Tips for Basic Furniture Repair (DIY Wood Filler) Dining Set Transformation Pt 1
Disclaimer: I am by no means a carpenter or even a novice woodworker. I have a bit of experience working with wood and power tools over the years with help from family and have an interest in giving second-hand pieces a new life. When in doubt, always contact your local hardware store or carpentry businesses if you have any questions about woodworking.
One other disclaimer: Although this article is written using first-person point of view, I did get a lot of help from family with repairing, painting, etc. With the impending move, I had about four weekends to get this done so without their help, this furniture rehab wouldn't have finished on time.
A big thank-you to my family for the extra hands, it's very much appreciated.
This is part one of a two-part furniture restoration project, with the first part aptly titled Tips for Basic Furniture Repair. I bought a lot of my furniture for my new home second-hand to first and foremost save money (lumber prices are astronomical right now), and secondly, it offers more customization to fit your space.
A few years ago, I purchased a few furniture pieces from a friend’s significant other. These pieces had been sitting in a basement apartment with a bunch of young Irishmen for years so, needless to say, they were used and abused. Among my new treasures was a solid wood dining room table with six matching chairs (pictured in the photo above). My goal with this set was to sand off the existing finish, stain, and navy blue paint, then re-stain it a natural wood colour and paint the old navy blue parts white.
The reason why this project is separated into two parts is because there was prep work involved before the sanding and refinishing portion (*spoiler alert* sanding turned out to be the bane of my existence, more in part 2) so this post will cover all of the minor repairs that had to be done before phase 2.
My apologies in advance for lack of photos. This was my first restoration project and I kept forgetting to document all the steps!
After removing the chair seats from the chairs, I noticed a few issues with the chair frames, namely with the stretchers. There was a major break in one of the backs of the chairs and some hairline cracks/dents in other chairs.
Fixing the Chair Stretchers
Side Note
If your dowel size isn’t available, it’s better to go with the slightly larger option. It’s easier to make the pre-existing hole larger to fit the dowel than it is to try and make the hole smaller.
Chair stretchers are those rod-looking things that connect the chair legs together. I was fortunate with these chairs because the stretchers appeared to be regular dowels. Typically, with more ornate wooden chairs, the chair stretchers would have details and tapering that would be impossible to replicate with your average-joe methods. In total, there were three stretchers that were broken and needed to be replaced. These were the steps I took to fix them:
Removed the stretchers from the chairs. These stretchers were screwed in on either side so the removal process was fairly easy.
Measured the length of the chair stretcher as well as the diameter (the length of half of a circle); you will need this information for the hardware store!
Calculated the length the total length of dowel needed and headed over to the hardware store. I brought one chair stretcher with me to compare the diameter with the dowels that were available (I generally don’t trust my measuring or math skills). The size I needed wasn’t available so I went with a slightly larger size. This ultimately worked out in my favour because I did not account for the paint on the pre-existing chair stretcher (it was super thick) adding to the diameter.
The dowels were cut to the appropriate length (I used a hand saw for this, use whatever is available)
I used wood glue in the pre-existing holes, placed the dowel, wiped off the extra glue, and used an I-beam bar clamp (example in picture) to hold everything together.
Then I left it for 24 hours (or according to the directions on the glue bottle)
Fixing Breaks
One of these chairs had a major crack in the back which also needed to be fixed. The break was large enough that it affected the structural integrity of the chair and it would stab an unlucky guest in the back (literally). Luckily, this only applied to one chair, but these are the steps I took to fix the problem:
Side Note
Make sure the clamp is tight but not too tight. A clamp that is too tight will create a dent in your project that you will need to fix later!
Assessed the crack to see if it could be fixed if pressure was applied to either side to hold the two pieces together (this worked in my case)
Applied plenty of wood glue to the crack and used regular clamps to hold the pieces together.
Let this sit for about 24 hours
Hairline Cracks and Superficial Dents
After the repairs, I did a basic sand with 100 grit sandpaper to get most of the paint off of the chair frames (WARNING: please wear the proper safety equipment for power sanding including safety goggles and a mask. As you can see in the pictures below, this can be a messy process). This also helped to level out the newly repaired break and to see if the more superficial cracks and dents could be sanded out. Once the paint was mostly removed, I saw that there were quite a few dents and hairline cracks that I would not be able to sand off. Because these chair frames were going to be repainted, the best option to fill in the holes and cracks would be wood filler. Wood filler can be painted over fairly well and won’t affect the overall look of the chair frames.
Homemade Wood Filler (Sawdust Method)
However, I am here to tell you that wood filler can be expensive for the little amount that you get and sometimes you can’t get the exact shade that you need. There is a cheaper alternative that when working with small cracks and holes, works just as well.
If you’re using a power sander, make sure you hold onto your sawdust! To create your own homemade wood filler
Use leftover sawdust (best results if you’re using sawdust from the wood you’re currently working with)
Mix it with a bit of carpenter or wood glue to create a paste-like/putty-like consistency
Alternatively, you can tint your homemade wood filler with a bit of the paint or stain you will be using in that area (works best with paint, in part 2 I will explain why)
Apply your new paste into the cracks and holes so it is slightly above the wood line
Let dry until hard and then sand with a fine grit sandpaper until the wood filler is flush with your project
Be careful not to over sand, otherwise you will have to start this process over again!
In part two, I will go over my furniture refinishing process for this project. Tips, tricks, and helpful advice, along with the final before and after pictures!
