furnitureplasticrepair
I have an office computer chair whose leg broke, there is a huge crack along the plastic, and it bends, but its still attached. I tried using hot glue and duct tape, but it breaks apart again because of the down force twisting the plastic and sheering it.
Any idea how to fix this?
The attached pieces and legs may have exacerbated the effects by not moving with the seat but a piece of pine of that size was probably destined to crack regardless. You can try to weep glue down into it (run a line of yellow glue over the crack then blow it down into the void with an air nozzle) and then clamp out the space but it probably won't be permanent and you could damage your finish with the clamp pressure. Were it me, I'd fill the crack with tinted epoxy and let the piece wear the crack like a badge of honor. Think of a piece reclaimed pine:
Hope this helps, cheers!
Repair it using the same hardware it originally had. It sounds like the chair had a T-Nut inserted:
Assuming the "male" screw in the leg still has good threads (you did not indicate that it was bad), buy a matching T-Nut at a good hardware store.
Note- there are quite a few sizes and types of T-Nuts, bring a sample from one of the other legs/chairs.
Best Answer
Replacing is probably most practical.
But if you really want to fix it, you need something to support the weight. Tape and glue aren't going to do it. I would find a length of strong pipe (check the plumbing section at a home improvement store) that will fit nicely either inside the leg (if it is hollow) or over top of it. Make the pipe fill/cover as much of the leg as possible. Then attach with tape, glue, bolts, whatever - just to stop it from sliding out.
If the pipe fits snugly it should hold up fairly well.