The chair back on one of my Wegner CH30s is loose. It looks like it is held by two screws and the screw heads are hidden by a cross-shaped fillet or pellet. I do not want to damage or replace the fillet or ruin the nice close fit, but I do want to tighten the join.
It is strange that the screws lost their grip. They are loose on both sides, but no evidence that the fillet was ever removed.
Is it possible to remove them by solvent or heat?
Or any other wise suggestions? Thanks.
Pretty sure those inlays are considered sacrificial when removal is required, but you could certainly try to remove them intact by applying moist heat or steam to soften the glue and prying them out with a thin blade like a scalpel or an artist's palette knife. Finicky work for sure but could be worth it depending on age/wood species of your specific chair.
We need @cdsilva here. I believe he has done this kind of work on these. Maybe search forum archives for previous posts on this topic...
Hi tk,
I do indeed have a couple of CH30s (sold two others as restoration projects), as well as a CH23 which has the same backrest connection. Fortunately for me, all of the backrest joints were solid and did not require any tightening. However, there were a few loose screws on the seat of a damaged CH30, so I did a little snooping around. Based on what I could find, you are right, those screw plug caps are sacrificial and are not intended to be reused if you need to take them out to address something underneath. Here are a few photos that do a nice job of describing the seat joint. With the mortise and tenon joints for the legs and seat rails, the chair itself is difficult to repair as a few joints need to be steamed apart in order to remove a single member.
This Carl Hansen YouTube video of the production of the CH28 shows how the plugs are installed. They are initially thicker, but are routed down after gluing to ensure a smooth and flush finish with the seat.
And I see they’ve recently created a video for the CH23, which was put back into production a couple of years ago. It shows the cruciform plug being inserted, but skips the routing part that that CH28 shows. https://youtu.be/5kKoCxgHQzM
Comparing Hansen's videos to cdsilva's photos, it's interesting to see how the construction and design of these has evolved over the decades. Would it be possible to see detail photos of the edge of the back panel (showing laminations), maker's stamp, and an overall shot of the entire chair?
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com