# Best way to temporarily cut off a leg



## DavidInCazenovia (Nov 22, 2011)

I recently got this 50-60 year old oak office desk for which I have in mind to restore the finish and put it into service. Its a great cool beast of a thing, very heavy and solid feeling. The right hand side has a neat spring loaded mechanism which was used to raise up a typewriter to normal height!

Anwyay, the problem is, because of its 6-legged stature, I can't fit it through a normal doorway in my house. (At any orientation, even if we removed the door.)

If, hypothetically, the middle legs were absent… then it would fit. I believe that most of the length which protrudes from the bottom is in the way, though I have not measured precisely.

So I'm wondering… is there a sensible way to remove the middle legs but incorporate a system to re-join them? I could for instance cut them off square, then use metal brackets to re-attach them, but that seems inelegant, and also there would be a loss of the saw kerf in the height.

(Doing this would tamper with the original character a bit, but these legs are primarily for function, not for show. And if it doesn't fit in a normal doorway, it isn't going to be seen or used anyway.)

I hope my question is clear and thanks for any tips!

David


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I have had 4 such desks. The legs on mine were different from yours, but presented the same problem.

An almost elegant solution is to remove the legs, all six of them, flush with the bottom of the desk. 
Then make two platform boxes using 2×4 or 2×6 lumber on edge with plywood tops and banded with a nice baseboard type molding that will cover from he floor to just above the bottom of the desk.

The boxes need to be the same height as the legs that were removed.
And, obviously, the boxes have to be the same size as, or very slightly larger than, the bottoms of the desk pedestals so the base molding can lap onto the bottom of the desk.

Those desks make wonderful, functional pieces of furniture.


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## 1958 (Sep 9, 2011)

Could you cut the legs off with a thin kerf Japanese saw(Lee Valley). some as thin as 0.016" or thinner. they are a little pricey$50, I have one that I bought.I don't use it often but nice to have when I need it.After the cut you can reattach the leg with doweling .I have used this method on another project and it worked great.I also used furniture pads to help level any little indifference.


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## Irv2012 (Nov 23, 2011)

I would look at removing the desk top… looks easier than trying to remove the third legs and re-attaching. When they built it, one of the last things they did was put on the top..


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

David, I had to cut six legs off a couch to get it to the basement. the legs are square at the top and tapper round at the bottom. I cut the leg about .5" from the bottom of the couch using a hand saw. I made a reversable drill jig to drill a hole for a hanger bolt. Wood thread on one side, machine thread on the other. Jig locates on the square portion of the leg. I drilled the hole. On the cut portion of the legs I drilled into the backside of the leg with a forstner bit and made a longated slot, cleaned up with a chissel. Longated slot "T's" at the bottom of the hole so the washer and nut can bolt fast the leg to the bottom of the couch. I used this method in the event I have to get the couch out of the basement. Good luck.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Can the desk be disassembled? The top can usually be removed, and a few screws separate the pedestals.


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## DavidInCazenovia (Nov 22, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful suggestions.

I posted that question just before the holidays and hadn't gotten back to the project until tonight!

Anyway it turned out that Sawkerf's idea was spot-on. With the top off, the back panel split in two and through the door the pieces went. When assembled the panel looked convincingly glued but one side was not, perhaps even with this manouver in mind.

Thanks again!

Dave


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## orowoodworks (7 mo ago)

While it's a bit late, I appreciate these pictures a great deal. I'm about to recreate the desk from the 1950s Superman TV series, and it is designed almost exactly like this one, so these pictures will be an immense help in understanding how they used those central legs and joined it all.

Thanks!


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Temporary leg removal? Tell me more!


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## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

Both desks in our office have a removable desktop. Both our desks have Z-clip fasteners like on tables to secure the desktop.

I would check the desk out first. Remove the upper drawers and the left slide out. Look for the fasteners connecting the desktop. You may be able unscrew the fasteners to remove the desktop. Then move it in three sections to the room you want it in, then reassemble the desktop and ends.


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## 1thumb (Jun 30, 2012)

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