TIL my grandpa's method of fixing a wobbly chair with a matchstick actually works

I've been fighting with this old dining chair for like a year. Kept meaning to buy one of those metal bracket things at the hardware store but never remembered. Last week my 80 year old grandpa was over and saw me shoving a paper napkin under the leg. He just shook his head, grabbed a wooden match from the kitchen, tapped it into the loose joint, and snapped off the extra. Chair hasn't wobbled since. Cost me nothing. Has anyone else learned some old timer trick that totally outdoes the modern fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_robin24d ago

Read a woodworking blog a while back that talked about this exact trick. They called it the matchstick method and said it's been around since before anyone can remember. The idea is that wood moves over time and the joint just loosens up, so you need something that expands when it gets damp. That matchstick swells up in there and holds everything tight. Way better than those metal brackets that just screw into the wood and eventually strip out. I tried it on a rickety desk leg last month and it's been solid as a rock.

robin_campbell3621d agoTop Commenter

Did the matchstick method work on a wobbly chair for you too?