Found a $3 thrift store sanding block that fixed my wobbly table leg for good

Bought a beat up table off Facebook Marketplace for $20 and after trying glue, shims, and even a folded napkin, a flat sanding block from Goodwill let me even out the legs in under 10 minutes, anyone else found random tools that just work better than the fancy stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulschmidt15d ago

My old man had a 2 foot level he picked up at a yard sale for a buck. It's got a bubble that's a little off but I've used it to true up more wobbly tables and chairs than I can count... Cost me zero extra to just know how to use it right. Sometimes the cheap stuff is all you really need if you've got the patience.

kim19114d ago

Wait, doesn't that just prove that the real tool is the brain behind the hands? @patb12 you nailed it with that buddy of yours building the whole deck. My grandpa had a similar beat up level he swore by, and he'd say "it's not the level that's off, it's how you read it." I think people get too hung up on having the perfect tool straight out of the box, when half the time just learning the quirks of what you already have is way more valuable. It's like driving a car with a slightly misaligned steering wheel, you just adjust without even thinking about it after a while. Honestly, that kind of hands on knowledge beats a brand new tool any day, especially when you didn't pay a dime for it.

patb1215d ago

That bit about "cost me zero extra to just know how to use it right" is exactly what I tell people. @paulschmidt, I had a buddy who built a whole deck using a level with a bubble that was clearly busted - he just knew which side to tip it to get it true. Saved him from buying a new one.