In article
,
Smitty Two wrote:

So the semi-antique coffee table I picked up on eBay has wobbly legs.
The table seems well-constructed but the little wooden triangular prism
leg-bracing blocks were all either cracked in two, or the glue had
separated from one face of the block or the other.

I've knocked them all off and cleaned up the residual glue from the
legs. Since I'm more of a machinist than I am a woodworker, I'm tempted
to replace them with some little pieces of lightweight aluminum angle
and some small screws. Any reason not to do that, other than purity?

If I go wood, does it matter what type of wood I use, and what type of
glue?

OK, this is finally done. I spent a great deal of time waffling on how
to do it, and I appreciate all the good suggestions I got here. I'm sure
the purists will cringe, but I went with the aluminum angle. I'm much
more comfortable with metal than I am with wood.

I had the pieces black anodized and put them in with black oxide screws.
The screws (#8 x 7/8) really sucked everything up tight. I did have to
drive a couple of them at an angle to keep them from running into each
other.

Repair: http://members.cox.net/prestwich/8t.jpg

Table: http://members.cox.net/prestwich/6t.jpg