Continuing here from the "Recently acquired" thread.
At this point I've taken all of the old cord off and did a first cleaning with oil, which really started to bring these chairs back to their original beauty. Cleaning them up has revealed a few things.
First, the two side rail on the "compromised" chair aren't as split as I had thought, but still have some splitting. I'm wondering if Spanky's suggestion of adding screws from the bottom of the rails is still advisable. I have no issues with this kind of fix (no scoffing from me!), but am curious if the screws will interfere with the nails?
The short leg issue...I overstated how short the leg is. As you can see in the photo it is only about 5/16 of an inch short. And this leg is almost exactly that much shorter than the other front leg. I suppose that is better than if the chair had warped or the joints were very loose. How to address this though? Shortening the other three legs by a bit seems too destructive to me, but I'm open to any suggestion.
Lastly, the crack(s) on the back/crest rail. After cleaning I realized that in addition to the one crack on the right side, there are two hairline cracks on the opposite side. There also seems to be a very small amount of movement in the joint on the side with the two smaller cracks - I noticed that some oil welled up in that crack when I attempted to wiggle it. This issue is the most troubling to me. I'm hoping something can be done and that someone here has the perfect fix, as is usually the case!
Thanks for any thoughts!
<img class="wpforoimg" src=" http://d1t1u890k7d3ys.cloudfront.net/cdn/farfuture/GYC29hmqD2xtO9vpJGI
May I just ask on the short leg issue:
Did you measure the length of the legs from the top (where it meets the seat rail) to the floor? Or did you just measure the distance from the floor?
To ask the same question in other words, did you ascertain whether for some bizarre reason a previous owner has shortened one leg or whether the leg is still the correct height and movement in the frame has caused the discrepancy?
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As for the backrests, I feel like I've seen some 75s with breaks there multiple times.
I do wonder if you could blow glue inside the cracks and clamp it, but the fact there's movement gives me concern as well. And I've not removed a backrest on those, so I don't know the construction, but I'd hate to remove it, then clamp and glue the cracks only to find out it doesn't fit back on the back legs.
I'm with you on waiting for someone with the perfect solution, I can't provide it.
Leif - what an unexpected solution for the back rest! Would you actually be willing to part with one of them? It seems like a big project, but I can't overlook the fortuitousness of the situation. When you say they aren't fully shaped, do you mean only where they taper into the back legs?
When you say you'd shorten the long leg, do you mean just the long front leg? Not all three "long" legs?
Kyle - I did measure the length of both front legs in addition to the gap between the short leg and the floor. I measured the legs in their entirety and again from the inside where the leg meets the rail (pictures are measured from inside at the rail). No matter how I measured, the short leg was almost exactly 5/16 in shorter than the other front leg. So I guess its possible that somewhere along the line someone shortened the leg. Or maybe it wore down? Not sure, but it is strange.
Haha, I must have posted just after Leif but usually the 'perfect' solution doesn't come along that quickly and isn't usually quite that 'perfect'.
And Leif, I love the idea on the legs. I'll keep that one in mind and I now have a reason to store my leather scraps rather than chuck.
I agree with Leif that the rail cracking isn't too worrisome. Sometimes they split along the grain in one long crack and the nails start falling out; then you need to put some screws in. I would just check it every once in awhile to make sure it's not changing with whatever humidity difference is inside your house compared to the outdoor setting (!!?) where they were for awhile.
You can aim a screw between the nails if it comes to that. They're about 1/2" apart which is enough room for a screw. Just be sure it's not so long that it will come out the top! You can even do this after the seat is woven; just remove a nail or two, push the loops of cord out of the way, and drive the screw in. Then stick the nail though the loop of cord, grip the nail with some needlenose pliers and bring the nail in at a low angle to the nail hole and get the point in. Work it into the hole until it's upright, then tap into place with a tack hammer. Super easy.
Leif's replacement back is in the mail! So more to come on that adventure soon.
For now, I've started on the other, completely intact chair. Well, almost completely intact. In doing the warp and wrapping the rails, I came to notice that the joint where the side rail goes into the back leg on the right side has the tiniest bit of movement and a hairline gap between the rail and leg. I can't even squeeze it back together. I'm inclined to leave it and, hopefully in a few years, knock it all apart and reglue. And I asking for more dramatic damage with this approach?
I've read almost every thread here on Moller chairs trying to figure out the tenon and dowel situation in those joints, and came across a good bit of info about dating these. The only marks on these is a very faded ink stamp which has the Danish control logo and "Made in Denmark." Does that make these 50s versions?
As a side note, I'm crazy about the figure on the back on this one.
The side rails come off first. They are just doweled on. The front and rear stretchers are tenoned into the legs and the side dowels pass through those tenons locking them in. Also, remove the L nails for the first 1-2 on the side rails before you disassemble the joint, because the L nails often go through a dowel locking it into place. I suggest lightly tapping with a dead low mallet for the actual disassembly. Usually it comes apart perfectly. Usually. If you get a split leg don
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