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How I did it: chair leg repair

Chair leg repair is tricky. Can you tell which leg was broken completely in half?  Neither can I unless I get about an inch away.

chair leg repair

The first thing I did was drill a dowel hole in each end of the broken leg.  For those of you who may not know what a dowel is, it is a round wooden rod.  We then inserted the dowel, packed it with epoxy and joined the leg back together.   As always the case where the two pieces comes back together there are imperfections in the finish.  Visible lines and cracks at the joint.  The next process is to repair the area of finish that’s been damaged. This involved sanding, filling, and coloring the area. Then spraying some lacquer over the entire affected area.

While chair leg repair isn’t as good or strong as a new chair, it is functional and was really the only option because locating a matching chair wasn’t doable.  Chairs legs are not something you want to look at and get that distressed look that other furniture might benefit from. Chair leg repair will hold up to normal use since the joint was reinforced with a dowel and the repaired finish passes as original from a couple feet away.


Other resources about chair leg repair

There are a number of resources available for you to explore when considering a chair leg repair, including the character changes that can take place to the wood and overall look. Working with a professional carpenter will help mitigate the scarred effect that can sometimes come from repairing wood and rejuvenating it back to its original splendor. It’s worth exploring your options before going down the route of hiring a carpenter to fix your chair – or even whether you should just go and buy a new one altogether. Check out the below links for more ideas on chair repair implications:

  • Buying chair repair components: Click here
  • More information on repairing broken chairs: Click here