# Tighten Rocking Chair



## oldgoat49 (Oct 30, 2006)

My daughter has her rocking chair from when she was a little girl and now her daughter is using it. Since she has been using it to help stand up she has now loosened the arms on it. She was wondering what could be done to repair them or does she have to wait until they are so loose that we can take them apart and then what? To tell the truth I don't really have a good answer. I seem to remember a syringe that you could inject a glue into a joint to repair it. What suggestions would you guys have on a course of action? TIA.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

A quick fix may be to get the thin style superglue, turn the chair over and run some glue into the joints. It should wick down and a little wiggling on the joint to pump the glue around in it and you might have a nice tight joint.


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## edp (May 25, 2007)

*The correct answer is..................*

found at www.rockler.com
do a search for wonder lokum the small container will easily do most chairs and this stuff is truly amazing.

Ed


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

It all depends upon how the chair is made. Are there dowels/spindles between the arms and seat? Is that where it is loose? Or is it loose where the arm joins the chair frame.

Can you post a picture? I always think better with visual aids.

I am just in the staining process of a rocking chair that I am making for my granddaughter. 

George


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## oldgoat49 (Oct 30, 2006)

The spindles are loose going into the seat. Since they have brads going into them from the side I don't think I can get them out without damage to the seat. The spindles seem to be tight yet going into the arms though. I found at Ace Hardware a glue that is made specific for the repair. I also drilled up from the bottom into the holes for the spindles in the seats. Hopefully I am thinking of puting the glue in through the hole and then use small screws to pull it down into the seat tight and hold it along with the glue. Told the daughter that as of right now that is my Plan A. Maybe there is a way of getting the brads out without damage to the seat, but I can't think of a good way. Without getting them out I can't think of a better option, but am open to suggestions.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

The dowels that form the back of the chair may not have ever been glued. I did not glue the ones in the chair that I am making because other parts are where the strength is obtained.

Hopefully what you are doing will work.

George


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I did some repairs on a set of chairs for my sister in law some time ago. They were also glued with brads. I was able to grab the head of the brads that were near the surface and pull them out, but there were a couple that I just ended up cutting. There was enough play in the joints to get a small wirecutter in there to snip the brad with minimal damage to the wood. As I started disassembling the bad joints, I found more that needed attention, so I ended up disassembling a whole chair at a time and regluing everything. I didn't use brads when I put it back together, though!


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