# Need guidance for wooden dowel rod on chair.



## 'Lil Gardener (Jun 22, 2018)

This chair has a broken wooden dowel rod on the top rod, front side. The break goes all the way through, split diagonally. The dowel rod is less than an inch thick in diameter. 

I attempted a little bit of research beforehand, but all I gleaned of it that appeared applicable was to use a hair dry to try to heat the glue abit (continuously rotating the hair dryer around the end of the wooden dowel for 15mins or so) and a rubber mallet, which I inferred was to gently help loosen the dowel rod. Even with the rubber mallet, I could only loosen the dowel rod up a little, but I didn't want to risk breaking the end of the dowel rod inside the chair leg. 

My first question is, do I glue it together or try to remove and replace it?
If I should replace the dowel rod, how do I first get it out? I can only get it to wiggle a little bit, since it seems to be glued in securely as well. 
Any other related advice is welcome, since I would like this chair to last. Feel free to assume that I have no knowledge about how to fix or maintain a wooden chair.


View attachment 66940
The top front dowel rod is broken diagonally, on the left side. The broken front top dowel rod and the top back dowel rod are also slightly lower in height than the top side dowel rods. 
View attachment 66942
The break goes entirely through the dowel rod, so I have two separate pieces to the dowel rod.
Once the dowel rod is fixed or replaced, I can weave a chair seat in with some leftover baler twine.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Since there are two pieces, I would give both pieces a good brushing and then coat both sides with glue, squeeze together and wipe away excess glue. Pressure needs to be applied for about 24 hours and you could wrap twine around it to do that. You could have some win stuck in the glue when you unwrap it. Remove wht you can, but remember it should be hidden when you reweave the seat..


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

Just replace the dowel. It takes some patience and skill with the right toll, but you can drill out the old dowel. You said less than an inch diameter, so I'd try a 3/4 wood boring bit, started at dead center after cutting it off close to the leg and square (flush).

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-3-4-in-x-6-in-Flat-Wood-Boring-Bit-48-27-0751/203115386


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## Coffey (Jun 28, 2018)

I'd recommend what farmrbrown said on just drilling out the dowel if you can't get it out of there without breaking it off. In my experience (using gorilla glue) it never lasted long before it eventually broke again. Easier to just replace it once than to fix it a dozen times.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

I feel that replacing the dowel will cause one or more dowel joints to be broken or weakened when you spread the legs to install the new one.


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## 'Lil Gardener (Jun 22, 2018)

Thank-you everyone, I think I will try to carefully replace the wooden dowel rod.


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## FreeRange (Oct 9, 2005)

Your pictures didn't work for me, and you probably have it done by now. If not, are you saying that a stretcher broke and you want to fix it with a dowel? Or is it the tapered end of the stretcher? Or another part of the chair, like a spindle?


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## 'Lil Gardener (Jun 22, 2018)

I'm just starting on the chair so far. I don't know why the pictures didn't stay up, I will try to put them up again. Unfortunately I don't know what part of the chair you would call this specific dowel rod. The broken piece is a wooden rod to begin with, so I am hoping to replace it with another wooden dowel rod. 

The broken dowel has a 13/16" thick diameter along the majority of its length, except for a 5/8" diameter for both ends where it is glued into the chair legs, but it is not tapered at all. I do not know how deep the ends are glued into the chair legs, but the vertical chair legs are 1 1/2" thick in diameter. This specific dowel rod forms the front direct support of the woven seat itself. 

I am wondering if a 5/8" diameter dowel rod is strong enough to replace it, since that is how thick the ends of the previous dowel rod were. If not, aside from whittling with a pocketknife, what tools are used to replicate the narrower ends of the previous dowel rod?


