Chair Repair

Repair a wobbly leg

Materials:

dead-blow hammer
sandpaper
damp cloth
polyurethane glue
belt

Steps:

1. Purchase a dead-blow hammer that won't damage the wood. Knock the loose joint apart with the hammer.

2. Sand away any old glue residue.

1. Measure the depth of the seat. Mark the drill bit to half of this depth with a piece of masking tape.

2. Drill a hole to the mark on the tape at the intersection of the leg and seat (figure D).

3. Use a construction syringe to squirt chair glue into the hole (figure E). Use a gentle even pressure on the plunger so it doesn't squirt out at once.

Other tips

• Chair joints get wiggly with age as they heat up during the winter, shrink and pull away.

• The most important thing to remember when repairing a chair is to leave the nails and screws alone. They tend to increase the damage to the chair and split the wood.

• When making any repair that requires a drilled hole, always look for an inconspicuous spot. Turn the chair over and work from the bottom, if possible.

• If you're taking apart any rungs on a stool, be sure to mark where each rung comes from, labeling them with sticky notes.