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?

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?

If it's an antique, using metal destroys the antiquishness of it.

You could reproduce the original blocks in the same kind of wood and restore
the table to its original condition.

A picture would probably help the experts point you in the right direction.

"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
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?

If it's an antique, using metal destroys the antiquishness of it.

You could reproduce the original blocks in the same kind of wood and
restore the table to its original condition.

A picture would probably help the experts point you in the right
direction.
And once you restore an antique, it isn't one any more.

In article ,
"ng_reader" wrote:


And once you restore an antique, it isn't one any more.

That might be true with a vase from the Ming Dynasty, or a helmet from
the Roman Legion. But it's hardly true with furniture and cars.

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:21:29 -0700, 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?

This message posted in rec.woodworking instead of here, along with a
picture posted to alt.bianries.pictures.woodworking, would have a
greater chance of someone getting you started in the best direction.

G.S.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"ng_reader" wrote:


And once you restore an antique, it isn't one any more.

That might be true with a vase from the Ming Dynasty, or a helmet from
the Roman Legion. But it's hardly true with furniture and cars.

Oh, it's _absolutely_ true w/ "real" antique furniture, too.

"Restoration" is very definitely an art there no less than it would be
for the vase or other historical artifact.

--

Gordon Shumway wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:21:29 -0700, 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?

This message posted in rec.woodworking instead of here, along with a
picture posted to alt.bianries.pictures.woodworking, would have a
greater chance of someone getting you started in the best direction.

Well, I frequent both but few servers do binaries any longer so not many
will see abpw I think (and not I for sure); one of the hosting sites
probably better if were to post pics.

Anyway, guess it depends on whether there really is anything to the
piece other than a machine-produced (guessing) early to mid-20th century
piece or not.

As for what type of wood, any idea what it was that was used from the
removal process? In the purest sense, one replaces parts w/ as near
duplicates as one can manage including the material. If there were
idiosyncracies in the original construction, preserving them is part of
preserving value. Again, if it was just a mass-produced piece as is
likely, not so much concern--they probably just used whatever secondary
wood they had and stamped out the glue blocks willy-nilly.

How are the rails fitted to the legs? Are they just dowels or M&T or
can you tell? If the legs are wobbly that indicates those joints have
failed as well and it would be _a_good_thing_ (tm) to try to reglue them
as well as the glue blocks alone may be sufficient for the long haul.

_IF_ (the proverbial "big if") you really only want a functional table
and not worried about value (which indications would be if even
considering the Al angle idea ), I'd just make replacement blocks
from some straight-grained wood and use Titebond yellow glue or another
brand of equivalent. I would likely use a scrap piece of the soft maple
I happen to have a bunch of at the moment because it doesn't split, is
relatively hard (as compared to pine/poplar/etc.) but is still
relatively easily worked (as compared to, say, sugar maple). Lacking
that, a piece of clear, _dry_ yellow pine would suffice, or oak or
similar if happen to have some of it. Just want to avoid really soft
stuff like most construction "white wood" tubafor spruce, etc., and
obviously the treated construction scraps.

If the rails and leg surfaces are really cleaned very well to a bare
surface and the blocks fit well, you can simply apply a generous coat of
glue to the block faces and hand press it into place with a little
movement to really seat it well and dispense w/ clamping. If you have
some clamps handy, go ahead and use them, of course, but can get
perfectly adequate repair w/o them if the parts fit well and are clean.

HTH...

--

In article ,
dpb wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"ng_reader" wrote:


And once you restore an antique, it isn't one any more.

That might be true with a vase from the Ming Dynasty, or a helmet from
the Roman Legion. But it's hardly true with furniture and cars.

Oh, it's _absolutely_ true w/ "real" antique furniture, too.

"Restoration" is very definitely an art there no less than it would be
for the vase or other historical artifact.

--

An art, sure. But the fact that something has been restored, doesn't
necessarily mean it's no longer an antique. The point is, you can repair
furniture, but it's probably not a good idea to make new arms for the
Venus de Milo, or touch-up a cave painting with fresh ink.

There are plenty of hacks out there, all you have to do is pick up your
local "auto trader" rag and turn to the antique section. But if you
watch the Barret-Jackson auto auction, you'll see many cars that
evidently haven't had their value destroyed by restoration.

In the case of my table, my primary considerations are structural
integrity, and not having to do the job more than once. Purity and
resale value are very low on the priority list.

In article ,
dpb wrote:

Gordon Shumway wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:21:29 -0700, 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?

This message posted in rec.woodworking instead of here, along with a
picture posted to alt.bianries.pictures.woodworking, would have a
greater chance of someone getting you started in the best direction.

Well, I frequent both but few servers do binaries any longer so not many
will see abpw I think (and not I for sure); one of the hosting sites
probably better if were to post pics.

Anyway, guess it depends on whether there really is anything to the
piece other than a machine-produced (guessing) early to mid-20th century
piece or not.

As for what type of wood, any idea what it was that was used from the
removal process? In the purest sense, one replaces parts w/ as near
duplicates as one can manage including the material. If there were
idiosyncracies in the original construction, preserving them is part of
preserving value. Again, if it was just a mass-produced piece as is
likely, not so much concern--they probably just used whatever secondary
wood they had and stamped out the glue blocks willy-nilly.

How are the rails fitted to the legs? Are they just dowels or M&T or
can you tell? If the legs are wobbly that indicates those joints have
failed as well and it would be _a_good_thing_ (tm) to try to reglue them
as well as the glue blocks alone may be sufficient for the long haul.

