How best to glue up separated joints in old chest of drawers

t_stanley

New User
T
Hello! First post for me, and glad to have a community to help with a question. I've have an old chest of drawers that belonged to my father that we stored away for the last 12 years. Not sure when and how this happened, but the carcass has separated from the legs, some of which are warped. From the attached pics, it appears that this happened once before (very long ago) and someone used some kind glue like caulking which was obviously ineffective. They are tongue and groove joints and I can pull them slightly more apart as need to get glue down in the joint as well as possible. The question is, what glue? I'm thinking pre-mixed hide glue for the reasonably long open time, and carefully applied pipe clamps. And is this plan advisable at all, or is there some other approach to putting this back together (to be a gift to my daughter)?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Tom
 

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marinosr

Richard
Corporate Member
If the original joints are hide glue, and the previous "repairer" didn't booger them up too bad by squirting the caulk deeply in the joints, then fixing the joints with hide glue is definitely a viable option. Hide glue is the only glue that will form a strong bond with old applications of itself. You may be able to get the joints apart with judiciously applied heat and water too, allowing you to really give it a thorough re-glueing. If it softens with steam you know you're dealing with hide glue and you can just apply over it.

If it's PVA glue or something more exotic, then disassembly, mechanical glue removal, and re-glueing is your option. Or you can use some strategically concealed screws and maybe some straps/brackets to draw the pieces back together. No shame in mechanical fasteners.
 

t_stanley

New User
T
Thank you for the instant feedback! Great idea to try and careful "steam" treatment to see if it's hide glue. There are already numerous nails in the piece (not exactly ultra-fine furniture) , so I don't mind shooting some brad nails into the joint from the inside to reinforce whatever repair I go with. Thanks again!
 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
you can fancy up the legs by using plugs or inlays. drill and screw the legs back together and hide the screws with the inlay. otherwise disassemble clean and re glue. you can also glue clamp and cross dowel the tenons from the back so they are not seen.
 

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