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## FreeRange (Oct 9, 2005)

'Lil Gardener said:


> I'm just starting on the chair so far. I don't know why the pictures didn't stay up, I will try to put them up again. Unfortunately I don't know what part of the chair you would call this specific dowel rod. The broken piece is a wooden rod to begin with, so I am hoping to replace it with another wooden dowel rod.
> 
> The broken dowel has a 13/16" thick diameter along the majority of its length, except for a 5/8" diameter for both ends where it is glued into the chair legs, but it is not tapered at all. I do not know how deep the ends are glued into the chair legs, but the vertical chair legs are 1 1/2" thick in diameter. This specific dowel rod forms the front direct support of the woven seat itself.
> 
> ...


I see now. The ends are firmly attached inside the holes, right? 

There are two ways I see. You can leave it in place and drill two holes through the cracked areas. Pry the broken place apart just enough to get glue in there, and then place spiral groove dowel pin (coated with more PVA glue) in each hole. The spirals in it will hold more glue and strengthen your repair. I like Titebond but there are other choices. Here is a homedepot link to the dowel pin I mean. You can use smooth dowel pins too but be sure you coat them well with glue. That is probably the easiest way and as long as you can get the wood to line up again, will be barely visible. You want it to be a tight fit, you'll have to tap it in with a hammer. If it pushes in easily with just your fingers, the hole is too big. I would cut the dowel pin so it will fit inside the hole. If it fits proud, you'll have to sand it off. It's easier if it is a bit short on each end and you fill with wood filler and touch up with stain. Also, after you have it glued up, you can tape it from end to end and then tie rope tightly over the repair as a way of clamping. The tape will keep the glue from sticking to the rope.










The other way is to replace with a new stretcher. You could replace with a 5/8 inch but I'd probably one a bit bigger and stronger if there is going to be much weight on it. Do you have a belt sander? You can taper the ends of the new rod to fit the hole. Before you start, mark the exact size circle you need on each end. Put a 100 grit belt on it. Set the belt sander on its handle - sand belt side up. Turn it on and hold the rod on it, turning the rod over and over so it sands evenly. Check the end often to see how close you are getting to the right size. By the way, this probably isn't OSHA approved.

You may have to drill out the hole a little though to get out any of the old wood and glue out. PVA glue won't stick well to old glue. Don't make the taper on the wood dowel stretcher until after you've cleaned out the holes in case they are a different size afterward, or different sizes from each other. Glue the new stretcher in and clamp it for 24 hours.

If you have a table saw, you can reduce the end of the dowel so it looks exactly like the end on your photo. Set your fence at the greatest length of the reduced end and run the dowel across it from every point around the dowel. Or you can make a jig to hold the dowel and then you can spin the dowel over the running saw blade.

Let me know if any of these ideas appeal to you and you need further explanation.


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## 'Lil Gardener (Jun 22, 2018)

Thank-you FreeRange. I like the idea of replacing the stretcher, partly because I already sawed off the broken dowel rod anyways. I have access to a table-saw.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

Yep, those suggestions will work. You can take down the ends of a 13/16" dowel (or a 3/4") down to 5/8" with a belt sander or carefully on a table saw with the blade lowered down to where you need it. Just take your time and roll it.
At 1 1/2" thick legs, I doubt the ends go in more than about 3/4" deep, but you'll know for sure when you drill the broken ends out. Like was said, make sure you do the holes first, THEN cut the ends down to get a snug fit.
Remember they were doing this for centuries BEFORE power tools. You've got it easy now, just take your time.


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## FreeRange (Oct 9, 2005)

'Lil Gardener said:


> Thank-you FreeRange. I like the idea of replacing the stretcher, partly because I already sawed off the broken dowel rod anyways. I have access to a table-saw.


LOL, yes, I guess fixing the break is out. If you can get a tablesaw, and another set of hands, I'd go that route too.

Using a dado blade would make it easier too.


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## Amtown (Dec 29, 2020)

It is easy to restyle the wood and to make from an old furniture a new and stylish one. With the help of a good sander you can make a lot of great stuff. I would recommend you to look on https://www.bestorbitalsander.com/ for the best sander that will change your furniture at 360. It is easier to restyle and refurbish the furniture rather than spending money for buying a new one. Not all of us could afford changing the entire house design. A refurbish could be enough.


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