I have a vintage (not sure if it qualifies as antique yet) Duncan Phyfe diningroom set I inherited from my mom. It was in pretty bad shape when I got it. I found an older gentleman who knew how to restore it. It looked beautiful when it was finished but now after a few years, all the chair legs are very loose and I am afraid to let anyone sit on them lest they break. Several people have told me to just use wood glue but I'm not sure that would be enough and if it doesn't solve the problem, may acutally complicate things. The chairs have these wooden supports in the corners just under the seat pads. They are triangular and have a series of grooves that look as if they are meant to line up with grooves inside the seat frame. However they do not line up and appear to be serving no purpose. I keep thinking these are key to keeping the chairs from becoming loose and wiggly but don't know how to make them work as intended. Anyone know about this, or better yet know of an experienced chair repair person who could fix these for once and for all? :confused:

I can't picture the triangular things with grooves in them, but if the problem is that there's too much play for wood glue to work, I would try Gorilla Glue on one of them.

Be careful with it; though. It expands a lot.

When I use it, I keep my eye on it, watching closely for some of it expanding out of the area I'm glueing... and when it gets firm, cut it off with a razorblade.

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Originally Posted by rickj

I can't picture the triangular things with grooves in them, but if the problem is that there's too much play for wood glue to work, I would try Gorilla Glue on one of them.

Be careful with it; though. It expands alot.

When I use it, I keep my eye on it, watching closely for some of it expanding out of the area I'm glueing...and when it gets firm, cut it off with a razorblade.

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Be careful I read some where that the expanding gorilla glue is not good for use as a structure bond, I use it on the legs of 6 chairs and they are all loose after about 1 yr of usage

With any adhesive - if you choose to go that route - roughen the surfaces real well for best results.

First remove the screws which are holding these legs to the corners of the chair frame. Then check to see if the leg is holding properly with the original glue. If it isn't... then remove the leg and carefully clean of all the glued sufaces with a blade or single edged razor locked into a visegrip. You may or may not require sanding tro make sure that the surfaces are clean. Once the wood surfaces are clean, you can use Elmers carpenters glue for the cleaned up surfaces. Much easier to use than Gorilla Glue... which always expands and oozes out etc. Now, attaché the leg back into position and use either NEW screws or the original screws. If you tighten the original screws and they don't TIGHTEN... then remove them and use NEW screws which must bite into the wood. These new screws may have to be slightly LONGER than the original ones. If any of the glue begins to ooze out of the joints, simply use a damp rag or paper towel to clean it up. I've repaired many chairs this way and I know that this process WORKS ! Try it ! BERNIE in Long Island NY

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