Chairs are one of the furniture that has to go through a lot of pressure. As a result, they sustain a lot of wear and tears over time. And with those wear and tears, the overall structure of the chair becomes a bit unstable, which can make the leg break off at some point.
Now, a chair with a broken leg is of no use. And getting a new set of chairs can be a bit taxing on the wallet. Well, if you have one of them lying around with a broken leg, let us tell you how to fix a broken chair leg. You will not have to spend all that money to get a new one from the market.
Ways to Fix a Broken Chair Leg
Not all of the chairs will have the same structural problem. We have kept all of the structural flaws in mind and prepared an appropriate guide for fixing the broken leg of a chair.
Method 1: Fix Loose Joints
The most common problem for the chairs is the joints becoming loose overtime. As the chairs have to withstand all the rocking and have to hold most of the bodyweight alongside that, the joints may become loose over time. And when the joints do become loose, the legs can come apart from the body.
If you are facing the same problem and the leg that came apart from the body is in one piece, then you can follow these steps:
Step 1: Apply Glue
There are a plethora of furniture glues available in the market. Most of them are quite strong too. They will be able to hold the joints in place for an extended amount of time without showing any signs of loosening.
With that said, the first step for fixing a leg that came out from the body would be to glue it back in place. If the joint sticks with the slot properly, then you should be all good.
Step 2: Expand the Dowels
If the leg comes apart after applying the glue, then the dowels might have shrunk. Shrinking of the dowels is quite common for wooden furniture, and they are quite easy to expand too. First of all, you need to take apart the leg. Once you have removed them, clean off any residues that they might have on the surface.
Upon removal of the adhesives, apply a wood-swelling liquid on top of the dowel. Allow it to sit for a while, and you will notice that they have started expanding.
Once they have expanded all the way through, apply a little amount of furniture adhesive on top of the dowel and put it back into the joint slot. Once the glue settles, the chair should be stable again.
Method 2: Fixing a Broken Leg
Now, if the leg of your chair is broken, fixing the joints will not work. You might need to get it fixed by following a different procedure. With that said, these are the steps that you should follow for that:
Step 1: Gather the Necessary Tools
The first step would be to gather the required tools. The things that you are going to need for this process are:
- Clamp
- Glue
- Wood scrap
- Hand saw or a jigsaw
- Rasp or a wood file
- Sandpaper
- Stain and finish
- Toner spray (optional)
Among all of these, the wood scrap that we would recommend you to get is a hardwood. If you can get an oak wood scrap, that would yield the best result. And the toner spray is not absolutely necessary for this process.
Step 2: Wear Appropriate Protection Items
Safety should always be the number one priority. For that reason, we would ask you to wear appropriate protection items before you decide to start any wooden project. Wear a dust mask, goggles, hearing protection, and gloves before you start working on the leg.
Step 3: Get Yourself a Scrap Wood
Now that you are all prepared, you will have to find a scrap wood that is of the same thickness as the leg that you are planning to fix. You will also be able to glue multiple pieces together if you can not find something that is of a similar thickness.
Step 4: Clamp the Scrap to the Leg
Once you have found the adequate scrap that you can use for fixing the leg, you will have to attach it with the broken leg. Clamp it down, countersink and fill up the holes with glue and leave it to dry overnight.
Step 5: Unclamp the Leg and Make Necessary Adjustments
Once the scrap is attached to the leg properly, you ill have to unclamp the leg. After that, you might have to fill up any small holes or cracks with a wood filler and leave it to dry for a while. If the scrap is a bit large, then use one of the good legs as a guide and use a jigsaw to get adequate curvature on the fixed leg.
Make sure to level the bottom of the leg and keep it flush. You might need to use a rasp or a hand file to get the exact shape. After that, use sandpaper to get the surface nice and even. You can also use a sand block to match the shape and the finish of the original leg.
Step 6: Make Final Adjustments
Once you have achieved a satisfactory shape for the leg, you will have to flip the chair upside down. After doing that, check whether the stability of the chair is appropriate or not. If the bottom is not flush, you will face a lot of wobbles. So, you should get the bottom flushed out if that happens.
Once the stability of the chair is perfect, you should stain it to make it look normal. Use the same color that goes along with the color scheme of the chair. You might need a toner to make the color blend perfectly with the rest of the chair.
However, do make sure you are using a good toner, or else the blending will look a bit odd.
Final Words
Fixing a broken leg of a chair is not that much of a tedious task, and it can help you in the case of saving some money that you would have spent in a new set of chairs. With that said, we would like to conclude here by wishing you good luck and hoping that we were able to show you how to fix a broken chair leg appropriately.
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