Expert: Jamie Yocono - 1/31/2010

Question
Dear Jamie,

I have a high-gloss white Parsons square dining table from West Elm. The table is made of wood and covered with a shell of high-gloss white lacquer. The legs are 30" but are 2" too high for my 17" chairs. I've tried lengthening the legs of my metal chair legs with several felt pads + rubber tips + seat cushions, but the difference isn't enough to ease the shoulder strain. Even with seat cushions on the chairs, the table is noticeably high. Is it possible to shorten the table legs - i.e. carefully handsaw and sand 2" off the table legs - without damaging the white lacquer shell and un-leveling the table? Thank you!

May

Answer
May,

When cutting down table legs, you really run a risk of chipping the surrounding wood. But there are a couple of things that minimize it. I'm assuming the legs are mostly square, right? And flat? You can run a line of masking tape around the leg, right down the middle of where you want to cut. The tape tends to minimize the chipping. Rub the tape down firmly on the table leg so it sticks well.  Also, if you have a sawblade that has a lot of teeth, you will cut down on the chipping with that, too.

Can you try to borrow a power chop saw from someone? It's a saw that many people own, and it would probably cut your legs in about 10 seconds a piece. Remember, the better the blade, the better the cut.

If not, try a hand saw, but a good one. Wrap the leg in tape where you're going to cut it, and then draw a pencil line all the way around your table leg. Using the saw, cut the leg about halfway into one side. Then flip the table over and cut the rest from the other side. It makes for a better looking cut, it will probably be squarer than if you cut it all from one side.

You don't need to be dead on accurate with the length, as you can use table levelers, or even thin plastic bumpers under the one leg that's short. With a four legged table, you'll probably wind up with only one leg that's off.

Be careful in measuring the length of each leg! Use the making tape to reduce chipping, and use a good handsaw.

In the end, if you get some chipout and need to touch up the bottom of your leg, try finding a box of crayons and look for one that has the white you need. Or even use nail polish or shoe polish. You're just touching it up on the very end, and if you do it carefully, no one will notice it.

Good luck, write back if you need more help.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com