Repair Furniture - Pine Secretary Desk

I recently had occasion to move my pine Secretary Desk that I use to store my dining room stuff in such as table cloths, placements, napkin rings, etc. I knew that one of the feet was loose but it turns out 2 of the 4 feet were unglued. Trying to move this piece on carpet was not easy so I decided I would just replace the feet with casters which make it easy to move.

I purchased what I needed.  I emptied the unit and I laid the piece on its back to do an assessment of the situation.  It turns out the 2 remaining feet were very well adhered to the base. It was clear that a significant effort would be needed and very likely result in damage to the base to remove them. 

Plan B.

I guess I will re-glue the feet to the base.  I removed the felt sliders that had been applied to the feet to allow for no scratches on a hard surface but of no help on carpet.  I decided to add small glider feet to each foot to help with the moving of the unit.

The glue on the top of the feet and on the base of the cabinet needed to be removed before proceeding with new glue.

I used a sanding drum on my Dremel tool to remove the dry glue from the all 4 surfaces.

That worked really well.  When the bulk of it was gone I finished it off with a bit of hand sanding to ensure I was completely back to the wood. I forgot to photograph the feet.

Before I glued the feet back to the unit I decided to add glider feet to all 4 feet.  I sanded the place where the felt pads had been adhered to the feet.

These are 1" circle feet attached with screws which were included.  I needed longer screws on the ball feet as there was a hole in the middle of the foot.  I was able to find what I needed in my stash.  I used my drill and a small bit to make a pilot hole in the rectangular feet.  

With all the feet ready to go I moved on to gluing the 2 feet to the base. I used Carpenter glue which I had on hand. I applied a generous amount to the leg and the base including the dowel and hole in the base.  I pressed the feet in place and wiped away the glue that was pressed out.  These had to stay in place for at least 30 minutes so I used what I had to do that. 

Packing Tape is what I had on hand so I made it as tight as I could with the tape.  Applied the tape in both directions.

I waited an hour and when I removed the tape they remained in place.

I had lifted the unit onto a stack of pine boards so that when I lifted the unit the pressure would not be on the legs.  That worked really well.  Once upright I just slid it off the boards and it was standing on it's own feet again.  I think the slider feet will be very helpful if and when I need to move it again.

Here it is back in it's place.

I added shim under the front feet to ensure that it sat tightly against the wall.

I filled it with all it's stuff and it looks great.

The glue will completely dry in 24 hours and the weight of the cabinet and contents should ensure good adherence.

I am really happy with these results.

I was able to roll with the problems, come up with solutions, execute them and got a great result.