Hello,

I was cleaning out my mom’s house and grabbed this piano stool.  Nothing special but it has been around as longer than I have … and I just turned 60

It has two issues and I am hoping someone can give me advice on how to fix it.

First … the glue in some of joints has dried out and it is coming apart.

So, the easy answer it to just glue the joints that are loose.

My fear is that if I do that, later others may come loose and I will not be able to take it apart.

On the other hand, I am afraid if I try to get it all apart, I will break it.

Is there an easy way to get it apart … or just fix the loose joints?

Second, what kind of feet are these?  It looks like a metal ring on the outside and maybe it has a hard rubber piece in the center? 

Just have not seen anything like this … want to know to get them off (maybe just pry)?

I am sure there are many feet that will work fine.

Thanks …. Mike

I think those feet are probably the type with a nail like pin and they get driven into the wood. If they are, you can probably gently pry them out. 
 

Depending on the actual age, the glue may be hide glue. I think that type of glue can be gently heated and it will come apart. Care would be needed to avoid damaging the finish. 

Thanks!

 

I just looked it up and it says warm water will soften hide glue.

 

I have never tried this but it might work ... I will try a spot that is already loose and see.

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

 

Heat will work on hide glue and yellow glue.  I use a heat gun and gentle twisting.  Once the joint is apart, apply more heat to the tenon and mortise and gently scrape the old glue off.  At that point, check the fit for snugness:  most of the joints I've repaired have been "working" for some years, and the wood is worn to the point of looseness.  The easiest method I've tried is to simply glue a strip of paper onto the tenon with yellow glue, let it dry completely, then sand it until you get the fit you like.  [I did try wood shavings instead of paper, but that turned out to be a real pain]  If the joints have been loose for some years, it might be worth it to completely disassemble the pieces, adjust the tenons, and then re-glue the whole thing.  Depends on how long you want the repair to last, until the next joint (there's always a next joint) fails.

 

I have a  heat gun ... I might give it a try

 

Just don't want to kill the finish.

 

If I do , it is not the end of the world  ... my dad refinished this years and years ago ... not a valuable antique .. just nice to have.

 

If I mess up the finish, I can strip and redo it.

 

thanks for the tip on the paper ... I have never tried this (usually trying some kind of wedge or shim).

 

Mike

 

Use it as inspiration to build a new one that won’t fail. 

I plan to do a lot of wood working in the future.

 

I am in the middle of building a 4500 sq ft workshop.

 

Done all the work myself up till now ...

 

My Youtube channel   Youtube videos of shop build

 

My facebook page (I put live videos here every so often)   Michael Csele Facebook page

Welcome @xtal_01 Mike to The Patriot Woodworker. Happy to have you on-board. Thanks for the pictures too. We love pictures here and yours help greatly to provide various solutions.  Good advice given thus far so not much for me to add. Perhaps @kmealy will check in with some sage advice. He's done countless repair jobs and has many tricks up his sleeve.

 

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your shop as it progresses. Very envious of 4500 square feet...that would be amazing.

That piano stool certainly shook a few memories of mine loose.  My parent were both music teachers, and we always had a piano in our house. I do remember a stool like that. It had a seat that you could spin up or down to change seat height. Good for a family of kids of different ages/heights.   It must have failed at one time because in later years their piano seat was a bench that two could sit at.  Good for teaching.  Good for learning. Music stored in the bench. 

I hope you succeed in repairing that stool.  Clearly a period classic that deserves to be saved. 

4D 

Welcome aboard Mike, glad to have you here.  Looks like I've a few you tube videos to watch!

11 hours ago, xtal_01 said:

I plan to do a lot of wood working in the future.

 

I am in the middle of building a 4500 sq ft workshop.

 

Done all the work myself up till now ...

 

My Youtube channel   Youtube videos of shop build

 

My facebook page (I put live videos here every so often)   Michael Csele Facebook page

Thanks for the links!  As an old Navy electronics technician and an Electronics Instructor, couldn't help but be curious about your profile name. 

One thing I like to do is see what it would take to duplicate a classic piece of furniture.   My first glance at the photo assumes most of the pieces were done on a lathe, with some indexing work to cut the flutes.  Then I noticed the feet are at an angle relative to the leg so they sit flat on the floor.   That must have either been some hand work or machine work to accomplish that transition from the leg.  Even the details near the bottom of the legs show the angle change.  Those legs were detailed in drawings before being sent to the factory or craftsman to make.  The seat looks to be tilted somewhat and I wonder if it is mounted on a ball/socket joint to articulate.   To my eye that piano stool is far more than nothing special. 

4D

36 minutes ago, lew said:

Thanks for the links!  As an old Navy electronics technician and an Electronics Instructor, couldn't help but be curious about your profile name. 

Great catch!  I am a machinist by trade  ... then went to college for engineering ... served a second apprenticeship as an instrumentation tech ... took a year long course on home building (way back in the 80's) ... OK, really I think I have done a bit of everything in my life.

