Leg-Leveling Technique

Article - July 25, 2007

This week’s question comes from Maurice. He writes:
I just finished a 5′ fern stand in poplar ready for spray in Cloud White. The problem is, despite accurate dimensioning and execution of mortise and tenons etc, the piece wobbles ie. it is fractionally unlevel. What is the best way to correct this problem? Thanks for the feedback.

And here was my reply:
“Hey Maurice. I would place the stand on your tablesaw or similar dead flat surface. Put some weight on the top so that the stand stays in one position (doesn’t wobble easily). Now here is the trick. Lay a sharp pencil down on the saw and trace a line around each leg. Now simply cut each leg exactly to the line. If you marked properly and cut to the line, the stand should be perfectly even with no wobble. And the closer you get that pencil to the table, the less material you will need to remove. So consider sanding the pencil down so one end is nice and flat and the point rests about 1/16-1/8″ above the flat surface. Make sense?”

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