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WOODWORKERS ASSEMBLE! Need advice on fixing a table

Angel177Angel177 Registered User regular
edited August 2012 in Help / Advice Forum
Bought a lovely second hand table but it has a wobbly leg

This bit of wood is the issue, I'm handy enough so I 'think' it's an easy fix, but I'd like to know what folks think

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The gorilla glue is a temp fix.

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Angel177 on

Posts

  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    Remove the 4 screws and two bolts, measure the piece, cut a new one, drill new holes, replace. That's it really. Just use the broken piece as a template for the new piece to get the angles right.

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  • AresProphetAresProphet Registered User regular
    Remove the 4 screws and two bolts, measure the piece, cut a new one, drill new holes, replace. That's it really. Just use the broken piece as a template for the new piece to get the angles right.

    This post is unintentionally punny.

    Should be a 45 degree mitre cut on both sides, unless the table isn't square. If you use a shorter piece it'll also be less likely to break when the leg gets put back on, there's evidently a pretty big gap between the crosspiece and the leg.

    You can also improve on it by using stronger wood (like a pressure-treated 2x4 instead of what appears? to be cheap pine) so it doesn't have the same problem again. Hell you can probably find a piece that small as scrap

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  • Giggles_FunsworthGiggles_Funsworth Blight on Discourse Bay Area SprawlRegistered User regular
    Remove the 4 screws and two bolts, measure the piece, cut a new one, drill new holes, replace. That's it really. Just use the broken piece as a template for the new piece to get the angles right.

    This post is unintentionally punny.

    Should be a 45 degree mitre cut on both sides, unless the table isn't square. If you use a shorter piece it'll also be less likely to break when the leg gets put back on, there's evidently a pretty big gap between the crosspiece and the leg.

    You can also improve on it by using stronger wood (like a pressure-treated 2x4 instead of what appears? to be cheap pine) so it doesn't have the same problem again. Hell you can probably find a piece that small as scrap

    This is good advice. The screws are not loose are they?

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    the size shouldn't even matter too much as you could probably just tighten the bolts more or add washers, though you still want to measure. definitley agree on picking a stronger wood

    though looking at the picture it looks like whomever owned it overtightened the bolts and caused it to split.

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  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    mts wrote: »
    though looking at the picture it looks like whomever owned it overtightened the bolts and caused it to split.

    Yeah definitely a cheap piece of scrap. Pardon the pun.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Hardware stores should also sell stamped metal leg brackets. No need to cut anything, just screw it on.

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    Might take away from the look eh? Though white pine probably already does this.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    Might take away from the look eh? Though white pine probably already does this.

    Do you often show guests the underside of your tables?
    It'd still look better then the wood that's there now. Maybe the OP could get 4 and replace all the corner pieces.

  • AtomBombAtomBomb Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    That piece of wood is the wrong size for that table. Do the other 3 corners look like that? You have all the stress being delivered to the center of that brace, which is pretty much guaranteed to break it, even if it's not some crappy pine scrap. You should not see the threads between the leg and the brace.

    If you want to use the same thickness of brace, cut it shorter and place it like this:

    wQD5B.jpg

    If you want to reuse the 4 screw holes, you can use a thicker piece and place it like this:

    POyig.jpg

    You want it to be under a slight amount of tension, so that when you tighten the nuts the leg will be pulled tight and the gaps on the side rails close up. The bolts should only have to pull everything like an 1/8" or a 1/16" or so. Does that make sense?

    Some tables will have a gap like your picture, but they'll use a much stronger wood (or metal) as the brace. I don't think your table is designed to be like that though, since there is a flat edge on the leg that looks like it is designed to go flush against the brace.

    AtomBomb on
    I just got a 3DS XL. Add me! 2879-0925-7162
  • Angel177Angel177 Registered User regular
    Man do I love PA some times, helpful advice...and puns! Awesome work lads (and lassies) hopefully a trip to Home depot is in my future.

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  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    you probably shouln't even need the screw holes. my guess is they were added to keep the table together. normally the bolts would be all that was there.

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  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    you probably shouln't even need the screw holes. my guess is they were added to keep the table together. normally the bolts would be all that was there.

    No, not really. The whole point of that bracket is to tie all the pieces of wood together. If it was just attached to the leg it would do practically nothing. It should be anchored to the leg and the rails, and if you have a nice thick tabletop and some long screws, the top too.

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