Non Guitar woodworking query for those good with wood

paganskins · May 2018

There seem to be plenty of FB members who are knowledgable on woodworking so a quick question for you before I do something catastrophic or waste money on furniture repair costs.

This is a support for our dining table's extension and it's failed on one of the spliced joints.

It's oak with an oiled finish and the extension it holds is pretty heavy (and that's without people leaning on it or being piled high with dishes).

Some closeups of the parted joint:

Is it just a matter of re-gluing the joint and clamping it or does it need something more structural like dowel rods too?

If just gluing and clamping how would you clamp it? I was thinking a bicycle inner tube or elastic bungie would help pull it together.

Thanks

Roland · May 2018

Is that a leg, where the weight is along the length of the wood, or something else?

paganskins · May 2018

Roland said:

Is that a leg, where the weight is along the length of the wood, or something else?

It's a support that pulls out from the table horizontally, then the extension rests on it.

Similar to the pic below but the extension sits on the supports rather than sliding onto them. Also ignore the hinge in the pic below, seems to be to permanently attach the extension and isn't part of the mechanism.

Edit: ours works in the same way as the one in this video but not metal or locking.

Image: http://www.oakdiningsets.co.uk/images/Small-Dining-Table/Small-Dining-Table-12.jpg

Roland · May 2018

I'd make a new one. That method of joining timber is used to allow short lengths of timber to be joined. It's quick and cheap to do, and lets manufacturers use cheaper timber. However it's a design fault to expect it to work where the pressure comes from the side. You could spend time cutting a channel for a strengthening rod. instead I'd get a fresh length of timber and cut it to size. It's under the table, so it won't matter that it looks different.

paganskins · May 2018

Roland said:

It's quick and cheap to do, and lets manufacturers use cheaper timber.

I suspected as much.

Roland said:

I'd make a new one. ... I'd get a fresh length of timber and cut it to size. It's under the table, so it won't matter that it looks different.

Wilko, thanks for your advice

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Non Guitar woodworking query for those good with wood

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