So your repair has to be STRONGER in that area than just the plastic alone. I took it home and saw that it was originally a mortise and tenon, but someone had done a repair on it and used dowels and just cut and the the tenon in the mortise. It's worth mentioning that this repair method applies to more than just a broken stretcher - this technique is the correct way to repair many furniture breaks including chair back spindles and legs, table legs and more. But you can certainly fix it if you’re aware of the footrest’s mechanism and if you’ve got all the required tools and parts.No wonder, it’s annoying when the recliner’s footrest starts malfunctioning and your lazy boy recliner footrest stuck. I measured a good chair leg to see how wide it was so I could match the same width on my repairs. People usually find it hard to fix a recliner footrest primarily because they don’t know how to fix a recliner footrest at home. For the joint that doesn’t want to give up, you may need hot water. There were 4 legs in total that required attention. My Father in law asked me this weekend to fix his 40 year old chair that had a loosened front leg. In case our written guide isn’t enough for visual learners, provided below is a video from Pete Medek the “Recliner Repair Guy.” This video is tailored specifically towards the Lazy Boy 3 position locking mechanism, which we referred to as a ratchet. If you remove just one dowel, you risk splitting or cracking the others. wouldn't you know it. In total I probably did 4 layers on the small repairs and 5-6 layers on the biggest repair, sanding in between layers. Some chairs and tables are fitted together with a piece of wood (dowel rod) that runs from one leg to another. It might prove beneficial to mark through the marked circles for an easy approximation of the exact centre for the screw to get drilled. It's a solid method and properly executed, it's literally as strong as it was new. Once the dowel is exposed, drill a … Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. Plastics do not epoxy well, and epoxy is never good at joints that get torsion or flex, so epoxy was a poor choice on both counts. Steps to Fix: Rear Seat Support (Bar or Leg) Won't Retract (Stay Flat With Seat Up) ... Rear Seat Support (Bar or Leg) Won't Retract (Stay Flat With Seat Up) That's is probably one of the bests posts I have seen on a do it yourself repair! When a dowel rod becomes loose, you can’t simply take it out and reglue it. Flip the chair back up and try your better than new footrest locking mechanism. While ensuring the centre hole is in the right position where the screws will hold the brace, mark the exact outline of the bracket. Chairs generally consist of three sections: the front leg assembly, the rear leg or back assembly plus the stretchers and seat rails that connect the two. Then I mixed up some more filler and applied a second layer. The joints on this chair came apart easily. 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