Fixing a wobbly table properly

Our kitchen table has rocked for as long as we have owned it. For years the fix was a folded beer mat under one leg.

This spring I finally took it apart. Two of the mortise joints had dried out and loosened, which is common in old furniture that has lived through a few dry winters.

What worked

I cleaned the old glue out of the joints, re-glued them with hide glue, and left the frame clamped overnight. The next day I trimmed the one leg that was genuinely a few millimetres long.

No more beer mat. The table is quiet again.