How to fix a wobbly chair with a loose leg

30 minutes plus overnight. A few dollars.

Try this first (costs nothing): turn the chair over and wiggle each leg. Tighten every screw you see, with a screwdriver, until firm. A loose screw is the most common cause.

If a joint is loose

1. Pull the joint apart if it will come. Wipe old glue off with a damp cloth.
2. Add wood glue to the dowel and socket.
3. Push it together and wipe off squeezed-out glue.
4. Clamp, or use a strap, and leave it for 24 hours.
5. Test before sitting.

If the legs are different lengths, the chair rocks on a flat floor. Add a felt pad to the short leg, or sand the long one a tiny amount. Do this slowly.

If that does not work

• A split in the wood. Glue works on a clean crack, but a split near a joint usually fails again.
• Rust or a broken bracket. Replace the bracket.
• A very old or cheap chair. See the wobbly flat-pack shelf you should stop tightening for when to give up.

Fix it, replace it or live with it

Fix it if a screw or joint is loose. Replace it if the frame is split. Do not sit on a chair that creaks badly or slides, you could fall. A drawer that sticks is easier, see how to fix a sticking drawer.

Check the chair before you start

Press down on the seat and rock the chair gently. Look at where the wobble starts. If all four legs sit flat and the seat still moves, a joint under the seat is loose. If one leg is short, the wobble is on the floor. Fixing the wrong thing wastes an evening.

Worked example

Say a dining chair rocks sideways. You find one leg joint has a gap the width of a coin. You pull the leg out, scrape off the old glue, add fresh glue and clamp it. Next day it is solid. The whole job is about 20 minutes of work plus waiting for the glue to set.

Common mistakes

• Driving the same screw tighter. A stripped hole will not hold. Fill it with a matchstick and glue, then re-screw.
• Too much glue. It squeezes out and sets in a lump.
• Sitting on it too soon. Give the glue the time on the label.