broke great-grandmothers leg (with pics)

[John Daugherty]

I had a major bonehead incident yesterday. While I was moving my great-grandmothers dresser I broke the leg off the front. I need to fix it before the deed is found out. Could anyone give me some suggestions as to how you would repair the damage?

Picture one is looking down on the dresser from the front.

2 is looking from the underside of the dresser.

3 and 4 are of the broken leg itself.

5 is of the other leg attached

[Bob Hovde]

Being very careful to leave the outside edges intact, I would bore a hole in the middle of each side and epoxy a pin in the middle. A dowel might be strong enough, but I would probably use a metal pin. It should be fairly easy to match the finish at the joint with a furniture restorer kit. Good luck!

Bob

[Jerry Baldwin]

Don't do what I did! I had an old TV set that was on legs and one broke off. I just cut off the other three and made it a "table" model :D .

[Keel McDonald]

John

You can always cut off the leg at an inconspicious place, use the original one as a model to turn a new one, and use a dowell to reattach it. That way you could get it some extra practice turning and make your grandmother happy again too! Good luck.

[Bill Grumbine]

John, I will second Bob's suggestion. I do work for a furniture restorer from time to time, and this is his very method for cases like this. He bores an oversize hole for the pin that he is using, and then fills the thing with epoxy. The pin gives it strength, the oversize hole gives him the ability to align things exactly, and the epoxy fills the gaps. You will probably have to touch up the joint with some stain and finish, but unless your grandmother's eyes are very good, you should be able to get away with it.

Good luck.

Bill

[Lee Schierer]

If the leg is short enough, I would carefully glue it back on and then drill up into it to put in a pin. Otherwise drill an oversize hole and use epoxy. If you are careful aligning the part before the glue sets. Most likely you won't need to refinish it. Make sure you wipe off the glue squeezout before it sets up. Some brown shoe polish on a rag should make the joint disappear, without damaging the existing finish. Wipe it on, wait for it to dry a bit and buff it off.

I wouldn't say the break is entirely your fault. The wood looks like it has dried out from age and has gotten brittle. Some people call this dry rot. This is not uncommon in older pieces.

[Ken Salisbury]

Bob has has the right solution. Back several decades ago :) :D when I did a ton of antique furniture repair I used that method many times.

[Steve Inniss]

John,
Along the lines of what has already been suggested, I would add a bit to the method:
1. Hammer a finishing nail straight into the middle of one piece leaving only a quarter inch or so of the nail sticking out.
2. Nip off just below the head of the nail on an angle leaving somewhat of a point (file sharp if necessary).
3. Push the two pieces together aligning the break properly.
4. Pull them apart, pluck out the nail and use the nail holes to drill for a hardwood dowel (looks like you could use a 3/4"). Ensure the holes will allow for the dowel to go 1 1/2" on each side.
5. Glue it all up. I like to use polyurethane glue as it will expand into any little voids. Careful though, it can expand the joint back apart as it sets.
6. The expanded glue can easily be chiseled off before refinishing.

Great Grandma will never be aware and it will be as strong as ever. -Steve

[Jeremy Niemann]

John,
Along the lines of what has already been suggested, I would add a bit to the method:
1. Hammer a finishing nail straight into the middle of one piece leaving only a quarter inch or so of the nail sticking out.
2. Nip off just below the head of the nail on an angle leaving somewhat of a point (file sharp if necessary).
3. Push the two pieces together aligning the break properly.
4. Pull them apart, pluck out the nail and use the nail holes to drill for a hardwood dowel (looks like you could use a 3/4"). Ensure the holes will allow for the dowel to go 1 1/2" on each side.
5. Glue it all up. I like to use polyurethane glue as it will expand into any little voids. Careful though, it can expand the joint back apart as it sets.
6. The expanded glue can easily be chiseled off before refinishing.

Great Grandma will never be aware and it will be as strong as ever. -Steve

I've got a furniture restoration guide that shows the repair procedure exactly as Steve outlines (ie. using a nail to mark the dowel insert on both pieces to be joined). I can't recall the book title off the top of my head here at work (the book is at home), but it was one of those how to series that was on the bargain table at the local Borders once. The authors were serious antique furniture repairers in Britain and the book was just a pleasure to browse, even though the techniques are way beyond my skill level. I can get you the title/author if you are interested.

[Lynn Sonier]

It is my two cents worth that epoxing the piece back on, without a dowel or pin, will make it as strong as before. You may have to remove any splinters that keep the pieces from coming back tight. Use epoxy with a little thickening agent in it to fill all the voids.