Splintered Chair

Tools:

drop cloth
pull saw
carpenter's pencil
string
screwdriver
towel
utility knife
calipers
putty knife
miniature screwdriver
needle-nose pliers
adjustable wrench
sandpaper
drill with spade bit
clamps
safety goggles and rubber gloves
foaming wood glue
dowels

1. Remove old screws from stringers (figure A).

2. Pull stringers out of leg and clamp leg to table (figure B).

3. Cut new dowels to length using stringers as guide (figure C). Measure the diameter of stringers with calipers, then use a spade bit of corresponding size to remove stubborn glue from the holes in chair legs. Finish cleaning out old glue using sandpaper.

4. Dampen ends of stringer, fill sockets with glue and insert stringers. Loop string around legs and tie tight to hold everything in place (figure D).

5. Drill holes through legs and into stringer for pins (figure E). Mark the drill bit with a piece of tape so you drill the hole to the correct depth.

6. Inject glue and insert dowel pins. Cut pins flush with leg and sand down (figure F).

7. Cut and sand away hardened glue from stringers. Finish by priming and painting stringers. Finally, admonish children not to rock back-and-forth in your kitchen chairs.