A Simple Furniture Repair Solution

By R.S. Tupper
Published on January 1, 1981
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PHOTO: R.S. TUPPER

On many occasions I have succumbed–as most handymen and -women do at one time or another–to “tool fever,” a disease which causes the sufferer to believe that the solution to any workshop problem involves buying more complicated (and usually more expensive) equipment. However, a recent experience caused me to remember that most households already have any number of effective (and low-cost) “tools!”

In my early attempts to glue together two pieces of wood in a chair I was fixing, I tried spring clamps, “C” clamps, and hand screws all in the hope of securing the components long enough for the adhesive to dry.

Each of the standard “solutions” failed to work, though. The fasteners would either slide off the curved boards themselves or cause the pieces to slip out of alignment.

Then I hit upon the answer. Believe it or not, plain old heavy-duty rubber bands provided enough pressure to assure a good joint, and they didn’t slide free. I was able to attach the block of oak to the chair leg and finish a furniture repair job that (since I was reshaping a missing section of the leg) required a very solid bond. A simple solution sometimes turns out to be the best solution.

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