Hi -- I need to trim the legs of a new desk we just bought. By about 5 inches.

It has veneer top, but I believe the legs are solid wood. How to tell? Does it matter?

Anyway, how should I make my cut in order to avoid ruining the finish? I'd like to avoid splintering and having to do any sanding, re-staining, etc.

Any suggestions on saws, techniques, blades, etc?

Thanks.

Hi, antipode12!

First of all, why are you needing to shorten the legs, please? Five inches is quite a bit to cut off.

The legs are most likely "solid" wood, but may be comprised of a number of pieces of wood that have been glued together. Don't really know... None-the-less, most likely, they are "solid".

Are the legs at a 90 degree angle to the floor, or are they slanted in any way? That's something that very important to know so as to determine the angle of the cut that you will make.

No matter how good the saw that you use, and how precise that you are in the cutting of the legs, most likely, you will be needing to do at least a little touch-up of the finish on the bottom of the legs as well as the sides so that moisture is less likely to damage anything.

We also don't know if you have glides or casters on the bottoms of the legs. That is also something that needs to be known here.

Thanks!

Thanks for replying, Clough -- I was hoping I'd hear from you.

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First of all, why are you needing to shorten the legs, please? Five inches is quite a bit to cut off.

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It's for my wife -- she's using it as a vanity with a short little stool -- too short. The other reason is that it is a dormered room with low ceilings, so the scale is wrong.

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The legs are most likely "solid" wood, but may be comprised of a number of pieces of wood that have been glued together. Don't really know... None-the-less, most likely, they are "solid".

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It *looks* like solid wood, but it may have a veneer. I really can't tell.

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Are the legs at a 90 degree angle to the floor, or are they slanted in any way? That's something that very important to know so as to determine the angle of the cut that you will make.

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This is the good news. Perpendicular and nice, squared off legs.

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No matter how good the saw that you use, and how precise that you are in the cutting of the legs, most likely, you will be needing to do at least a little touch-up of the finish on the bottom of the legs as well as the sides so that moisture is less likely to damage anything.

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OK, but should I use my chop saw, table saw, hand saw? Do I tape the area to be cut? Any suggestions to minimize the damage?

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We also don't know if you have glides or casters on the bottoms of the legs. That is also something that needs to be known here.

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None.

Thanks again.

If you can remove them from the table and use your chop saw with a fine toothed blade. Score the legs all the way around at the cut location with a boxe blade cutter to heep it from splintering then cut at the mark. Then take a block of wood with a medium grit sandpaper and knock off the edges with a downward stroke so not to cause chipping. Then you can add casters or nail padded footing into the bottom of the legs. ( Also if you want to find a scratch polish that matches the color of the table to do touch up"s with in case you have anything that needs it. )

That is excellent advice from 02dodgeman above!