Broken Chair Leg

A chair repair!

TV's "Fame" made its debut on this day in 1982. At the show-biz high school featured in the show, "break a leg" meant "good luck." But at your house, "fame" turns to disaster when you break a leg on grandma's heirloom chair and "good luck" goes away. To remove the broken limb without further damage, lay the chair down with the leg across a pillow or folded towel. Tap spreaders and rungs with a rubber mallet to loosen, and remove the damaged leg. Glue and clamp broken pieces together and let dry. Then drill holes for dowel rods. Going through both parts on a 45-degree angle, glue dowels in place and let dry again. Trim off excess dowel rods, sand smooth and refinish to match. And that's the On The House tip for today.

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