Bill Lantry
Member
- Messages
- 2,663
- Location
- Inside the Beltway
Hey, folks,
After a week away from the shop, I'm finally back at it. Before I flew off, I had to rapidly move the pew into the shop, and of course it came apart in my hands. Now I need to put it back together, and I have some questions.
Someone, and I ain't naming names, really went to town on it with bolts and screws. Here's a small selection of what I took out of it after they failed:
So now I'm left with pieces. They kind of fit together, but not really. There are some pretty big gaps (hence all the dirt, dust, and spiders:
Here's a closeup of the same thing.
See all those holes? It looks like someone did the mortise with a brace or drill press, then cleaned it up with a router plane. Here's the piece that fits over it:
And a closeup of the same thing:
That molded ply is really something: it's a good inch thick. The veneer itself is a good quarter inch thick. I needn't have worried about sanding through it...
My problem? The joint has to be *structural*, and it has to hold both the weight of the pew, and people sitting on it. I'm worried the gaps are too big for a simple glue joint to be effective. Biscuits are out of the question, and there's no way I could get dowels to line up. So... any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill
After a week away from the shop, I'm finally back at it. Before I flew off, I had to rapidly move the pew into the shop, and of course it came apart in my hands. Now I need to put it back together, and I have some questions.
Someone, and I ain't naming names, really went to town on it with bolts and screws. Here's a small selection of what I took out of it after they failed:
So now I'm left with pieces. They kind of fit together, but not really. There are some pretty big gaps (hence all the dirt, dust, and spiders:
Here's a closeup of the same thing.
See all those holes? It looks like someone did the mortise with a brace or drill press, then cleaned it up with a router plane. Here's the piece that fits over it:
And a closeup of the same thing:
That molded ply is really something: it's a good inch thick. The veneer itself is a good quarter inch thick. I needn't have worried about sanding through it...
My problem? The joint has to be *structural*, and it has to hold both the weight of the pew, and people sitting on it. I'm worried the gaps are too big for a simple glue joint to be effective. Biscuits are out of the question, and there's no way I could get dowels to line up. So... any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill