# Table leg repair



## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Hi to everyone! I haven't posted anything here in a long time because I ran out of interesting projects.

Then a friend asked if I could fix a table that her father had made. He has Alzheimer's and fell and broke one of the legs. It was "lucky" that the break was clean. I thought the best fix would be to drill both pieces and glue a dowel into them to hold the pieces together.

I was fortunate to have a 3/4" oak dowel on hand and a 3/4" Forstner bit and the broken section has a 7/8" diameter. I cut off the bits of wood that stuck up above the break on both pieces. I used a compass to draw a 7/8" diameter circle on blue tape and stuck the circles on the broken ends and center punched where the point of the compass had been.

Next to the drill press. The short leg section was still in the table but the leg was close enough to the edge so I could clamp it to the DP table. The longer piece of the leg was more of a challenge. I made a tall skinny box just larger than the diameter of the leg, The base of the box was oversized to clamp it to the DP table and there was no top. I put a screw up through the bottom of the box into the foot of the leg to keep it centered and wedged the top to hold it in place while drilling. The purpose of the box was to keep the tapered leg plumb while I was drilling it.

Once that was done, I cut the dowel to length and epoxied the dowel into the cavities I had drilled out. If you look closely you will be able to see the dark line where the two pieces meet. It isn't fine woodworking but the table wasn't either so I am happy with the outcome.




























The table is a unique design.



















Thanks for looking.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Nice save.

People just don't know how hard woodworking can be until they try it themselves. Just fix a table leg, sure sounds easy enough. But then you realize you need to build a jig just to get it drilled out etc. etc. etc.

Well, they came to the right guy. If anyone could fix something, it would surely be you.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Good job saving the leg, Art!


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## Maro2Bear (Jan 17, 2021)

Nice save! At first glance, i thought they wanted you to fix the father's leg! And then I started to think of the origins of "peg leg". Nice fix.


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## oldrivers (Feb 10, 2014)

I'd say you did big! A good fix and that leg is probeley stronger at that point than any of the others.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Well done. I've fixed several of those turnings and it's not so easy.

I freehand drilled dowel holes for a similar fix once. I got lucky and the holes lined up.

I've also done it by gluing the ends together and routing into one side for a 3/8" thick "loose tenon". That worked very well though it's a hassle to do it.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Nice work there, creative too.


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

You make that sound easy, but it is tricky work. Nice save!


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I tried tell all of them you were impressive for a grownup, but would they listen?

[only those who posted here ]

Good job.


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## zoro39 (May 21, 2019)

Very well done…nice pics too


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Thanks, everyone.


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## BillInInd (Jul 30, 2020)

Nice job! As others said, people do not know how difficult it is to save a leg. You're the hero today!


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

I know that it is very difficult to get holes like that perfectly vertical and lined up. A way around that is to use an undersized dowel (turn one on the lathe if necessary), then glue it in with epoxy thickened with sanding dust. The extra space around the dowel allows for sideways and tilt adjustability. I have used this method a number of times. Saves having to drill perfect holes.

If the holes are badly out of alignment, you can turn one end of the dowel first, then re-center the dowel in the lathe and turn the other end. The offset compensates for the bad alignment. Again, a little slop in the fit is taken care of by the thickened epoxy.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

You could earn your keep on a pirate vessel, arrrr! 8^) Nice fix!

I'm surprised you have reached the end of the internet for project ideas, time to bust up some old pieces and give them a fresh look!


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Runswithscissors, that is a good suggestion.

Splint, I enjoy making new things with new challenges but making the same things repeatedly begins to feel like production work and that isn't my bag.


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## Rich1955 (Jan 26, 2020)

There are so many people out there who would have just put that out in the garbage. It's nice to see someone fix things so it has an extended life. I have an old dresser that was getting loose, I took the whole thing apart, cleaned the old glue, and put it back together. It should last longer then me! 
Great job fixing that table!


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Ditto that. My ex had a dresser her family brought west in a covered wagon. It was sloppy tired. I, too, took it all apart and rebuilt it a piece at a time, including the thin board back. It was missing feet, so I added bun type or something that fit the bill.

Now it'll last another hundred or two years.



> There are so many people out there who would have just put that out in the garbage.
> 
> - Rich1955


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

Great repair job.
Looking at the closeup no one would notice because the sanding job by the person who made it originally was kind of rough anyway.

I have made a couple of similar repairs and found on one it was easier to turn a new leg than to repair it.


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