[Shep]

How many spindles are on the side that needs replaced? One alternative idea I have would be to use s spindle that is technically a little shorter that what was orignally there. I would only make one that, when pushed up, would be fully seated in the top frame, and at the bottom would allow enough wiggle room to snap in. Then I would pull down a little on the spindle so that an equal amount of dowell is in the top and bottom. Now I know this spindle wouldn't be as strong; however, if you have enough spindles it might be strong enough.

The other solution I have would be like what Bill suggested. Drive a spindle up through the bottom of the seat so it strong and the repair is hidden.

I've done both and haven't had any issues.

[Russianwolf]

The other solution is to make the spindle slightly longer, then cut it on a long diagonal and glue back together as you glue the tennons in. since the glue join is stronger than the wood and the joint is nice and long, it shouldn't give. The hardest part is aligning the join so its nice and hidden afterwards.

[radhak]

Good suggestions, all.

I have the miller stepped dowel kit, proves very useful in just such cases. A bit like what Bill suggested, I guess.

You should find it online or at rockler, Woodcraft, and never know, maybe at HD too.

[wardprobst]

Mike's right on here, in a former life I did furniture repair. Get the length of the spindle by setting two small dowels or sticks in the mortises and marking them. Pull them out, line up the marks and measure the overall length. Make your spindle that length plus the width of the saw blade you use to cut it on the diagonal, plus a fudge factor. You are essentially making a scarf joint in your spindle. Check for fit and fine tune for appearance. Then put your glue on and wrap it with something elastic- I use mover's rubber bands but you can use anything that will stretch, even masking tape in a pinch. Sand & finish and your done.
DP

[LCHIEN]

Mr. Bill wrote: Is it possible to drill up from the bottom and drive in a dowel? If so that would ensure a tight fit and full insertion.

I like that idea the best. Have a round tenon on the top and a hole in the bottom of the spindle. Drill the bottom of the seat and drive the dowel through the seat and into the spindle. Strongest and well hidden.

[cabinetman]

I would think I would need to drill the hole in the rail a little wider to make the the spring would be able to push the tenon into place. Maybe use Gorilla Glue to expand to the rest of the hole?

A picture of the chair would be a big help in making a repair suggestion. There are a few conditions that might be important to know. If the chair is a typical "Mission Style" rocker, like this, the slat in question may be in the back section of slats. Or it could be a chair with slats also under the arms, like this one.

In both styles, there is a rail, which the OP refers to in doing the spring thing. I'm just assuming that the use of the term "rail" was meant to be a "bottom rail", as a top member for the back may be referred to as a "splat".

The problem is, that the description of the damage was a bit unclear. Did the wood break off at the tenon, leaving in the mortise a section of the tenon. If that's the case, how much of the tenon is still fixed and how much is protruding? Does any part of the remaining tenon need to be cut first. If so, what method for cutting would be best. Doing any drilling may depend on whether you can get a drill, or a drill attachment under a rail, if the slat isn't mounted in the seat. For that matter, drilling out the old tenon can be problematic, as depending on the angle of the slats, positioning a drill in the right angle (and getting it close enough) can be difficult to impossible.

So, I'd like to see a picture of the chair and the damage to decide what I would do.

.

[JoeyGee]

I am too lazy to get a picture at the moment, but the first picture C-Man linked to is very close to the rocker in question. The spindle is one that forms the back rest of the rocker. It broke in the middle of the spindle, and both tenons came out cleanly--not a terribly good glue bond.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Due to the seat protruding past the bottom rail, I don't think I will be able to drill a straight hole through the bottom, as would have been my preference.

I am leaning toward the scarf joint. I am going to work on this today and let you all know what I come up with.

Thanks again.

[JoeyGee]

I got lucky. I was able to squeeze my drill between the adjacent slats and drill a straight through hole through the top. I was then able to get a dowel in through the bottom.

Thanks again for all the help. Now all I need to do is match the stain. LOML mentioned she wants it darker, so I may end up sanding and staining the whole darn thing .

[cabinetman]

I got lucky. I was able to squeeze my drill between the adjacent slats and drill a straight through hole through the top. I was then able to get a dowel in through the bottom.

Thanks again for all the help. Now all I need to do is match the stain. LOML mentioned she wants it darker, so I may end up sanding and staining the whole darn thing .

So, what are you left with at the top...a plugged hole?

.

[JoeyGee]

I drilled through the top of the bottom rail, with the drill between the slats on either side of where the new slat was going in. There is enough clearance under the bottom rail to slip a dowel in, where there wasn't enough clearance to drill straight.