Amish Chair Refurbishment, Help Appreciated.

[oliver2-44 10,674]

My mother passed away last August. She was 94 and lived at home until the last month. Couldn't ask for more than that!

As we go through her estate my youngest son asked for her nice kitchen table & chairs.

We think she bought these in the late 80's when the late 1960's chipboard / formica table we grew up with as kids collapsed.

So they are probable 35 + years old and overall nice solid built, solid wood furniture.

 (except the darn plywood center pack piece)

 

The finish is in fair condition.

The bottom area around the legs is scuffed and the back chair hoop needs cleaning to remove some blackened/softened finish (from hand and hair oils I suspect)

I've already cleaned the blackened finish off the hoop on this chair. I just used Mineral Spirts (paint thinner) so I wouldn't dissolve the good finish.

I had some stain custom matched at Sherman Williams'. 

I've had fairly good luck using this Mimwax custom stain for repairs. 

My initial plan is to just touch up a few area and the new center piece.

Then again I may wipe a light coat over the whole chair. 

Buff them with Scotch Brite and top coat them with satin polyurethane.

I'll need to clean them several times to remove any silicone from furniture polish so i don't get "Fish Eyes" in my finish.

 

Certainly open to suggestions on this. 

The back center of these chairs are made out of 3/8" ash plywood, which is splitting in the upper round area with the cutouts.

I have some Ash I planned to 3/8" thick. 

I still have to do the design cutout on this first one and it is currently extra long.

All of these chairs will gradually need this piece replaced. 

To disassemble the the chair back hoop I would need to remove these wedges.

Some wedges are wood and some are steel.

i could see removing the wood wedges with a Dremel, but might mess us the split for reassembly

Then I would have to hope the glue releases, many be soaking it with alcohol. 

I'm  concerned about doing more damage to other parts trying to disassemble it to repair that plywood piece.

I've tried to think of how I could inject some glue into the plywood splitting areas.

But really haven't come up with a good idea on that as some of them are weak and split up.

The slots the plywood piece fits in are 3/4" deep on each end.

The plywood piece is about a 1/4" shorter that the full length and has a very slight taper on each end.

This particular plywood piece was so split that I could bend it a fair amount to remove it.

 

I'm tackled lots of wood working, refinishing, remodeling projects, but far from a Master.  

So I would appreciate any suggestions as to how you would refurbish these chairs.

Especially how you would tackle replacing that center plywood piece.

 

[squonk 43,689]

We know a guy!  @formariz

[Handy Don 13,941]

Yep, @formariz has the knowledge for sure.

A couple of years ago I rebuilt a splat-back rocker with a similar system of wedges holding the upper chair back. I learned that the holes in the seat base were slightly tapered and wider at the bottom than the top. All my wedges were wood (whew!). I drilled small holes at the seam between the wedge and the end of the back/arm support member and eye-dropped in some acetone to dissolve the glue. I put a long thin screw into the wedge to put tension on it and used a small punch and hammer to try to rock it loose. It worked for three of the four--the fourth got Dremeled and chiseled out. I did have to make new wedges for the reassembly. 

I’d fear that your steel wedges were an aftermarket repair using wedges intended for an axe or wood splitter or hammer handle. These have ridges along their sides. Possibly drill/tap two screws into it for pulling and rocking?

[953 nut 59,712]

6 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

The back center of these chairs are made out of 3/8" ash plywood, which is splitting in the upper round area with the cutouts.

I have some Ash I planned to 3/8" thick. 

I still have to do the design cutout on this first one and it is currently extra long.

All of these chairs will gradually need this piece replaced. 

    I wouldn't use solid wood in place of plywood if you plan to go all the way through with the design. It will be prone to splitting with all of those reliefs cut through. If you use a small flush trim router bit with the plywood as a guide you could set the depth to 1/16" or so to honor the pervious pattern without weakening the board.

  

[formariz 12,040]

There is a good reason why that center piece is made out of plywood instead of solid wood. It will be hard for it not to possibly crack in several different areas as you make it, and if successful,in the future crack from pressure exerted on it is altogether likely. You would have to choose pieces with absolutely straight grain both in the length but most importantly in the thickness of piece to have a good chance of success.
 Most likely all the damage on them is what I see on the photo, cracked and missing pieces on the faces but still sound as a whole. 
 I have done this exact repair in similar chairs in the past. 3/8 ash plywood is expensive and very hard to find. What I did was to fill the missing areas , sand both sides removing all finish and then veneering both sides with ash veneer. Veneer both sides simultaneously by pressing or clamping as a sandwich using straight  3/4 pieces for cowls. If you are not very familiar with the process using plain veneer you can get it with a thin backing usually a paper backing . Can be also obtained with a phenolic backing but it’s more expensive and thicker.  That type can also be glued using contact cement although I am not a fan of that method. It can then by trimmed using a bearing flush trimming bit.

 You will have an original looking strong stable piece without the work involved in cutting the designs which is more difficult than what it seems. If the original piece is not salvageable I would still use 3/8” plywood and veneer it. 

