By Karl

Breaks in Wood are Not Uncommon and Can Be Fixed with the Correct Tools

Breaks in wood can happen on even the most expensive pieces of furniture. A break on a wood bookcase is not as common as a break on a wood chair – but breaks do occur on all types of furniture. It is inevitable that over the course of many years pieces of wood furniture will sustain damage either during a move or due to excessive weight being placed on it for an extended period of time.

Wood Chairs

One of the most common types of wood furniture to break is chairs. This is because chairs are constantly moved and dragged from one spot to another. Also, chairs must support people that sit in them every day. Chairs are often used as step stools and they can also be badly treated for other reasons. The most common areas for breaks in wood on chairs are the arms, the legs, the spindles, the back rails, and the slats.

The easiest way to repair broken wood on chairs is to disassemble it, remove the broken pieces, and replace them with new wood substitutes. This involves a little bit of skill because you will be taking the chair apart, removing the broken parts, and installing a new pieces. This is the preferred method of fixing broken chairs because new materials are much more reliable than repaired pieces. Especially on a chair that must sustain weight, the integrity of the piece of furniture is extremely important.

If replacement of broken pieces is not possible, the breaks in wood can be repaired with reinforcements. Multiple dowels can be used to repair broken chair legs or other broken pieces on the furniture. Along with dowels, wood glue and clamps are important. After the glue is dry, the furniture can be refinished or repainted to look like new.

Wood Tables

Similar to wood chairs, wood tables can also become broken. The most common place for wood tables to break is their legs. The legs on tables should be repaired using similar methods to chairs. If at all possible, a broken leg should be replaced with an entirely new piece of wood. But if replacement is impossible, the leg should be repaired by using wood dowel rods, wood glue, and clamps. It is not as common to see breaks in wood tables as it is to see breaks in wood chairs. But anything is possible!

Breaks in Wood are Not the end of the World

If a beloved piece of your furniture sustains breaks in wood parts, you do not have to immediately dump the piece in the trash. There is no need to feel devastated if the leg on one chair in a matching set breaks. While nobody wants to deal with broken furniture, these situations can be remedied with a bit of effort. The tricks to success are being able to correctly disassemble the furniture so it can be handled and repaired correctly, using the right tools and glue, and using clamps during the drying process.