Thrift store nightstand was a disaster waiting to happen until I glued the legs back on with wood glue

Grabbed an old nightstand from Goodwill for $8 last Saturday. Got it home, set a lamp on it, and one leg just snapped off clean. Turned out the previous owner had just screwed into particle board with zero glue. I cleaned out the old holes, packed them with wood glue and toothpicks, then clamped the leg on for 24 hours. Three days later it's holding up fine with a stack of books on it. Anyone else run into furniture that's falling apart because someone skipped the glue?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela19119d ago

Wood glue and toothpicks is a classic fix, but honestly, sometimes people skip glue because the furniture is just too far gone. The particle board in those cheap nightstands is basically compressed sawdust, no amount of glue will hold if the material itself is crumbling. You got lucky with a clean snap, but I've had similar particle board joints just turn to mush when I tried to fix them. Sometimes the best fix is drilling all the way through and using a long bolt with a washer on the inside, glue won't help if there's nothing solid to grip onto.

blakem8219d ago

Knew a guy who tried the bolt trick on a nightstand, mdf just crumbled around the washer.