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I just acquired a VV-80 that is in decent shape except one of the front legs is broke off right where it meets the cabinet (I have the leg). You can tell it has been this way for a LONG time. My original thoughts were to peg it and then finish with putty. Has anyone performed such surgery?

Thanks again!

T

There are certainly better woodworkers than myself but I would be tempted to use a dowel. I would drill up into the cabinet and down into the broken off leg. I think it would be very difficult to drill an exact sized hole and expect them to line up properly. I'd drill a hole a little large so you could adjust the point where it is broken. I'd put it together without glue to test things. If I was pleased I would put some epoxy into each hole and assemble. I'd try to stand it up while it dried maybe with a little artificial support. Jerry B.

Jerry is spot on with his instructions. I'll add that the way I align something that I am assembling with a dowel is to drive a small nail into the leg where the dowel will go, snip off the nail with just enough sticking up to make a mark on the cabinet and then tap the leg in place. Remove the leg and drill the dowel hole in the cabinet. Remove the cut-off nail and drill the corresponding dowel hole in the leg. I would use Elmers wood glue to assemble it in case you ever need to remove the leg for some reason. Wood glue will hold wood together just as well as epoxy. You can buy splined wooden dowels at Home Depot. They work really well! If you need extra strength due to the wieght of the machine, you can add a metal L-bracket to the inside where it is hidden.

Jerry B. wrote:There are certainly better woodworkers than myself but I would be tempted to use a dowel. I would drill up into the cabinet and down into the broken off leg. I think it would be very difficult to drill an exact sized hole and expect them to line up properly. I'd drill a hole a little large so you could adjust the point where it is broken. I'd put it together without glue to test things. If I was pleased I would put some epoxy into each hole and assemble. I'd try to stand it up while it dried maybe with a little artificial support. Jerry B.

Thats what I am leaning towards. There is not a lot of meat that will join the two together, I think a dowel will be the way to go. Outside of cutting flush on both ends and placing a new piece between which I cannot see how to make that look right. I think I can make it somewhat inconspicuous, but it will be what it will be. The guy was getting rid of it so I will at least save it.

hearsedriver wrote:Jerry is spot on with his instructions. I'll add that the way I align something that I am assembling with a dowel is to drive a small nail into the leg where the dowel will go, snip off the nail with just enough sticking up to make a mark on the cabinet and then tap the leg in place. Remove the leg and drill the dowel hole in the cabinet. Remove the cut-off nail and drill the corresponding dowel hole in the leg. I would use Elmers wood glue to assemble it in case you ever need to remove the leg for some reason. Wood glue will hold wood together just as well as epoxy. You can buy splined wooden dowels at Home Depot. They work really well! If you need extra strength due to the wieght of the machine, you can add a metal L-bracket to the inside where it is hidden.

Thats a great trick! I think this is the route I am going to try. I will try to take some before and after pics.

Its a nice little machine, hated to see it get trashed just because of a broke leg!

Thanks again guys!

T

Be sure to drill a small pilot hole for the nail. You wouldnt want to split the leg.

One other thought: Since the leg bears a substantial amount of weight, instead of a dowel you might screw in a lag bolt to the cabinet, cut off the hex end afterward and insert the bolt shaft (like a dowel) into the leg using JB Weld 2 mix epoxy. Also, there are double ended furniture lag bolts that have threads on both ends, but require fairly precise alignment to screw them together (the leg would screw onto the cabinet). The double lag would work well, if the hole in the leg were just a hair on the large side - the threads would be used to hold the epoxy to give it more "grab". Both methods would allow a margin of error for final alignment and since the bolt would be inserted into the leg portion, the force of the weight would be downward. Once secured, this would prevent any sideways movement of the cabinet from re-breaking the repair... just a thought.

As far as aligning the drill for the second hole, look up tenon centers on the Internet. You place one of these handy items into the first hole, align the leg where it is supposed to be, then press it down on the tenon center to get a center point to drill your next hole. An obscure but cheap and handy woodworking tool. I found mine at Harbor Freight, but they seem to be available online from Walmart and other places.

Steve

That are great! I am going to look into that!

T

Yes, it be ! !