Table Leg Repair part Deux

What is "clean break"?

Is it a perfectly flat, glue ready break?

That would actually concern me. Without seeing the actually break (photo perhaps?) I'm led to believe that it is a glue joint that previously failed. That could mean that new glue might not hold since you might not be gluing wood to wood,you'd actually be gluing old glue to old glue.

If that is the case, then I'd be even more inclined to add some mechanical support such as a dowel or threaded rod. At a minimum, perhaps some keys cut into both surfaces and then thickened epoxy that can grab onto those keys.

No matter how you look at it, a glue joint there will be end-grain, thus the weakest possible no matter what sort of glue you use. If it was my repair I'd certainly be adding some sort of reinforcement.

As an aside, if I remember the pictures you provided, the portion remaining attached at the top was pretty thin. Is there access inside the piece to get a drill in? If so it would (well, might) be possible to put the joint together, drill down through the case into the top of the leg and into the broken section making the alignment of a dowel ever so much simpler. A less elegant solution would be to drill, glue, and insert a long deck-type screw from inside but that might be even stronger than a dowel and would require a smaller-diameter hole to be drilled. Just a SWAG...

My definition of a clean break is one that didn't break in several pieces which would require gluing those pieces back in or filling in opening left from the break. It's not smooth by far but if you were a tiny insect or from Honey I shrunk myself, it would be a wooden mountainous region.

It's not an old glue joint. The wood fibers are jagged on each side but I am able to line up the leg perfectly, push it towards the table and the tension of the fibers hold it in place and very little of the broken seam can be seen. If it were my table, I'd just glue it back on and be good with it, but I'm charging someone to fix it and I don't want to redo

That top part left on the table is part of the leg and attached to the table. I would need to flush cut it off using my thin saw, similar to a Japanese saw, reattach to the leg with glue, then drill a hole in the center to add a dowel, leaving that dowel protruding from the top, drill a hole in the table for that dowel, then glue the entire leg back to the table. Thus, the glue or epoxy will still need to be strong enough to hold the leg to the table, but the dowel will provide strength mainly when someone pulls the table along the floor.

What is the top of the table like? Can you glue theleg together, then drill it from the top and install a dowel or pin from the top, then install a matching plug and refinish it to match? Mabee add 3 more plugs to make it look like it was made that way?

Since you have those jagged edges, not all of the glue will be end grain, b ut you will pick up a significant amount of side grain as well. That being said, a lot depends on what the table is used for. If its a side table, w ithout a lot of stress on it, there is no reason a good glue or epoxy shou ld not hold. If you are worried about the strength, you could always put a dowel in to physically join the pieces. But, given what you have said, I would definitely try the glue up first.

It seems like nothing has changed from your previous thread, therefore all the original suggestions still stand.

You *may* have enough nooks and crannies for a solid fix with just glue/epoxy, but if you never want to go back, then any of the mechanical supports that were suggested would ensure a permanent fix.

If it were me, and even if it were my table, I'd add the extra support.

Reinforce the repair, there is a lot of leverage to break again.

From the get go, we could not advise you as to repair or price. You needed to go inspect the table and give us more info.

How is the leg "permanently" attached to the table top? A simple dowel or tenon is likely not the method. Your dowel repair, as you describe, will likely not hold up, in a "permanently fixed" (as originally said) condition . The leg is most likely attached with a blind wedged dowel or tenon. I would recommend doing a similar repair, whether you use a dowel or tenon.

IMO for a simple (5/8" at least) dowel extension to hopefully best/better w ork, it would need to extend into the table top at least 1.5"-2". Is the t able top that thick?

If you are not familiar with a blind wedged dowel or tenon, do some practic e work on some scrap. Getting the wedge length and (not too thick) width i s important as to getting a good fit when the dowel/tenon is jammed into th e its hole. Do some practicing if you're not familiar with this attaching technique. Might want to use a 3/4" or 1" dowel if the leg diameter accom modates this size without splitting.

IF you do cut off the part still attached to the table, then you will likel y see what size dowel or tenon was (most likely) used in the first place... .. and maybe be able to determine if that attachment was a wedged joint tec hnique.

Sonny

r tenon is likely not the method. Your dowel repair, as you describe, wil l likely not hold up, in a "permanently fixed" (as originally said) conditi on. The leg is most likely attached with a blind wedged dowel or tenon. I would recommend doing a similar repair, whether you use a dowel or tenon .

On the link, scroll to the bottom of the page for a pic of the blind wedge joint.

Sonny

For a perfectly fitting blind wedged joint you don't need glue. The wedge locks the joint in position.... permanently!

Sonny

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm going with a permanent fix of cutting off the part on table, gluing to leg, using a thick dowel in center and reattaching to table with a wedged tenon.

The table was leaning up against a wall in the garage with misc all around. I was unable to view it from all angles but it was about 3" thick, I don't think it was all solid. I told him in order for me to do it properly, he'll have to clean the area so I can take the table with me. But from what I saw, the fix I described will most likely be the proper method.

...and when you get it home you may very well find that there are other parts of the table that need repair. I'd go over it very carefully before quoting a price for repairing just the leg.

Does the table have a leaf? If so, does the sliding mechanism work? Are the other legs tight? If any parts are veneered, is it separating any where?

Oh yeah...don't forget to make sure it doesn't wobble and sits level after you reattach the leg. If cutting the part of the table reduces the overall height of the leg you'll need to account for that.

Hawk, have you watched the latest Thomas Johnson video on Youtube? He covers this exact thing.

Great video find!

I think one of the biggest issues was the size of the previous dowel. There wasn't much wood left after drilling that huge hole. No wonder it shattered.

One tip that I like to offer related to working with epoxy - although it probably wasn't needed with that repair - is to keep a jar of Vaseline with your epoxy supplies. Epoxy won't stick to Vaseline. By putting a thin layer on the surrounding areas, you can often save some sanding, scraping, etc.

Did anyone else notice the little fake-a-roo he pulled in that video?

Pop-quiz:

When he took the tape off of the broken leg, (3:20) he acted surprised to find that the leg had been repaired previously. "Ah, interesting" he said.

How do we know that he was acting? What gives away the fact that he already knew what was under the tape?

In case anyone is interesting of closer photos and to see what I've been indicating. It's actually a desk. It looks thick but it's hollow with a bottom. I sawed the top part of the broken leg as I stated. You'll see in photos the parts and how well they join together with barely a notice of the break and I didn't even push them together hard nor glue it yet.

Thanks again for all te suggestions.

So the leg was not a separate unit from the Lion's head aspect. That's co mmon. Looks like the leg was turned from ~3" stock, then fluted and the re mainder carved.

How will you reattach the leg? Rather than a wedged dowel or tenon, you mi ght consider using a (at least) 3/8" lag bolt, with 6" to 8" of thread. Cu t the head off the bolt, file/grind the cut end into a point and use it as you would a hanger bolt. About 2" or 3" of thread into the lion's head and 2" pass the break line of the leg might do it, plus use glue or epoxy.

Repair the break, first (allow the glue/epoxy to dry), before drilling for the lag screw, if you opt for this lag bolt repair.

You could really crank on the leg, via the lag bolt, to tighten it really g ood against the lion's head.

Sonny