# How do I level the legs on wooden chairs?



## downhill (Nov 21, 2008)

I bought some oak chairs quite a while back and the bottom of the legs don't sit flat. The legs are all at an angle and I'd like them flush with the floor. 

My question is, is there a jig or something to keep them all even? I'm not trusting myself to just saw them off.


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## Ben I (May 21, 2010)

Find a level spot on the floor. Shim the offending chair leg/s with coins or flat washers until the chair is level. 

Determine by inspection the minimum height of chair legs to be removed such that all legs will be of equal length. Typically this will be 1/4" or less. 

Plane or sand a scrap of wood until its height equals the height of the planned chair leg removal. You could also use a divider if you have one. What ever you are comfortable with.

Using the scrap wood as a guide, mark the circumference of all four chair legs.

Carefully cut or sand all four chair legs to the marking line.

regards
Ben


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

I was reading an article by a windsor chair maker recently and he had an alternative "quick" way of making the leg lengths even: stand the chair with 3 legs on the bench, and the longest leg hanging over the side of the bench. Then just saw off that leg level with the bench top.
This method wouldn't help Downhill with his problem of the ends of the legs not being horizontal of course.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Here is Charles Neil on youtube showing how to "Get the Rock Out" of chair legs. He uses basically the same method as Ben but you can watch how it's done.


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## Ben I (May 21, 2010)

Andy 

Your method sounds interesting. Three points (the three chair legs) define a geometric plane. Cutting the fourth leg to match will ensure that all four legs will be co-planer. 

However, I think that doesn't mean that the plane of the chair seat itself will lay in a plane parallel to the plane of the leg bottoms. The chair will not wobble but the seat of the chair may be a touch out of level.

Still, I would guess no one would notice unless they were to check it out with a precision level.

Ben


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Those are all great answers for evening the length (and for a few of us a seat that isn't quite level might just square me up!!) But...the original poster seems to be asking not about the length of the legs, but rather the angle of the bottom of the legs--more like the feet are at 10 degrees and need to be at 5?? Or words to that effect.

If i'm reading the question right--and assuming the floor is level--why not lay a straight edge against each leg and mark it for cutting. Say maybe a 1/8" or 3/16" set-up bar. Could that work?


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

A crude but effective method of leveling the chair and correcting the angles would be to glue four pieces of coarse sandpaper centered under each leg onto a flat surface such as mdf. Then just slide the chair back and forth until you're satisfied.


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## Harrison67 (May 30, 2012)

curiousgeorge said:


> Here is Charles Neil on youtube showing how to "Get the Rock Out" of chair legs. He uses basically the same method as Ben but you can watch how it's done.




Been a lot of years since making chairs, but that's the method most WWers did when I was growing up. Worked every time, as long as you use a little patience.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

I have learned in WWing that patience is a necessity, just like sharp tools.


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Ben in Cypress Texas said:


> Andy
> 
> Your method sounds interesting. Three points (the three chair legs) define a geometric plane. Cutting the fourth leg to match will ensure that all four legs will be co-planer.
> 
> ...


Yes I think that's right. I guess as long as the amount you're taking off the long leg is small, any slight out-of-level wouldn't be too noticeable on the seat.
Edit - just to add this was a method used by a guy who was producing hand-made windsor chairs, which I think have a bit of inherent variability anyway.




greenacres2 said:


> Those are all great answers for evening the length (and for a few of us a seat that isn't quite level might just square me up!!) But...the original poster seems to be asking not about the length of the legs, but rather the angle of the bottom of the legs--more like the feet are at 10 degrees and need to be at 5?? Or words to that effect.
> 
> If i'm reading the question right--and assuming the floor is level--why not lay a straight edge against each leg and mark it for cutting. Say maybe a 1/8" or 3/16" set-up bar. Could that work?


The method Ben described works for getting the angle right - if you use your dividers or gauge block to mark all the way round the legs, you can follow the lines to saw them parallel to the floor.


