Dresser with a broken leg

This oak dresser is currently in our workshop. All original (mirror not shown in photo) it has some nice details.

Sadly as its been moved about it has broken a leg.

To sort this we drilled out both the leg & base to accept a piece of galvanised threaded rod. Both holes are about 3 inches deep allowing for a 6 inch rod to be inserted, enough to withstand normal moving forces.

Before we glue the assembly we’ll give it a dry fit to ensure everything goes together as planned.

To glue the rod in position we use epoxy resin. It is quite glutinous and when the rod is pushed into its hole it works a little like a piston and generally ‘refuses’ to go in. To overcome this we make a small ‘pressure release’ hole where the rod ends.

And here is the finished repair.

As to be expected with furniture that’s easily 100 years old there are other repairs to be made. And this piece is missing several drawer stops. Here’s a replacement we’ve glued in.

As always sequence of construction/fabrication is everything. If you can get your sequence right it goes a long way to making for an easier and more accurate job. And so the drawer stops are cut from a length of suitable stock. The required angle is cut into the bench hook stop & a a length marked with making tape. The saw will cut the angle and between each cut the stock is flipped resulting in the trapezoid shapes needed.

The last repair of the day is to glue in the bottom drawer guide. As we know gluing parts needs clamping pressure however the position of the guides makes it impossible to use conventional clamps. So we fashion some ‘pit props’ to wedge the guides in place.