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enter image description hereI have started to build a farmhouse table and now facing an issue in the build. The Storage Area i have built is rocking and i believe one of the legs as shown in the attached picture is a slight 1 - 2 mm above the ground and guess this is causing the wobble.

Any Suggestions on how do i rectify this and improve the build as I am new woodworker and this is my first project.

Note : I have glued the Aprons that connect my two legs and i found the wobble only after that and i am using pocket holes for jointery.

Please find the plan and my build images as shown in the picture below. 1. Plan of My Desk 2. Image of the Leg which is slightly higher from the ground 3. Straight View of the storage area 4. Top View of the storage area Desk Plan[![][1]]3

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    You may be interested in the woodworking.stackexchange.com
    – Alaska Man
    Apr 11, 2020 at 19:50
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    @EricLippert mentioned it, but to reiterate: its a good bet that the floor is not perfectly flat and level (think of drywall after taping & mudding but before paint). Measure all 4 sides of each leg to be sure they are even, then get some leveling feet (these are good for protecting your floors, too). Don't start sawing.
    – Z4-tier
    Apr 11, 2020 at 21:31
  • another idea: loosen the pocket screws, shim and clamp to produce an opposite twist, then re-tighten, hoping it all evens out.
    – amI
    Apr 12, 2020 at 18:10
  • @amI If he followed instructions, he's almost certainly glued the joints, which would make that difficult.
    – Machavity
    Apr 12, 2020 at 19:27
  • Thanks All, yea tried loosening the pocket screws but that didn't work as it was glued :(
    – Rajkumar Gauthaman
    Apr 13, 2020 at 20:39

3 Answers 3

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How do I rectify this? This is my first project.

That's an easy, inexpensive and useful first project.

Even if the work is square and accurately cut, it's easy to be off by a couple millimeters. And even if you're not, it's easy for the floor to be off a couple millimeters; tile is not perfect.

Your best bet is to do a web search for furniture leveling screws. You screw them into the feet, and by adjusting the depth of each one individually you can dial it right in to not just remove the wobble, but also get the work surface exactly level in both directions. They'll be fifty cents or a dollar each, or thereabouts.

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    Concur. You may also want to consider diagonally bracing the back of the bench to avoid side-to-side wobble.
    – Phil Freedenberg
    Apr 11, 2020 at 17:36
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    Some leveling feet (most?) also have a felt or hard rubber bottom to help protect the floor.
    – Z4-tier
    Apr 11, 2020 at 21:36
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    Thanks a lot Eric, Phil and Z4 planning to go with the adjustable feet which would help me on any floor surfaces.. Heard of the diagonal braces had it in my plan but then probably would need more lumber for that and so probably can include that as well so can give more stability to my desk
    – Rajkumar Gauthaman
    Apr 13, 2020 at 20:38
  • @RajkumarGauthaman: You are welcome; if you got an answer to your question, consider marking one of the answers as "accepted", and that way people will know that you already got an answer and are not soliciting more advice.
    – Eric Lippert
    Apr 13, 2020 at 22:12
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    You can also add a raw leather patch (1-3 mm) to the end of each leg. This makes the friction between leg and floor go up, it prevents damage to the floor and it softens any blows, should you inflict violence on the tabletop or any objects thereupon... As an added bonus they suck up a mm or so of accidental clearance. At least mine did.
    – Stian
    Jan 20, 2021 at 12:56
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Glue a piece of packing to the short leg. or cut the other three legs to match.

Make sure that the floor surface is level as a small difference could also cause the issue you face and if it is the cause I would go with my first option.

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  • great was thinking of the same but was worried of the boards twisting. Will give the packing a try...Thanks a lot mate..
    – Rajkumar Gauthaman
    Apr 11, 2020 at 8:01
  • If you can accept a surface that's not perfectly level, you only need to cut one leg (adjacent to the short one) to stop the wobble.That'll be fine if the furniture always stays in the same place. If the problem is a non level floor, it will come back as soon as the furniture is moved, so if the furniture's going to be moved, packing or adjustable feet are better.
    – Level River St
    Apr 12, 2020 at 2:47
  • That's a valid one too yea probably will try with the adjustable feet which will be the easiest one :)
    – Rajkumar Gauthaman
    Apr 13, 2020 at 20:36
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Congrats on a new addiction!

First, for leveling the table I'd suggest a belt sander on the long legs, just make sure you measure and mark where the sanding should stop. You can try to cut them down with a circular saw, but the cuts are probably going to be inaccurate. You can increase the accuracy of the cut by holding a framing square to use as a guide for the saw. If your floor isn't quite level, then you can use felt pads doubled up on the short ones to help take care of it (and preserve your floor).

Just another note, although pocket-hole screws look pretty good in this situation, the shear strength of pocket hole screws is dismal at best. You want to make sure that nobody (even children) stand on the lower parts of the table. Ideally you'd sink something with higher shear strength through the whole adjoining board. You can counter-sink the holes larger and then fill them in with plugs to make it look really good. Also invest in a Japanese pull saw (they aren't that expensive) so that when you fill the plugs, either in pocket-holes or dowels, you can cut them flush.

Another tip, if you want to make 2x4's look "furniture quality", pick one without knots then cut each long edge on a table saw to take off the round-over, usually 1/8" or so will take it off.

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  • I concur with this advice, particularly pocket screws being dismal, and get a pull saw, and square up cheap lumber. I would add: in a similar workbench I built, I ran mostly-hidden threaded rods throughout so that I could "tighten up" the whole thing should it ever become loose. It was an inexpensive way to get away with using cheap lumber.
    – Eric Lippert
    Apr 11, 2020 at 22:17
  • Thanks Ron yea planning to get that one and am going on with pocket screws as this was my first project and its just an office desk will try out these options this weekend : )
    – Rajkumar Gauthaman
    Apr 13, 2020 at 20:34

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