Something happened to my daughter’s el cheapo, white art table a couple weeks ago. It could have been some serious painting and coloring going on, or it could have been me standing on it to hang some Christmas decorations, but let’s not point fingers.
Here’s what happened. I turned it into a tri-pod I mean SOMEONE turned it into a tripod.
I could have gone out to target and bought a new one, but like I’ve said before, this is Dadand, and here we fix stuff. Like the time I fixed the Alumawallet my daughter got me for Father’s day, or the time I fixed her horse ear with sugru, or even my last post, about fixing her Crayola Crayon bank.
So what’s the first thing you do when tackling a job???
Step 1: Inspect the problem
I see here that there are anchors in the table leg that you screw the bolts into. Apparently the table was not meant to hold an adult male human. FINE, I broke it. Happy?

Overtightening + too much weight = busted up chiffarobe (yes, i know this isn't a chiffarobe, didn't you ever read To Kill A Mockingbird? Geez.)
Step 2: Think of repair options
Well, glue is not going to hold this. Tape is out. I could try and fire a bunch of screws into the thing but there’s no way that’s holding so I’m going with my only option: recreate what the manufacturer originally intended, but on the opposite side of the leg. I’d drill out a couple holes, screw the anchors back in, and glue the broken pieces back in to kind of make it look decent enough for a kid’s art table.
Step 3: Fix it
First I took the blown out wood and traced where my new holes would go.
Then I had to find the proper-sized drill bit. (Choose the bit that’s a little smaller than the middle shaft part of your screw or anchor.) I DID mark the depth of the anchor too, but I decided to just go ahead and drill through the entire leg for the heck of it.
For fun, I decided to countersink just a little bit. The anchors would sit flush and I’d get a tighter fit and stronger legs.
Then it was as simple as twisting in the anchors with the right allen wrench and bolting it back together.
There, now it’s perfect. And it’s perfect because the busted up leg is in the back corner and this decent one is out front.
The best part, I saved myself $95 because I didn’t have to run out to target and get a new table.
Does everyone fix their broken stuff instead of scrapping it and buying new? Or is it just us? I hope for the Earth’s sake you try and fix it first, but if you hate the Earth then that’s your problem. Prove you love the Earth by letting me know what you’ve fixed around the house.
3 Comments
Jane Dagmi
I was about to say that I hadn’t fixed or busted anything, but then I thought of the seams I sewed, thereby extending the life of 4 garments. That counts!
Pete Fazio
That counts for sure. I Stitch Witheried some jeans to get more life out of them. http://www.dadand.com/2011/10/14/bluejean-repair/
Pete Fazio
That counts for sure. I Stitch Witcheried some jeans to get more life out of them. http://www.dadand.com/2011/10/14/bluejean-repair/