Replies

1. 
   _mj_ | Sep 18, 2021 01:44pm | #1

   The wood will settle at equilibrium with its new surroundings. All you have to do is wait, then re-evaluate.

2. 
   john_c2 | Sep 18, 2021 03:57pm | #2

   Has it been reupholstered before? I've seen old pieces that have had a million tacks driven in, pulled out, driven in, pulled out, that the wood just won't take another tack.

1. 
   Aylor | Sep 18, 2021 05:39pm | #3

   Yes they have been reupholstered and the earliest piece (an 1830’s sofa) has been so many times that it likely won’t hold a tack. My plan there was to rabbet out an inch or so and join in new wood of the same species to allow for new tacks since that area can’t be seen after it’s upholstered.

3. 
   [email protected] | Nov 25, 2021 06:55am | #4

   Have you considered "painting"the wood with epoxy,filling some previous holes ,and allowing the epoxy to strengthen and reinforce the "punky"wood.Try a bit on a sample to see if it helps.And yes,for the purists,it is not reversible .

4. 
   jharveyb | Nov 25, 2021 12:16pm | #5

   I don't think "rehydration" is what you need. Dry wood will absorb some moisture in a house environment.
   The loose joints can be best reglued with a gap filling glue, after removing as much of the old glue as possible. My preferred gap filling glue is hardware store epoxy. It already has a filler in it. I have a factory made dining room set that my mother bought in 1958. The chairs have round tenons in round holes. I can remember my father gluing them back together with plastic resin glue in the 1960s, and me gluing them with Titebond I in the '70s and '80s. In the '90s I started using epoxy and they have remained strong and tight since then. Your joints are loose not just because the glue has failed, but the wood in the joints has been compressed by the stresses of the movement allowed by the failed glue. Only a gap filling glue will work.

   I think your plan to replace the area of worst damage is a good one.