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## PRDarnell (Mar 21, 2012)

Christopher Schwarz has a video on the Popular Woodworking site that shows how to do this with a level, a straightedge, scrap wood and a handsaw. In the "Search" box type in "Level the feet of a chair" and it will show up PDQ.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

The legs have to be cut at an angle unless they come straight out of the seat of the chair. This angle is difficult to make free hand. There are two ways to do it, one is with a bevel gauge to recreate the angle. Another and surer way is to drill a hole the diameter of the leg in a piece of thin wood.Set the leg in the wood and draw a line around the leg. This of course won't make things right if one of the legs is longer.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> A crude but effective method of leveling the chair and correcting the angles would be to glue four pieces of coarse sandpaper centered under each leg onto a flat surface such as mdf. Then just slide the chair back and forth until you're satisfied.


I was thinking of one huge piece of sandpaper, but this is a lot better.


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## downhill (Nov 21, 2008)

greenacres2 said:


> Those are all great answers for evening the length (and for a few of us a seat that isn't quite level might just square me up!!) But...the original poster seems to be asking not about the length of the legs, but rather the angle of the bottom of the legs--more like the feet are at 10 degrees and need to be at 5?? Or words to that effect.
> 
> If i'm reading the question right--and assuming the floor is level--why not lay a straight edge against each leg and mark it for cutting. Say maybe a 1/8" or 3/16" set-up bar. Could that work?



I am and thank you.


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## downhill (Nov 21, 2008)

The idea with thin wood sound pretty good. I never thought about that. We're probably only talking about 1/4 an inch.


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## SteveMI (May 29, 2011)

A little different way. Put painters tape on the table saw top to line up with the legs. Put double stick tape on the bottom of the longer legs and put on the painters tape. Shim the short leg(s). Instead of marking up the 1/4", use some 1/4" stock and a thin kerf flexible pull saw. Use the 1/4" stock as guide and go around all the legs couple times until you get enough of a groove to cut accurately with it on its side. This saves trying to fixture the chair to get a cut that matches the pencil marks. Finish with Charles technique of sand disks.

Steve.


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## Ian Bell (Nov 6, 2015)

Faced with the uneven chair leg problem as well as chair legs tuned on a lathe but not level with the floor I found the best way of fixing these problems was to set the chair on a flat and level work bench, then run your Fein saw blade flat on the work bench top and under the chair leg . This will in most cases remove only a thin layer of saw dust from the leg. After several cuts the leg will be level on the bottom and reduced a little in length. The work bench top does not seem to be affected as much by the cut if you drag the chair leg over the blade rather than the blade under the leg.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Ian Bell said:


> Faced with the uneven chair leg problem as well as chair legs tuned on a lathe but not level with the floor I found the best way of fixing these problems was to set the chair on a flat and level work bench, then run your Fein saw blade flat on the work bench top and under the chair leg . This will in most cases remove only a thin layer of saw dust from the leg. After several cuts the leg will be level on the bottom and reduced a little in length. The work bench top does not seem to be affected as much by the cut if you drag the chair leg over the blade rather than the blade under the leg.


First, make sure the floor is flat.* Rotate the table/chair around, try on different spots on the floor.* Even if the floor is not flat, if that is where you want to put the table/chair, you have to fix it.
Rocking is not usually a problem on a carpeted floor or rug, unless it is severe.

The easiest is to buy screw-in leveling felt feet.*
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5821
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=362
Put them on all four feet and wind out the legs that are high.* Problem solved and the felt will be beneficial on a hard surface to prevent scratching.
*
Otherwise, you will need to trim some off the end of either or both of the long legs, the ones that remain in contact with the floor when it wobbles.* There are two ways to do this and both require a flat reference surface.
*
Method 1 - is to shim up the legs until it sits level on your reference surface.* then mark up the same distance on each leg with a scribing compass or even a pencil laying flat on the surface.* Use a thin kerf hand saw to cut all the legs to the marked line.
*
Method 2 - is to use MDF or plywood as your reference surface.* Drill a hole that fits your leg in the corner of the sheet where the long leg sits.* Scrape down the surface the thickness of your saw kerf in that corner.* Drop the long leg into the hole and make sure the other 3 legs are sitting flat on the surface.* Trim off the long leg with a thin kerf saw....

Now that MultiMaster is on the scene and just about everybody has one... It's now cake and pie to trim table/chair legs...

