How to Replace a Rung on a Chair
Among the most damaging forces on the surface of the earth is really a cute little pup. When they are teething, anything that they could reach with their mouth is decent game. The wood rungs on your preferred antique chair appear to get a special appeal to these creatures. Unfortunately, chair rungs are vulnerable to a number of different hazards. Age, accidents or heavy loads can damage or dislodge these significant structural members, turning a piece of furniture to a potential hazard. Replacing a broken rung is simple once you find a tightly matching replacement.
Remove any remaining portion of the aged rung. On old seats, in which the glue is dried and fractured, you may be able to twist the rung out of the socket by hand. If the rung is broken at the surface of the the adhesive is protected, you will need to catch some tools.
Cut the end of the rung about 1/4 inch over the surface of both chair legs. This small amount of space prevents damage to the legs from the tooth.
Pick a drill bit that is about three-fourths of the diameter of the rung and insert it to a drill. Employing a bit that is slightly smaller than the finished diameter of the hole prevents you from accidentally expanding the hole. This could hurt the leg or stop the replacement rung from fitting properly.
Drill the middle part of the rung out of the socket.
Remove the remaining fragments of the rung from the socket with a chisel. Utilize a small chisel to pare the remaining pieces out of the hole. Work carefully. Don’t hurt the walls of the socket.
Soften and remove any excess adhesive. Old glue provides an extremely poor bonding surface to get new adhesive. Removing old glue with sandpaper alone could be a lengthy, tedious process as it quickly loads and glazes the sandpaper. Pour hot water to each socket allow it to soak for a minimum of 10 minutes to soften the old adhesive.
Remove as much of the softened adhesive as possible with a chisel or small screwdriver.
Allow the sockets dry for at least 24 hours. Even hardwood will consume a little bit of water and swell when dampened. Allowing the outlets to dry and return to their original size provides a better, longer-lasting fit for the brand new rung.
Sand the inside of each socket with 100-grit sandpaper. This eliminates the remaining glue and also roughens the inside of the socket to provide a good gluing surface.
Sand each end of the replacement rung lightly. Sand only as much of the rung as will be concealed when it’s put in place.
Apply a light coat of glue to each end of the replacement rung.
Insert the ends of the rung completely into the leg sockets.
Wipe any excess adhesive off the brand new joints with a damp cloth.
Put a bar clamp to the outside of the legs to apply pressure at each end of the rung. Leave the clamp in place for at least 24 hours.