How to Make a Scarf Joint

A friend of Ron's had and old antique doll carriage that he asked Ron to repair for him. The rail was broken completely in half and wood was missing from the broken section, making it impossible to glue back together.

This gave Ron the perfect opportunity to demonstrate a scarf joint - the type of repair he uses when he works with a break like this. The results will be both strong and attractive.

Ron's first step was to remove the damaged section. He clamped the rail flat on his work bench and then cut a small strip of oak the same width as the broken rail. He then laid the oak on top of the rail and clamped it in place.

Ron used a small straight edge to draw cutting guidelines on the oak. He then used a Japanese handsaw to cut through both the strip and the carriage rail at the same time.

Because Ron had cut through both pieces at one time, the section that was cut out of the new wood fit perfectly into the old carriage rail.

Ron applied glue to the cut edges, set the new section of wood in place, and then clamped it, first to the bench and then to the carriage rail.

After the glue dried, Ron removed the clamps to examine the structurally sound repair.

The only thing remaining was to clean up the wood and blend the color. Ron used an ultra sharp rasp, called a micro plane to shape and surface of the new section quickly. He followed this with a little sanding to smooth and contour the edges.

The original damaged section had a small notch to help hold the axle in place. He recreated one in the new piece of wood using a handsaw and a chisel.

Finally, Ron was ready to match the color. On a small job like this, Ron likes to use a furniture touch up marker. He just rubbed it on, blended it in, and dabbed off the excess.

A top coating of shellac sealed in the stain, provided just a bit of gloss and added a touch of color.

When Ron was done, you'd really have to look carefully to see where it was repaired. And not only was the repair practically invisible, but it was also very strong as well.