How to Repair Wooden Chair Legs

Wooden chair legs are usually the first thing to show signs of wear and tear. Chairs suffer some heavy abuse during their lifetime but instead of throwing out the chair and replacing it with a new one, it is very quick and easy to repair yourself, without great expense. For this exercise we are going to work on loose spindles.

Step 1 – Sanding

Remove the chair spindles and sand down the edge pieces that came from the dowel holes. Sometimes the dowel holes can split or become enlarged. If this has happened to your chair you can use small wooden tooth picks to wedge into the dowel hole when you replace the spindle.

Step 2 – Gluing

Glue the ends of the chair spindles and place them inside the dowel holes. If they show a little too much movement, slip a toothpick inside and break it off when there is enough inside to hold it tight.

Step 3 – Clamping

Use the band clamp around the entire chair legs to hold the frame tight enough to let the glue dry and keep the frame shape. When the glue has had enough time to dry, remove the clamp.