Q: I rescued this stool from the side of the road: It's pretty sturdy, but the wood top part is split completely, straight down through where one of the legs slots in. The legs are flaking paint, and I'd love to be rid of the seat cushion entirely. The wood seems to have some tiny black spots on it and the metal is a bit rusted in places and I'm wondering if this stool is salvageable?
How can I tell if it has woodworm or mold? Any ideas? My desire would be to remove the seat cover, glue the stool top together, clean the rust off, remove the old paint, and repaint the wood in wood stain, and use it to display some items in a corner somewhere. Thoughts? Any hints and tips about the equipment I'll need to carry out these initial DIY fixes?
Sent by Kit
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Sturdy is important. You don't want to invest long hours in surface improvements when the underlying structure is compromised & unreliable. I speak from experience: I have a stool I got as a project and I have never been able to get one of the legs to stop perpetually spinning in the bracket. I'd be worried about that crack if anyone were ever going to sit on it, but as a small side table it'll probably work fine. You won't be able to glue the top together in a way that will make the stool functional as a safe seat for anyone.
If it is not sturdy and stable, I say pass on the project - it's not worth putting all of that work into something that will forever be wobbly and kinda broken. If you don't have the time & energy to devote to transforming this, keep looking for something else that needs less work to function as a side table. Also, free isn't no cost : you could end up spending about $40 on wood stripper, glue, rustoleum spray paint for the metal, wood filler, sandpaper, steel wool, stain, poly.
If it is solid & stable, and if the black stuff on the legs comes off with the wood stripper & doesn't reveal any significant deterioration of the wood, and if you have the time & elbow grease to put into it, you seem to have a clear vision of what you want to do, so go for it!
I say save it! As a side table that is. I agree with CCATX that it probably won't ever be sturdy enough to have someone sit on it. When you glue the top together, make sure you clamp perpendicular to the crack so that you get a nice tight seal and the wood bonds together better...it'll be even sturdier than if you just glue by doing so. I'd also use some glue where the legs meet the top, if there isn't some there already, just to keep them from coming out at a later date. The rust should be easy to take care of, as it looks like it is only on the surface. There are several green ways to get it off that you probably have in the kitchen to save a little money. I also think that the black on the wood is mold, but the only way to tell for sure is to strip and sand. Hope it all works out to your advantage! I vote for after pics sent soon!!