carpentryrepairwooden-furniture
If so, I've got a nice old dining room table that folds down quite small (seats 2) but also can be pulled out with leaves to seat ~8. The ends of the table are supported by swing-out arms that are getting kind of tired. Without stuffing something between the arms and the end leaves, the leaves sag down at about a 10 degree angle.
I'd like to replace the support arms with something more sturdy. Got any design recommendations?
You took the wind out of my sails with that last paragraph. I was going to suggest using a nut/bolt.
As far as it causing problems when the tabletop is lowered, you can recess the bolt head. Yeah, you could make the cavity in which the bolt will stay on the underside of the tabletop, but maybe you'll drill too far or crack/scratch the tabletop if you chisel it out. It could end badly... which is why you should instead house the bolt head on the top-side of the cross member.
Brown = table top
Black = underlying cross member
The one on the left is what you were talking about. The one on the right is what you want to do.
Also, use a washer under the bolt head, etc.
Go to Home Depot or Lowes, in the counter department, pick up some white SeamFil, a putty knife and both some coarse (80 grit) and some fine (220 grit) sand paper.
Sand out the gouge, apply the SeamFil and use the putty knife to smooth it.
After its dried, sand with the fine grit sand paper.
Best Answer
Looking at the picture it seems that there may be several problems going on here. In the foreground the swing out arm seems to have come completely loose from the vertical support between the legs. The C-Clamp being used to temporarily hold that part in place is not coming close to holding the hinged piece in place so it can work properly. For this side the assembly needs to be properly re-glued or screwed in place. A combination of gluing and hidden screws from the inside of the vertical support may do the trick.
For the support on the far side of the picture it looks like the top portion of the swing out arm has completely split off. Fixing this part will require replacement of the arm part or as a minimum squaring off the split top face and gluing a new piece to replace the broken away part.
One additional note is to evaluate the condition of the vertical support member between the legs. If this piece is wobbly and not secure then I would suggest that the repairs are much more involved and you may be faced with making a decision if the table is worth the effort repair at all. Overall woodworking experience and / or willingness to take on something like this may play a big role in the decision making process as well.
Evaluation would need to be made for the other end of the table to see if it has similar problems or not.
If it was me and the table had some sentimental value I would dive into the repairs. Doing repairs like this however will not do a lot to preserving any heirloom quality of the table but that has probably been lost a long time ago as noted from current condition.
I have one final comment to make. When trying to wedge up the swing up portion of the table top it is better to place the wedge out at the end of the arm as opposed to near the swing up hinge. As shown in the far side of the picture the wedge stick places an undue amount of stress on the hinge joint that could lead to further failure.