 

Quick background ... grew up in Welland, Ontario .... move to SC in the 90's (got married and became a US citizen) ... my  wife passed but since it was so cheap to live in SC, thought I was staying there ... them met a woman in VT.  She is paralyzed from the shoulders down as the result of a diving accident when she was 12.  Her job and health insurance is here so I sold everything and moved to VT about 12 years ago.  Spent the first three  years building a house (even built an elevator out of a forklift mast ... $40K to buy ... $2K to build).  For the past two years I have been building the shop.  4500 sq ft and 16 ft walls has pushed me to the limit but I have done everything myself.  One problem is you should never have a machinist pretend to be a carpenter ... 60 ft walls are out by less than 1/16" in length  .... dumb dumb dumb .. would not have mattered if it was an inch out and taken half the time to build.

 

I was working for Westinghouse Nuclear in SC (electrical / mechanical engineering)  .... now I repair anything ... lots of farm equipment in VT.  Plus I build industrial control panels.  And anything else that pays the bills.

 

Always played with radios / electronics.  I grew up building crystal radios ... now I make reproduction cat whiskers.  I still have a tube tester and repair / restore old sets.  My wife turned 40 a few years back ... got her a 1954 Juke Box ... and the remote that went on your table.  Got both of them rebuilt and working.  I have a few old magneto phones  ... rebuilt them and got them working together (I have an old switchboard here waiting for me to take a look at).

 

As a Navy electronics tech (not sure how many years ago) you may appreciate I still have a R-390A  ... still an awesome old set.

 

Did I mention I was really just a big kid who likes to play?

 

I have never been rich so I learned to do a lot myself.  Dad said you either needed to have deep pockets or a vivid imagination.

 

Here is a picture of our RV.  When I met my wife, she had never traveled as she needed care every 4 hours.  I got an old RV (10 years old ... $150K new ... got it for $18K).  They wanted $25K for a wheelchair lift!  I cut a new door and built my own lift.  I built a lift inside to go from front to back and put in hospital beds.  We travel like gypsies ... just pull over sleep anywhere and keep going.  We actually ended up staying full time in it for the three years it took me to build the house.  It is now 24 years old .. when the shop is done, I will look for another one (this one has seen better days).

 

Anyway ... that's my story. 

 

Glad to be part of the group.  I have always loved working.  Can't wait to get this shop done so I can start building projects (have lots and lots in mind).

 

Thanks again !

 

Mike

 

 

WOW! Love the story Mike. Great to have you with us. Your vast backround, experiences and knowledge will be great asset to everyone here. Awesome job on the mobility lift. Definitely a labor of love!

Personally, I'd probably take all the joints apart and reglue.  Once one joint gets loose, it puts more stress on its neighbors.   A stronger way to build up tenons is a wood shaving instead of paper,  If you can get access to this article, it may give you some help https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/regluing_doweled_chairs/

Regluing Doweled Chairs (2).pdf

i understand the idea of repairing something old that has failed.  but i look at it as a learning opportunity:  what failed and why did it fail?  fixing it the same way it was built is just inviting it to fail in the same manner again.

 

if you build a house in a flood prone area, and it floods, and you rebuild it, it will flood again.  you haven't fixed what is wrong.

 

so my advice, as above, is to use this as a chance to learn something and then design and build something that won't fail in that matter (move to higher ground!).

 

my 6 cents.

3 hours ago, kmealy said:

Personally, I'd probably take all the joints apart and reglue.  Once one joint gets loose, it puts more stress on its neighbors.   A stronger way to build up tenons is a wood shaving instead of paper,  If you can get access to this article, it may give you some help https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/regluing_doweled_chairs/

Regluing Doweled Chairs (2).pdf 2.62 MB · 1 download

Thanks Keith. Pretty sure you would have some tricks in your toolbox to share.

Welcome aboard xtal! Great to have ya.

 

I would disassemble the turned stool brace, perhaps the entire bottom of the stool, and for the round tenons so they never back out again, cut a slot in the end of the round tenon, insert a wedge into the slot, and hammer the brace back into place, the round tenon will expand as it's driven home. This is called Fox Wedging. You'll have to chisel out a little from the round mortise to create a wedge shaped hole, it won't take much at all and it doesn't have to be perfect. I could not find an example of Fox Wedging a round mortise and tenon joint, but here is a picture of mortise and tenon using Fox Wedging, just picture it as round and you'll get the idea.

If you go this route, you may want to mock up a couple round tenon and mortise samples just to get comfy with the process, because once you drive it home, and if you didn't allow enough space to expand as the wedges are driven back into the tenon, and it doesn't mate all the way up, you aint pulling it back out.

image source: Paul Sellers

 

Another example

image source: Bobs Wood Stuff

Interesting way of keeping it tight  ... just like the wedge on a hammer.

 

I have never seen it done in a blind hole.

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

 

 

2 minutes ago, xtal_01 said:

Interesting way of keeping it tight  ... just like the wedge on a hammer.

 

I have never seen it done in a blind hole.

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

 

 

 

Pro's: It'll never back out again

Con's: It'll never back out again (in case of needed repair)