How would you fix this??

Marty,

Would something like this help? We’ve often used our right-angle drill attachment to get into tight spaces.

Another thought would be to use a vise grips and gently twist the pieces back and forth until they break free. If you have some idea what kind of glue was used, you could add a few drops of something at the base that would dissolve the glue.

Best wishes for an easy removal!

L/W

-- Jesus is the ONLY reason for ANY season.

I would try pliers or vise grips and twisting gently to remove the old dowel. Ethier that a copping saw to cut dowel and redrill holes. As lightweightladylefty suggested maybee one of those angle drills might help.

-- Rome wasn't built in a day... but I wasn't on that job? ... http://www.southernrider.co.nz/projects/

I think Marty has some good Ideas . If the chair is old enough they may have used Hide glue to put it together and if they did use hide glue some heat at the joint should make the glue let go so you can remove the broken spindle. If you find it does not loosen when heated you can cut both pieces of even with the crest rail and lower rail and use a skinny chisel to cut out what remains of the cut off spindle. This has to be done slowly and carefully to be successful. If you do not have a small enough chisel a small flat heat screwdriver that has been sharped on a belt sander or grinder should do the job. When installing the replacement spindle you will have to make it short enough to go in the opening but large enough to make good contact with the holes the spindles go in, I would use some 5 minuet epoxy when gluing in the new spindle in.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Or, you could cut the stubs off square and half lap a new piece of doweling in, LOL.

-- Improvise.... Adapt...... Overcome!

wow.. very interesting… how about enclosing the broken dowel, and the dowel to the left, and the dowel to the right (all 3) cutting slots for the existing dowels to be sandwiched, and by gluing a wide enough board on the front, and rear, thus, enclosing or sandwiching those center 3 dowels. then, you could put a nicely chip-carved rosette or some sort o design in that center piece. You wouldn’t have to make the “sandwich” as long as the existing dowels, just big enough to cover the broken one, and to incorporate a new decorative center of the back… In other words make this “sandwich” the same thickness as the top and bottom horizontals that house the dowels…... does that make sense….?? lol I can see in my head what I mean…. :) Our kitchen table chairs have a center piece of wood about 4” wide that has some nice curvy designs cut out of it and on each side is 3 dowels. If you’d like a pic, let me know…..

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net

WOW! just got another idea…......... the pic you use for your profile would be something like I am picturing to cover that broken dowel

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net

I’d start with the heat gun and vise grips. Like Jim said,if it’s hide glue it will come right out.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

Roger
Are you suggesting that Marty install a spalt over the 3 center spindles ? Interesting approach.
That means the new splat would have to be made in two halves unless 2 more of the spindles would have to be removed along with the crest rail to allow for doweling the new splat in place.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

hi Jim. I’m not sure I know what a “spalt” is, but, yes, the dowels wouldn’t even need to be removed.. 2 halves with groves to house the existing dowels, and after being glued together, they would be the same thickness as the top and bottom rails. In my head, I think that would look pretty good with one o them totally awesome chip carvings to boot

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net

Hi Roger
Sounds pretty interesting I think it’s do able,it would be cool to try some time. Good Idea.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

If heat and force won’t remove broken dowel, cut flush and use #9 gouge of appropriate size to remove material.

-- Sawdust and shavings are therapeutic

Duct tape. (Just kidding.) I like the idea of adding a decorative chip carved plate.

-- Beth, Oklahoma, Rambling Road Designs

Marty,

I have done this before on a number fo repairs.
If you could not loosen the glue and twist them out – heat for horse glue, vingar for today;’s yellow glue, I would do the following.
I would cut them close to the wood holding it then use a small drill to put a hole slightly smaller than the dowel. If I can’t get a chisel in there, I work the wood with and ice pick to force pieces out till I get to the outer edge of the hole.
If I can get any kind of drill in there (Dremel, canble chuck, etc.) , I would deepen the hole on top so I could insert a dowel long enought to still have length in the upper hole when I bring it down into the lower hole. Glue to use is your choice, but I would suggest a glue that stays open a little longer and do a good wipe down.

-- Rod ~ There's never enough time to finish a project, but there's always time to start another one.

As Jim says, if it’s hide glue then heat will loosen it. If not, another approach might be to hold a Spur (wood) bit or a flat bit with a smaller diameter than the hole in a vise-grip and work the point in with half-turns continuing to the bottom of the mortise, then cleaning up the rest with a twist drill the same diameter as the mortise. Be sure to center the the spur-bit.

-- Mike, American in Norway

duct tape… lol I thought only us bikers use that as a tool… Tool box in a roll we call it…

-- Rome wasn't built in a day... but I wasn't on that job? ... http://www.southernrider.co.nz/projects/