Checking In With Chelsea

DIY ideas, crafts, and tips for your home

subscribe and never miss a thing!

Receive Free Email Updates

  • About
  • Videos
  • Projects
    • Indoor Projects
    • Outdoor Projects
    • Craft Projects
  • House Tour
You are here: Home / Indoor Projects / How to Repair Wooden Chair Leg

How to Repair Wooden Chair Leg

May 9, 2016 By Chelsea Lipford Wolf Leave a Comment

Projects are moving slow in the Wolf household. But it’s for good reason. We were away this past weekend celebrating my youngest sister’s graduation from Auburn University. Mary Helen got into the War Eagle spirit too!

7 month old baby in Auburn cheerleading uniform in front of Samford Hall

Her father may disown her since he’s a diehard fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but she’ll redeem herself with all of the ND gear she’ll be sporting come football season this fall! Go Irish!

Before we headed north to the plains of Auburn, Alabama, though, I put the finishing paint touches on my dining room chair repairs! And I’m so glad I did.

A little history about this dining room set. I used my parents’ hand-me-down set for a few years before I was ready for something different. I found my set on Craigslist. When I went to look at the table and chairs, I was so distracted by the cute spindles and blue painted accents I didn’t notice the less-than-stellar shape the furniture was in.

See these pretty spindles?!

pretty spun spindles on white dining room table legs

A few of the things I overlooked include giant chunks of the legs missing,

Chunk of Chair Leg Missing

unsightly screws used to attach the cross support to the legs,

Screw Holding Chair Support in Place

and some supports not even intact.

Chair Support Loose from Leg

Also a few cracks here and there.

Crack on Top of Chair Back

Immediately upon purchasing it, I added more padding to the seats and recovered the fabric. (The fabric you see in photos above.) And now I’ve had enough of switching chairs around so our guests don’t sit in a “bad chair” that I’m fixing what’s wrong with them!

The first thing I attacked was the bottom of the chair legs. We’ve used auto body filler (Bondo) on many occasions on Today’s Homeowner to replace rotten wood. So I picked up a fresh can. I also used a plastic spreader, paper plate, and sandpaper (not pictured).

can of bondo sitting on workbench repairing wooden chair leg

Lightly sanding the surface you’re applying Bondo to gives it a little something to stick to. A smooth surface will not do you much good. In my case, the chair legs had some ridges, I guess you’d call them, that were a perfect bonding surface for the filler.

To mix the Bondo you scoop out a golf ball sized amount of the gray stuff in the can with 1 and 1/4 inch of the red cream hardener that comes in a separate tube. (Check the cap before you buy any Bondo or similar product to ensure yours comes with a tube of the hardener. Sometimes they seem to grow legs and disappear off the store shelves…)

gray bondo filler with red cream hardener on paper plate

Only mix up what you can apply within a minute’s time or it will harden before you can use it! I used the same ratio to mix up a slightly smaller amount for my first go round. I used a plastic spreader (Bondo brand right next to the filler in the paint department) to butter the mixed filler onto my largest repair.

Bondo Applied to Bottom of Chair

I knew this would require several layers, so my first layer was as much as I could apply without it falling off. You don’t have to shape it and make it perfectly smooth since it’s very sandable.

bondo applied to bottom of wooden chair leg

It takes it about 30 minutes to harden and dry enough to sand it. I used a palm sander with 80-grit sandpaper to run along all 4 edges, making sure the new filler was flush with the existing part of the leg.

Bondo Repair After First Sanding

Then I mixed up some more filler and applied a second layer. In total I probably did 4 layers on the small repairs and 5-6 layers on the biggest repair, sanding in between layers. There were 4 legs in total that required attention.

Second Layer of Bondo Applied to Chair Leg

I measured a good chair leg to see how wide it was so I could match the same width on my repairs. Once the repairs matched that 1 1/2 inches, they were ready to be painted.

Completed Bondo Repair Before Paint

Before I painted, though, I wanted to complete my other repairs. For the supports that weren’t attached, I dripped some wood glue down in the holes the best I could. Some were easier than others.

applying titebond wood glue to chair support

Since the width of the chairs was wider than my largest clamps, I used alternative means to hold them together while the glue dried. I turned the chair sideways and used a fairly full can of paint on top of a piece of scrap plywood. It seemed to close the gap just fine.

paint can sitting on top of plywood on top of wooden chair

While that dried on one chair, I worked on sinking the screws on another chair. I used my countersink bit I also used to build my end table/shoe rack to create a recess for the screw head to sink into. Then I used some more Bondo to fill the hole. After a little drying and sanding, the hole and screw had disappeared and this repair was also ready for paint.

