How to Repair Furniture Casters / Legs
Many older furniture pieces have casters (wheels) on the feet. They add such charm and character to a piece. But during a furniture makeover, they sometimes need to be repaired without making the damage worse. Let me show you how to save a furniture's legs.
If the piece has moved around a lot, sometimes the casters will wear out and either crack the legs of the piece or wear the caster holes too big.
I found this very old, very brown table at a consignment store and knew it would be a fun and quick makeover! The top had so much character in the wood. The size and shape was very functional. But one thing that was not so beautiful on this piece were the broken caster feet. I sometimes will just remove casters, but it would make this table an awkward height - so the casters must be fixed and replaced.
My blog post has the details on how I painted the table a gorgeous blue/green paint color mix and kept the beautiful raw wood top looking its best. Just click on the blog link
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http://www.rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/furniturerepaircasters
To fix the casters, first remove any existing feet/hardware, and clean out the holes. Get a wood dowel rod that is the size of the existing hole (or a bit smaller), measure the depth of the hole and cut the pieces.
If you need to drill out your holes a little wider, or deeper, do so now. Put a dab of wood glue on the dowel pieces and pop them in the holes, making sure they are as flush as possible with the base of the feet.
Mix up some wood filler and apply it, always add MORE than you need in the space, so make sure it fills in the space around the dowel rod and into any cracks that may be on the feet.
Once it's dry, grab some sandpaper, and sand it smooth.
If you don't want to add new casters, but just want to repair and reinforce the feet, you are finished now. If you are adding new casters, continue on!.
This next part is important... you are going to need two drill bits. One needs to be smaller than the size of the hole you need. YOU MUST DRILL A SMALL PILOT HOLE FIRST. If you don't you'll crack your feet again, and be back at square one (trust me, I speak from experience!). Once you have a smaller hole than you need, grab the proper size for your new caster wheels and drill that hole.
Pop in your new wheels (most old style casters have two parts so put the anchor in first, then the wheel). I had these old casters in my stash, so I didn't have to buy brand new ones, but they are available if you need them.
A little repair, paint and oil make this piece like new (well, almost). Next time you see a set of broken casters, don't fear - you can fix it!
Get more handy furniture flipping tips and makeovers from my weekly blog!!
You should also find me on Facebook: @rootsandwingsfurniture where I share furniture transformations and live painting tips and projects!
You can always click on the blog link below to see more pictures of this project and get the details on the paint colors .... AND SEE THE FINAL MAKEOVER!
Frequently asked questions
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