Ran into an old woodworker at a garage sale who fixed my desk wobble for free

Three weekends ago I was at a garage sale in Portland picking through old tools. This older guy saw me looking at a beat up chisel set and asked what I was building. I told him about my standing desk that wobbled like crazy at standing height. He didn't say much just walked over to his truck and grabbed a scrap piece of plywood. He cut a quick triangle brace and wedged it behind the leg. That single piece of board I could have made myself for maybe $3 fixed a wobble I chased with shims and levelers for 7 months. Anyone else had a simple fix from a stranger that beat all the expensive solutions?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.mary12d ago

saw me looking at a beat up chisel set" and you let some random guy wedge a piece of scrap plywood into your desk? That's not a fix that's a hack job. You could have gone to Home Depot and grabbed a $10 furniture leveling kit with the rubber feet that actually screw in. I had a wobble on my dining table and tried the same wedge trick some neighbor suggested. Two weeks later the wood shifted and I almost dumped my whole monitor setup. Spend the cash on real hardware next time. Cheap fixes from strangers are usually just bandaids.

charlie_allen11d ago

@sanchez.mary is totally right about the wedge trick being a bandaid. I've seen that same fix fail on a workbench at a buddy's shop. He wedged a shim under one leg and a month later the whole thing buckled when he leaned on it. Those rubber leveling feet from the hardware store cost like eight bucks and they actually hold. If you're going to keep that desk long term just spend the small money, it's not worth risking your gear over a piece of scrap wood that's gonna dry out and shift anyway.