Oh, ok. I don't use Facebook.

Post here.....lots of people have experience in reparing antiques.

There are a lot of furniture repair people on YouTube. This guy has a collection of videos, he takes you through the steps he uses.

https://youtu.be/pqwhV8IHY0w

Alright I'll ask here...

Basically I've got this little antique sidetable. It has three legs. It doesn't hold very much weight so it didn't stand much of a chance when my 15lb cat tried to get on top of it. The leg has come cleanly out of a socket. The socket appears hollow inside where the other two legs are also inserted.

I know that people can basically do all kinds of atrocities inadvertently to antique wood repairs thinking as long as it can't be seen and the repair gets done, it doesn't matter, not thinking about how easy it will be to deal with in the future so I'd rather do the best I can to repair this properly myself. I have a well kitted out toolbox but I don't mind buying things I might need.

Any thought on what I should do here? Does that hollow space need to be filled in? Do I sand away the edges of the slot and the tab part on the leg?

Thanks for any help!

Yeah, I'm fully aware of the woodworm or wood insect issue. It was like that when we got it. The damage had been done decades ago. But the table was in such good shape it wasn't gotten rid of. In the time we've owned it the problem has never returned.

The leg DOES go in the slot, yes. Not perfectly, though, I'd need to do something to facilitate that.

I have only watched people do these type of repairs and normally the repair was hidden by a new finish which is not something I think you want. The difficult part is to clamp it so that the joint does not move while the wood or horse hide glue is completely dry. Some used small shims to fill in any gaps which is where the new finish helps as it hides any irregularities. I would rather you took it to a woodworking shop and pay to have it repaired rather than ending up with one leg just a little off. Expensive but better for the table.

I've seen some videos on clamping on Youtube. I can see why it seems delicate. What I can't get is what makes a clamp necessary. It seems important when a piece you're gluing is particularly cumbersome or heavy to keep in place. This leg is really light. I don't see really how I'd need one. Once there is glue in the socket, this leg will just sit there.

Without a clamp any slight movement until the glue is completely dry could lead to the leg not sitting flat on the floor.