How to Replace a Wooden Stool Leg
A wooden stool is of no use as long as one of its legs is broken. Yet a broken leg doesn't mean the stool is permanently useless and needs to be discarded. You can remove the broken leg and replace it with one that looks new and will be as sturdy and dependable as the one it replaces. All you need are a few tools, materials and a few good instructions.
Tools and Materials:
- Saw
- Wood lathe
- Hardwood piece (2 inches by 2 inches)
- Wood glue
- Drill and bit
- Measuring tape
- Wood dowel (3 inches)
Step 1 – Remove Spindle Screws from Your Broken Stool Leg
To replace the broken stool leg, you'll need to remove the leg from the spindles it is connected to. If it is attached to stool spindles by screws that run through the leg and into the end of a spindle that is inserted into the leg, remove the screws that attach it. Use the same procedure to remove the second spindle from the broken leg.
Step 2 – Remove Spindles that Are Glued to the Leg
If the broken leg is attached to spindles only with glue, try to work the leg loose from the spindle. If you are unable to do so, cut through the spindle at its end at the surface of the leg it's attached to. Bore out the remaining piece of spindle with your drill and wood bit. Measure the depth of the hole and the length of the spindle you cut off and then add the total depth of both leg holes you bored out. Make a note of this measurement so you'll be able to create a new spindle. Do this with each spindle that the broken leg is attached to.
Step 3 – Remove the Broken Leg from the Stool Seat
Use the same procedure as in Step 2 to remove the broken leg from the seat. Measure the length of the leg, including the piece that was cut from the leg and left in the seat. Make a note of this length.
Step 4 – Make a New Leg and Spindles
Use your wood lathe to make a new leg for your stool. With the measurements you took from the old leg, fit the 2-by-2-inch hardwood post into your lathe and shave it down to the size of the other stool legs. To make new spindles, cut two pieces of wood dowel that are the same diameter as the spindles in your stool.
Step 5 – Glue Your Leg and Spindles in Place
Apply wood glue to both ends of your two spindles and insert one end of each spindle into the legs they were taken from or the legs that remain in the stool. Apply glue to your new stool leg end that fits into the leg hole in the seat. Insert the leg into this hole. Finally, fit the ends of the two new spindles into the leg holes and allow the glue in the spindles and leg to dry completely.