The crack on top of that one chair got a little wood glue and clamp time. No painting was required there, thankfully! Once all the other repairs were dry, I painted them with color-matched paint. I used the paint with primer to make sure the red tint of the Bondo didn’t show through my white paint once it dried.

Completed Chair Leg Repair

The time I took to shape the Bondo layer by layer paid off because even I can’t tell which legs are original and which ones have been repaired. Well I can tell, but only because they have new protective pads on the bottom!

Chair Leg After Bondo Repair and Paint

I’m still not sure why the screws were there in the first place, but I left them because I didn’t want to find out the hard way! Now no one will even know they are there!

Screw Covered with Bondo and Paint

With the extra work put in to making my chairs what they should have been in the first place, I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to purchasing items secondhand from Craigslist or VarageSale! Gotta look closely! Although it’s kind of nice to get to take the credit for this one. 🙂

Before and After of Wood Chair Repairs

Next up on my dining room to-do list is to hang some art n’ stuff on the walls before I repaint the top of the dining table that’s all scratched up.

Thanks for Checking In! ~ Chelsea

Subscribe for Free Updates!

Stay up-to-date on Chelsea's latest projects, tips, useful resources and more.

Previous Post
Quick Mother’s Day Craft
Next Post
Living Space Designer

Related Content

Completed Hand Painted Pennant Flag Banner Kid BedroomDIY Pennant Banner for Kids RoomCompleted Large Lighted Two and Zero NumbersDIY Lighted Marquee NumbersBrick Retaining Wall How to Waterproof and PaintWaterproofing Vertical Masonry WallSitting on Back Steps After Finally Sealing BricksStripping Paint from Bricks

Please Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

I’m Chelsea. DIY
enthusiast who loves
sharing my victories
and mishaps!
Learn more
here.

CHECK IN WITH CHELSEA ON INSTAGRAM

5 months in and she’s at the top of my favorites 5 months in and she’s at the top of my favorites list!🥰
.
.
Couldn’t resist using this audio.😅
Using my grandmother’s cookie press to make 🎄 Using my grandmother’s cookie press to make 🎄cookies I used to make as a kid in our brand new kitchen. My heart could burst!😭 I hope you are enjoying the preparation for the main event 😇and bring love and joy to your home, no matter what it looks like.❤️💚
.
.
#christmascookies #christmastrees #familytraditions #christmasbreak #newkitchen #kitchendecor #kitchendesign #madewithlove
3D art install in my girls’ girly bedroom!🦋😍Love this $13 pack of butterflies that comes with everything you need to fill a large wall! And it only takes 30 minutes!🙌🏻 Putting the link to the butterflies in my bio! (https://amzn.to/3VmfZsB)
.
.
First step is to layout the flow of your fluttering butterflies with the large and medium sizes from the pack, leaving room for the small ones. Then fill in spaces with the small size and pat yourself on the back! So easy!
The whole Wolfpack has been staying at my parents’ house on the river for the past week while our hardwood floors are being refinished. Since the kids had the whole week off of school it has really felt like a vacation! Complete with a sunny Sunday boat ride after Mass!🥰🚤☀️Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 😘
.
.
#generationalliving #3generations❤️ #4kidlife #grandparentlife #boatday #riverside #riverlifestyle #fowlriver #alabamalifestyle #alabamablogger #nofilterneeded
Dad and I got our tickets to the gun show!💥 . . Dad and I got our tickets to the gun show!💥
.
.
@todayshomeowner @visitmobileal #exploreyourhometown #hometownpride #mobilealabama #battleship #ussalabama #visitmobile
Watching a craftsman at work is something to behol Watching a craftsman at work is something to behold! Cabinet installers were at our house until 7pm last night working to install them just right. One cabinet isn’t tight against our old walls so they’re coming back to tweak it and close the gap. They could have just covered it with trim. Today 2 carpenters from our construction company briskly installed our old (gross) baseboards and new crown molding. It still always amazes me the difference molding can make in a project looking finished! Now…time to paint! What color for crown? Match the cabinets or go with white throughout?!
.
.
Wallpaper is vintage
Cabinet color Virtual Taupe (@sherwinwilliams)
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Indoor Projects Outdoor Projects Craft Projects
Facebook Pagelike Widget
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Advertise with Chelsea
  • Media
  • Today’s Homeowner

Search This Site

Receive Free Updates Via Email

Copyright © 2023 Checking in With Chelsea • All Rights Reserved