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I got a wood cut and bought adjustable table legs, secured the legs to the wood, but the table wobbles/shakes horribly side to side, and sometimes even the other way when i even only write something slowly on it.

The things i tried so far to fix it:

  1. Leveling the legs.
  2. Putting cork slices under the legs.
  3. wrapping fishing line between the crossing legs. (not all around the all legs)

It only stops shaking a little bit if i lean the table to something standing still but i don't want to use it that way, also i don't want to fix the table to the wall.

If i am not wrong i need to add braces to the table, but i don't know how to do it. Should they be installed only between the legs, or also secured to the bottom of the table too?

The legs are not wooden also have no places to add anything onto it. How can i add these braces and where can i find braces with a desired length?

The way the legs secured to the table, and the added fishing line.

enter image description here

fishing line crossing the legs.

Table dimensions : 104 x 54 cm.

overall table

Thanks in advance.

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  • Table dimensions : 104 x 54 cm. ![enter image description here](i.stack.imgur.com/J6oqc.jpg)
    – user3081
    Dec 25, 2016 at 17:19
  • 1
    Are these legs strong by themselves? I mean, if you lift a corner of your table and apply force to move a leg, does it shake? Dec 25, 2016 at 18:06
  • You may not be able to fix this table using these legs. Their bases look like they are firmly attached to the table so there's no 'play' there (the bases don't move at all), if that is so the problem is in how the legs attach to their own bases/flanges which you may not be able to do anything to rectify.
    – Graphus
    Dec 25, 2016 at 20:00

2 Answers 2

2

You need triangles. Triangles make all the difference and make things stronger.

Something like this would make a huge difference, though it isn't ideal for a table you sit at. enter image description here

However braces on each leg to the base of the table would be ideal such as you can see in this picture.
enter image description here

Without some kind of bracing you are going to have to live with wobble. 90 degree angles are the weakest and least stable.

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  • bowlturner, Are those braces in the second pic sold ? They look like the most suitable solution to my table but i have never seen such components being sold.
    – rumple
    Dec 28, 2016 at 19:32
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    I'm not sure. I would think someone would sell something like it. or someone might be able to fabricate them fairly easy. Doing a quick search I'm not finding much, maybe even looking at junk shops might net you something.
    – bowlturner
    Dec 28, 2016 at 20:44
  • fishing line is too stretchy to work for this purpose.
    – aaron
    Dec 28, 2016 at 21:01
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Take a piece of 1" x 1" or bigger if it will work. The piece should be about 3" longer than from one leg accross to the other leg...an "x" like you are doing with the fishing line.

Now, in one end cut (scroll or coping saw a "u" shape that will allow the wood to press against the leg and not slip off. If you are worried about chopping your fingers off, you could also cut a "V" shape. Press that end against a leg (get a helper to hold it there, go to the other end and mark where you need to cut so that you do the same thing on the other end. Remember it is always better to measure twice and cut once then the opposite. There's also better to leave it long, because you can always take more off but if you cut it short you can't put it back on ...u want it to be a little long anyway so that when you're done you have to tap one end into place with a mallet so that it is pressing against firmly against the leg. One thing I have noticed is that tables with 810 top tend to be more wobbly as there's no wait hold in the legs down you can also experiment with cutting square pieces of wood I mean triangle pieces of wood and putting them against the leg or you could even try plumbers pipe strap going from the bottom of the table top to the table leg

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