How to Reinsert a Wooden Chair Side Stretcher

Introduction

If your wooden chair's side stretcher has fallen out due to a broken dowel, use this guide for a 10 step repair that will re-insert it securely.

A chair's side stretcher helps strengthen its vertical supports and adds visual appeal to its lower section. When excessive or uneven vertical weight is put on a side stretcher, it can break the horizontal support.

Oftentimes, this break is at one of the dowels holding the stretcher in. But with a few simple tools and actions, this break can easily be fixed, as demonstrated in this guide.

Before beginning this repair, please note that the dowel size and clamp length used in the repair are specific to the size of your chair and stretcher. Make sure to note which of the chair's leg holes are for the broken dowel and the intact dowel as well. The process will take around 20 minutes with an additional 24 hours of curing time for the wood glue.

What you need

Step 1 How to Reinsert a Wooden Chair Side Stretcher

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Use the sandpaper to rough up the empty dowel holes on the side stretcher and the chairs legs.

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Step 2

Check if the new dowel fits through the stretcher hole and the leg hole.

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Step 3

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Using the disposable stirrer and bowl, mix a 2:1 ratio of sawdust and wood glue.
The final consistency should be paste-like.

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Step 4

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With the stirrer, fill in the leg hole of the broken dowel with the paste.

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Step 5

Apply a glob of wood glue to the other leg's hole.
Use the stirrer to spread the glue around the hole.

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Step 6

Insert the intact stretcher dowel into the leg hole with wood glue.

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Step 7

Align the empty stretcher hole to the the leg hole filled with paste.
Insert the dowel and firmly push it in till it's fully submerged into the stretcher hole.
Insertion of the dowel will push out some of the wood paste.

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Step 8

Put the legs holding the stretcher between the bar clamp's jaws.
Screw in the handle to clamp together the legs until it is secure.
Putting a cloth or barrier between the clamp and the leg can prevent possible damage to the wood's surface.

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Step 9

Remove any wood glue or paste residue on the legs and stretcher with a damp paper towel.

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Step 10

Leave the chair and bar clamp in place for 24 hours while the wood glue and paste cures.
After waiting, screw out the clamp's handle to remove it from the chair.

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