Dining tables endure years of use while being pushed and shoved, usually with burden on them. It’s no wonder why that they can get unstable. Most dining tables have long, slender legs, and the larger ones use comparable joints and hardware to attache legs. When a table begins to sway or wobble, it is because the joints, screws and hardware have dropped their grip. Reinforce them with glue, dowels and screws.
Wooden Joints
Turn the table upside down. Find each the areas where two pieces of wood are combined. They are on legs or braces anywhere on the table.
Don safety glasses. Drill through the combined using a drill/driver and 3/8-inch bit. Put the tip of the drill in the touch point where two pieces of wood meet. Drill through it diagonally in a 30-degree angle.
Inject glue into the hole. Tap a dowel into the hole using a hammer. The dowel should protrude out both ends of this hole. Wait overnight for the glue to dry.
Trim both ends of the dowel off with a coping saw. Sand the end of the dowel with 180-grit sandpaper. Color the ends of the dowels with a stain marker.
Hardware and Brackets
Tighten all screws — obviously loose or never — until they are snug, using the drill/driver. There will be plates, fixtures or mounts on the table.
Drill a different screw hole when the screw is eliminated or does not tighten. Put the tip of a 3/32-inch drill bit beside the original hole, or where there is room for a different screw. Drill through any metal plates. This kind of plate is thin, and the bit you have from the drill will probably work fine. It takes just a little more force, and move slower initially. Drill beside other screw holes where you will find mounts. Drill everywhere through a metal part, or beside a metal part in which you’ve room for one more screw.
Put 1-inch wood screws in the holes. Utilize the drill/driver to push them in tight with force.