Hi /diy/ I recently got this table from my grandparents house and I'm not sure how to get it back together without damaging it.
I tried putting it together, but once I get the bolts in and stood it up there is a gap of a couple milimeters on the surface between the base and the table parts, and they slump down enough to worry me. I took it back apart because I thought maybe I'd put the base on backwards, but the holes definitely aren't drilled for it to be put together any other way. Some of the bolts barely tighten, and the ones that do were tight enough that tightening them further would damage the table.
The table hasn't been assembled for a few years, but I don't remember it sagging or having gaps between the base and the table portions when my grandparents were using it. Does /diy/ have any advice? Will I have to drill new holes? Build a new base? I'm not very handy and this has been stressful because I'm worried I'll break the table.
Pic related and more to come
>>1042308
Oops, I mean to post a pic of the base. That's a chair I bought at an estate sale.
>>1042305
Place table on floor, bottom up (top against carpet). Place base on table, at the same angle in this pic. Line up holes. Insert screws.
Wood expands and contracts with moisture, so the gap sounds plausible. Plus the table might not have been well-engineered to begin with.
>>1042317
That's what I did the first time.
>>1042321
Is there anything I can do to fix this? The gap, wobbliness, and slant look bad enough that I'm worried I'll wake up to a collapsed table.
>>1042329
Somebody can probably give you more informed advice, but maybe retrofit with threaded inserts?
>>1042329
Those bolts don't go into threaded inserts do they? They look like self tapping roof screws from the pictures.
If they are get wider gauge versions as they are not biting into the wood anymore
>>1042321
>might not have been well-engineered to begin with.
That's poor design. Woodworking 101 - never screw solid wood table top to base.
>>1042329
Think about how you can attach top with some room for contraction/expansion like pic or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny53AyB1a6g
Could always try screw with glue, if you don't want it to come apart ever.
Otherwise maybe a longer screw if you can get a couple extra millimeters out of it, since it probably isn't pulling the top down enough to hold the weight.
only other things that comes to mind is the edge isn't square
show pic of gap too.
>>1042755
It would be a day rate and transport costs. Which would add up.
To be honest anyone with any site or construction experience could measure and pop brackets on it in ten minutes if you've got a friend in the trades or a neighbour would be the best bet