My coffee table is 34 years old and has bcome unsteady. The joints and legs are not held together with nails. I thought the best way to fix it would be to turn the table upside down, determine which joints were loose and then use an expanding wood glue (as opposed to regular wood glue that I would have to use in conjunction with clamps) to fill the joints. Has anyone ever tried to repair wood furniture with this type of problem using expanding wood glue? Is there a better way to repair the table?

If the legs and joints are not held together with nails or anything else, such as screws, I would try to remove the legs from the table by loosening the joints by carefully prying them apart with a wood chisel. If you find things to be breaking by doing this, then I would try to loosen them up just enough so that you can ease some regular wood glue in the spaces that need to be glued.

If you are not wanting to use clamps, then I would drill screw holes and countersink the tops of the screws into the joints so that the tops are then flush with the surface of the wood. Screw in the screws then with a screwdriver.

I really wouldn't go using an expanding wood glue on the piece of furniture if you are not used to using expanding glues. They take experience to use if you are using them on furniture.

I would also like to suggest calling up a handyman in your area who may be experienced with fixing furniture. You could try the Yellow Pages of the phone book or look for a handyman in your area by doing a search on the Internet.

Anyone who also refinishes furniture for a living or even part time could probably help you with the problem.

There really isn't an easy, quick-fix to this if you don't want to use clamps and you want your furniture to look as good as possible.

If you aren't really concerned about the looks of your furniture as being perfectly evenly shaped, then there is always the possibility of using glue sticks and a glue gun on the joints. By doing so would be a quick-fix, if that is what you are looking for.

Thread is old and has been answered sufficiently.

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