Edited July 8 by formariz

[formariz 12,040]

On the replacing of the piece I would avoid dismantling the back of chair. You will be creating issues that you don’t currently have and a lot more work. I don’t know how long those pieces are compared to the dimension between seat and back hoop plus the depth of mortises for them. The ones I did , I deepened the bottom mortise on the seat to allow me to insert piece and then push it up into top mortise. It was glued during that process and then I pined it through back edge of seat. 

[oliver2-44 10,674]

Regrettable the damage is not just the surface veneer seen in the picture. The plywood is not sound - cracked enough I can easily flex most of them. 
Doing some searching 3/8” ash plywood doesn’t seem to be available. 
What would you think of using lumber core plywood. I have some 3/4” that I saved from my homes kitchen when I reconfigured the original kitchen cabinets to an open floor plan.  I could plane one side to 3/8” thick and re-veneer that side. I could also get some 3/4” ash plywood, plane and re-veneer it. 

The mortise grooves routed in the seat and top rail are 3/4” deep.  The top is 1” thick and the chair seat is 1-1/8” thick. As you mentioned I’ve thought of making a shorter piece that could slide up and down. Adding the pins to the bottom is the extra security idea I needed. 

 

[formariz 12,040]

Depending on the strands left and their orientation left on the plywood after planing it. It may be rather flexible. Another way using solid since it looks like you have it, would be to make your own “plywood”. Laminate three pieces of 1/8”. It will be stronger than one single 3/8” piece and resistant to cracking in the delicate area with little left such as on the rosette.

[953 nut 59,712]

1/4" Baltic Burch plywood with an Ash veneer would be another option.

https://www.rockler.com/baltic-birch-plywood-choose-thickness

Each sheet of our Baltic Birch Plywood is constructed from high-quality, one-piece birch laminations for exceptional strength and screw holding power. The density of the plies (40% more plies than standard plywood) results in excellent stability.

[oliver2-44 10,674]

9 hours ago, formariz said:

Depending on the strands left and their orientation left on the plywood after planing it. It may be rather flexible. Another way using solid since it looks like you have it, would be to make your own “plywood”. Laminate three pieces of 1/8”. It will be stronger than one single 3/8” piece and resistant to cracking in the delicate area with little left such as on the rosette.

I like this idea and will look into resawing some ash I have or getting some 1/8" ash.

[formariz 12,040]

4 hours ago, 953 nut said:

1/4" Baltic Burch plywood with an Ash veneer would be another option.

https://www.rockler.com/baltic-birch-plywood-choose-thickness

Each sheet of our Baltic Birch Plywood is constructed from high-quality, one-piece birch laminations for exceptional strength and screw holding power. The density of the plies (40% more plies than standard plywood) results in excellent stability.

This would be the ideal plywood to use. If you were closer I have 1/4” and 1/2” prefinished and unfinished in stock. I made most of my drawers out of this material . It’s also known as Apple Ply. Expensive but the best plywood there is bar none with no voids or inferior materials in the core. It is also glued with waterproof glue so it can be used outside. Always the hassle either way it is that it only comes in 5’x5’ sheets making hard to transport in my van and also awkward to handle.

[953 nut 59,712]

On 7/7/2025 at 8:31 PM, formariz said:

Veneer both sides simultaneously by pressing or clamping as a sandwich using straight  3/4 pieces for cowls. If you are not very familiar with the process using plain veneer you can get it with a thin backing usually a paper backing . Can be also obtained with a phenolic backing but it’s more expensive and thicker.  That type can also be glued using contact cement although I am not a fan of that method.

Cas, have you ever used the heat activated veneer glue? I have used heat activated veneer glue with good results. No glue squeeze-out or bleed through problems and no open time concerns. I used this to apply book-matched burl and was able to adjust each of the four quarters to make a prefect match.

https://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Better-Bond-Heat-Lock-Veneer-Glue.html

The Original "Heat-and-Bond" Veneer Glue
Heat Lock™ is the woodworker's solution for small or irregularly shaped veneering projects. Designed specifically for iron-on veneering, this adhesive bonds raw and paper-backed veneers to porous substrates such as wood, plywood, MDF, and particle board with an ordinary household clothes iron. Recommended for virgin surfaces only.

Simplified Instructions:
Apply a uniform coat to the substrate and the back side of the veneer. The substrate and veneer must be porous. Allow both pieces to dry. Then place the veneer onto the substrate and use a clothes iron (set on medium/high or the cotton setting) to "re-activate" the adhesive polymers. Place an old cotton or flannel shirt over the veneer face to prevent scorching, and then begin ironing from the center and work toward the ends of the veneer along the grain. It is best to avoid moving the iron across the grain.

Apply even downward pressure, giving the full veneer area ample time to heat up, reactivate, and bond. Keep the iron moving at all times. Allow an additional 1 to 3 hours for full bond strength. It's never been so easy to iron-on a veneer!

Edited July 9 by 953 nut

[formariz 12,040]

I never used that glue but used a similar way for small stuff. I would coat veneer with white glue, wait about one hour when glue was dry to touch but not cured, and then iron it on. Heat melted and reactivated glue in same manner. 
 I also extensively used hide glue melted in a pot for bigger jobs. Other times one of my favorites for veneering and other uses was what we called “brown glue” which is actually urea formaldehyde which comes in powder form and it is mixed with water.