_IF_ (the proverbial "big if") you really only want a functional table
and not worried about value (which indications would be if even
considering the Al angle idea ), I'd just make replacement blocks
from some straight-grained wood and use Titebond yellow glue or another
brand of equivalent. I would likely use a scrap piece of the soft maple
I happen to have a bunch of at the moment because it doesn't split, is
relatively hard (as compared to pine/poplar/etc.) but is still
relatively easily worked (as compared to, say, sugar maple). Lacking
that, a piece of clear, _dry_ yellow pine would suffice, or oak or
similar if happen to have some of it. Just want to avoid really soft
stuff like most construction "white wood" tubafor spruce, etc., and
obviously the treated construction scraps.

If the rails and leg surfaces are really cleaned very well to a bare
surface and the blocks fit well, you can simply apply a generous coat of
glue to the block faces and hand press it into place with a little
movement to really seat it well and dispense w/ clamping. If you have
some clamps handy, go ahead and use them, of course, but can get
perfectly adequate repair w/o them if the parts fit well and are clean.

HTH...

--

Terrific, thanks for all that. It no longer looks as though I'll be able
to get this done before I head out of town for the weekend, which is a
shame, because the table is going where I'm going.

Thanks to all for suggestions, I'll follow up next week.

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?

A photo would help a lot. One primary concern would be whether the
screw holes on the table have been stripped to the point there isn't
sufficient room for another. In my antique collecting days, I ran
across furniture that had been mended with mending plats or the new,
cheap, angles - never very strong. If the blocks are cracked, cut
another from some sort of close-grained wood, with grain horiz. to make
the joint strong as possible. Removing old glue probably isn't critical,
but smoothe, flush fit is. Elmer's Wood Glue is good. My hubby
recently repaired the plank seat of an imitation antique wood office
chair, using Gorilla Wood Glue, which is holding (he is a big, heavy
guy). Gorilla sets up fast, and requires clamping for ?24 hrs, but I am
surprised that it is holding - plank seats are tough to glue.

Smitty Two wrote:
....
...the fact that something has been restored, doesn't
necessarily mean it's no longer an antique. ...

I guess I completely misread you're intent originally, sorry...

--

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?

Aluminum won't cut it. Not near strong enough to keep the rails tight and
unmoving against the legs. Not if you're thinking of something like 1/8" x
1" x 1" Ls.
______________

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

Yes. Hard wood. Oak, maple, birch...like that. Assuming the wood is
clean - no dirt, no finish, no stain - yellow glue would be good.

Many times corner blocks are physically joined to the rails as well as being
glued; i.e., there is some sort of joint between the two (on better
furniture, at least).

Naturally, the corner block ends have to be mitered. Mitered ends glue a
whole lot better than end grain but they still aren't super; therefore,
screws help. Wide helps too.

If the legs project inward from the apron I like to cut a small, 90 degree +
notch in the inboard side of the blocks so I can (a) contact the leg corner
and (b) give me some to and fro motion of the blocks to make perfect contact
with the rails. I also put a heavy screw through the block into the leg.

Remember that the original ones were junk, don't copy them, make better
ones.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

ng_reader wrote:

If it's an antique, using metal destroys the antiquishness of it.

You could reproduce the original blocks in the same kind of wood and
restore the table to its original condition.

A picture would probably help the experts point you in the right
direction.
And once you restore an antique, it isn't one any more.

Okay, good point. I'll rephrase:

You could reproduce the original blocks in the same kind of wood and repair
the table back to its original condition.

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?

All right, I said I'd follow up on this thread this week ... here's a
picture link -- this shows one leg with old blocks mostly removed. if
anyone has anything to add based on this, I'm all ears.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/leg1.jpg

In article ,
dpb wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
...
...the fact that something has been restored, doesn't
necessarily mean it's no longer an antique. ...

I guess I completely misread you're intent originally, sorry...

--

De nada. I appreciate your detailed responses, and may well decide to
follow your suggestions. I'm just waffling on the effort vs. reward
ratio. I'm pretty sure the aluminum angle will be much faster than
fabricating new wood blocks, and completely adequate from a strength
standpoint. But, I'm in less of hurry now than I was when I originally
posted, since the first delivery opportunity slipped by and I now have
another month to do the job.

Smitty Two wrote:
....
De nada. I appreciate your detailed responses, and may well decide to
follow your suggestions. I'm just waffling on the effort vs. reward
ratio. I'm pretty sure the aluminum angle will be much faster than
fabricating new wood blocks, and completely adequate from a strength
standpoint. But, I'm in less of hurry now than I was when I originally
posted, since the first delivery opportunity slipped by and I now have
another month to do the job.

Relative effort would depend almost entirely on what one has to work
with...the other portion is imponderable beyond yourself, of course, and
dependent on the (unknown) condition/quality/value of the piece itself.

--

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
dpb wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
...
...the fact that something has been restored, doesn't
necessarily mean it's no longer an antique. ...

I guess I completely misread you're intent originally, sorry...

--

De nada. I appreciate your detailed responses, and may well decide to
follow your suggestions. I'm just waffling on the effort vs. reward
ratio. I'm pretty sure the aluminum angle will be much faster than
fabricating new wood blocks, and completely adequate from a strength
standpoint.

Adequate, maybe, depends on what you do and how you do it. Ditto faster.

Personally, I'd use wood glued and screwed to both the apron and leg after
cleaning up both. And bigger than the original ones. BTW, the piece of
blocking still there appears to be poplar. In fact, leg and aprons may be
the same.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

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

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

clipped

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

Nice job, gorgeous table, pretty yard. Tks for the update.