Furniture joints may loosen over time, even if the wood stays strong.
Antique furniture can have sentimental, as well as retail value. In cases where antique furniture is worth a lot of money, it's best to get it repaired by a professional. If, however, you don't think that re-gluing a joint will depreciate its value (or if it doesn't have any value to depreciate), then you can do this task yourself. In fact, it's one of the easiest tasks to complete in regards to antique furniture repair. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Remove the male end of the joint from the joint hole. Use a rubber mallet to pop it out of place if necessary. Sand away any old glue -- found on the end of the male end of the joint -- using 100-grit sandpaper.
2. Tighten any screws around the joint, if necessary. Some antiques had joints held in place with screws, as well as glue. If your antique furniture doesn't have any screws located around the joint, you can skip this step.
3. Fill a glue injector with hide glue by inserting it into a bottle of hide glue, and drawing the glue up like a syringe. Hide glue was used most often for antique furniture before the 1940s. If your antique furniture is newer than this, then you can use standard wood glue in lieu of hide glue.
4. Fill the joint hole with glue using the glue injector. Reinsert the joint and wiggle it into place. This makes sure that the glue will set evenly around the joint, rather having it concentrated in one or two areas.
5. Clamp the joint with a web clamp. Web clamps use nylon rope to clamp the joint in place. This is much gentler than other clamps that are used for modern furniture, making it an excellent option for antique furniture. Allow the clamp to sit for a couple days before removing.
6. Remove the clamp and gently test the strength of your joint by pressing or pulling on it. If it feels solid, then your joint has been successfully re-glued.
Tags: antique furniture, around joint, hide glue, antique furniture, doesn have, glue injector, joint hole