You could build using just 3 legs..
Always build on a flat surface..
For wobbly tables/chairs add spindles/stretchers/bracing..
Use the hole trick and your multimaster or flush cut saw to make all of the leg bottoms parrallel to the floor...

Note:
when you are leveling the chair/table place a lot of weight on the the chair/table to reduce flexing and act as clamping to hold the unit steady while you mark and cut...


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## demographic (Aug 12, 2012)

Site carpenter here so, put it upside down on a level surface (shim with wedges if its not) then use my PLS 2 laser level and a pencil.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

If it's the angle you're looking to adjust, sounds like an appropriate size square stock piece of metal laid flat on the surface and then use that as a guide to mark or scribe a line all the way around the leg (suggested above). Foot long square key stock can be had at Tractor Supply in sizes from 1/8 to 1/2.

Did you also say that you might not trust yourself to cut on the lines...?

If that is the case, slowly scribe with the saw all around the legs first (as was already suggested) until it's deep enough to use as a guide (after marking/scribing). Use a saw that has the thinnest possible kerf. If need be, use a coarse tooth hacksaw or pull saw as has been suggested...it might be easier to handle but less aggressive and so easier to see when you wander. After scribing or marking, lay the chair on it's side...it will make it easier to cut. Avoid using a power tool to make the cut as it might be too aggressive. 

If the legs are also uneven, use a large enough setup bar to take care of the shortest leg. This will let you take less off the short leg.

After cutting you can round the edges with sand paper or sander to your liking. If necessary, you can then add "buttons" for sliding on the floor or as suggested, install adjusters.

A jig is not likely as legs take different shapes. Of course, you can make one to do what you need but it will take you longer to make one than it will to cut the legs at the right angle.

The slower you apply the saw, the better your cut will be...by the fourth leg you'll be wizzing through it... 

Good luck...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

What if all 4 legs are different lengths and the 2 diagonal ones are the longest and they are splayed at compound angles from the seat which is not level from front to back?

Herb


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Agreed, Herb, that the legs first need to be made even and level with the seat (I think you, Ben and Earl posted that earlier)...this would require the lines at the bottom of the legs to be based on the seat orientation.

Jacking the chair up (from under the seat) so as to orient and level the seat as desired...one could then mark the bottom of the legs referencing the seat and then draw lines around the bottoms of the legs parallel to the surface they will sit on. I would use the shortest leg as the reference...

I guess it would be good to know from Dunhill how gross the error is now...

...we could always make it worse...  

For some reason the expression "No matter how many times I cut it, it's still too short" comes to mind...
.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Nickp said:


> Agreed, Herb, that the legs first need to be made even and level with the seat (I think you, Ben and Earl posted that earlier)...this would require the lines at the bottom of the legs to be based on the seat orientation.
> 
> Jacking the chair up (from under the seat) so as to orient and level the seat as desired...one could then mark the bottom of the legs referencing the seat and then draw lines around the bottoms of the legs parallel to the surface they will sit on. I would use the shortest leg as the reference...
> 
> ...


Yeah that is how I do it . Set the chair on a flat surface ie.work bench, table saw top, someplace where I can stand and work on it. Not good at crawling around on the floor any more.

I level across the front of the chair, then with a wedge or shims I slide under a short leg to hold it there.
Then take a block of wood that is as high as the shortest leg or higher,like has been said and mark around all sides of each leg. 
That way if the leg is angled you have the exact cut line around the leg. If it turns out only a small amount,say 1/16" short on one leg, take a course sanding block and sand off the required amount from the other legs. Or take a 1/4" block and mark all the legs 1/4" from the surface and saw off 1/4" form 3 legs and 3/16" from the short leg. it is easier to saw off 1/4" than to saw off 1/16".
Sometimes you can glue on these semi hard rubber pads that they sell at the hardware store and it will take up the difference in leg length if it is not too great.

Herb


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## downhill (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks everyone. what I ended up doing is with a hole saw I cut holes to let the legs slide in. Then I use clamps to keep the plywood at the level the legs were touching the floor.. then with a 10" Japanese Style Double-Edge Saw I simple kept it flat to the surface of the plywood and carefully cut them flat to the plywood. worked like a champ. forget who's idea that was but thank you !


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