Need some furniture repair advice

[BWR1953]

Yesterday we picked up this used solid oak microwave cart from craigslist. The price had been $100 for several days then suddenly dropped to $25 so we jumped on it. It's a good sized unit and will work well for our application.

Picked it up after dark and didn't notice any damage... until one of the casters just fell out of the bottom of the leg as we were loading it into my wifes car. The seller just said "yeah, that's loose and you'll need to glue it on." I didn't worry over it for the price and just took it home. We haven't even cleaned it up yet.

This morning I took a good look and learned that the leg had previously split and been poorly repaired. See pix.

Am looking for ideas on how to get this unit rolling again!

I was thinking that I could drill the hole out larger, glue in a dowel, then redrill it for a new caster socket.

Thoughts?


These first 6 pix are from the craigslist ad.















And these are pix of the damaged leg.

 

[jbcurt00]

Do you have the caster insert that goes in that hole?

 

[BWR1953]

Do you have the caster insert that goes in that hole?

Sorta. It was broken into 3 pieces. :grumpy:

 

[JASinIL2006]

Check out rockler.com. Lots of woodworking/caster options.

 

[BWR1953]

Check out rockler.com. Lots of woodworking/caster options.

I just checked it out. No help there.

 

[proshadetree]

Any reason you cant drill and move the caster back a bit on the leg in question?

 

[Bayou Dave]

You could try mixing up a batch of 50/50 saw dust and wood glue and pack it tightly in the hole. Let it dry for a day and then redrill the hole.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Interesting. I have an old oak table where some original screws have stripped. I was thinking about the dowel fix too. Curious to read all the replies to your issue....... Basically, same issue.

 

[aspeck]

Marine plywood and proper fiberglassing is a must! LOL! I like the dowel and drill idea, but I would also add a U-brace to go around the bottom and hold the broken pieces in place so the dowel didn't have a chance to further loosen the cracked/broken piece of wood that allowed the caster to come free. Basically tighten the whole bottom up a bit. And if you WANT to put a layer of glass over the top, well, you COULD do that also so you felt like you were working on the boat....

 

[ezmobee]

Shoulda bought an aluminum microwave stand. Then you wouldn't be having all these problems :lol:

 

[Volphin]

I'd remove the wedge and try to repair it. First, remove the wedge and the leg if you can. It's easier to work with on the bench. Then, glue up the split by using a quality wood glue and clamping it flat. Let that dry for a few days. Then, go purchase some hardwood dowel rod, one size Larger than the hole is now. Drill out the hole to the larger size, leaving a little room for the glue bond. Coat the dowel lightly in glue and insert into the hole. Let that section dry for a few days. Drill the dowel to the proper size, and get another caster insert at the a big box store. Carefully install the insert and caster. Enjoy.

 

[Volphin]

Oh, another option is to remove all the casters and reframe the bottom with 2 x 1 inch wide oak toe strip. Lowes/HD has some. Just stain it to match, then attach to the bottom of the cart with countersunk wood screws. (pre drill your holes in the cart and toe strip) You can drill it to install new casters, and you have gained 2 inches in overall height.

 

[gm280]

You all are making too much out of this easy repair. First see if those broken out parts are removable. If so take them off and clean any and all glue the PO used to glue it back together. That way you can reclamp them back into proper place. Once you have all the glue removed off all the broken parts. Clean the surfaces well and mix up some quality epoxy glue and assembly them all back together. The fact that they are the same parts that broke off means the will seal up well when you clamp them. Let that cure and then use a drill and drill out the hole to a larger size. The initial hole will guide the drill so you can get it all drilled clean. Then us a hardwood dowel of the same size and epoxy that back in the hole you just drilled. Allow that to cure and cut off and sand flush. Now you can buy the sleeve for the caster and drill the appropriate size hole for it and install the caster again. It will be like new. If you can't find a sleeve for the caster, buy four new casters with their associated sleeves and install news one all the way around. Easy peasy. JMHO

 

[southkogs]

Shoulda bought an aluminum microwave stand. Then you wouldn't be having all these problems :lol:

^^^^ I was so close to posting the same thing :lol:

 

[jbcurt00]

^^^^ I was so close to posting the same thing :lol:

And I WANT that cart....

Good luck BWR, you now have multiple repair methods.


IMO 4 new casters and sleeves would be a good choice. Even if you mounted a new 3/4 oak rail along side the old on both sides to mount them into.

 

[wrvond]

It's your own fault for not getting a survey done in the first place. Now you're going to have to remove the entire leg assembly and replace it with all new wood.

Otherwise, Volphin has laid out two very good quality repair methods.

 

[fishrdan]

Clean all the old glue out of the crack (Xacto knife or sand paper), may have to spread it apart a bit more to clean it properly, then epoxy it back together. I wouldn't be shy about even using JB Weld, but tape up the exposed wood so it doesn't stick to the exterior wood. Before the epoxy really sets hard, scrape the bits out of the hole while it's still a bit pliable.

 

[redneck joe]

Why do you need casters? How often do you expect to need to roll your microwave around the house?

 

[Scott Danforth]

McMaster Carr for casters
Tite-Bond III and a small clamp to repair the wood

put new caster in hole with some TBIII and put tape over the sides of the wood, use a small c-clamp to hold the pieces together for about 30 minutes. the TBIII should have oozed out. wipe up what you can. after 30 minutes, remove the clamp and tape and with a wet cloth remove the remainder of the TBIII

allow to dry overnight

then use.

 

[gm280]

You could just cut that leg off shorter and use a book under it to level it out. :deadhorse: