This is a handmade desk of solid wood. The top is screwed to the legs with 6 screws, and the top was ripped off when the desk was dropped while being carried up stairs. How would you repair it so you could reattach the top to the legs?
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I would drill out the torn holes to a suitable diameter - I use 6mm or 10mm (about 5/16" and 3/8").
Then I would glue in wooden dowels, once they have dried then they can have pilot holes drilled to take the screws.
The dowel method can be used to repair the holes in the legs as well as the holes in the desk top.
Solar Mike
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I'd drill out any dowels that were sheared and replace them with like size.
As for the wood screws, consider threaded inserts. These have a machine bolt thread on the inside and a wood thread on the outside. They're usually driven into the wood with a slotted driver at the top, or with a hex key on the inside, depending on the style. Once installed they allow the parts to be assembled and disassembled with minimal or no wear on the wood. (photo: google search result)
Threaded inserts require a hole a bit larger than the diameter of the fastener. If you choose a bolt that fits just right through the holes in the legs, the hole diameter required for the corresponding threaded insert may fit "just right" when the damaged wood in the desk top is drilled out.
If not - install a dowel in the hole as discussed by others. Then decide whether to re-install wood screws or switch to threaded inserts.
Greg Hill
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I wouldn't say there was anything particularly wrong with Solar Mike's answer, but my first thought would be to tidy up as necessary, to whatever extent I already have materials, but then I would re-attach the top about 10mm / half an inch further forward (or maybe back) from the current position, so that the screws are going into virgin wood.
Depending on the size of the original screws, I would strongly consider going up a size.
MikeB
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Would it be possible to use bolts, washers, and nuts? The tops/heads of the bolts would all be hidden from view - I assume - when the drawers are in. The bottoms (nuts) would be counter-sunk so as to hide them from view. I'm just a semi-dormant engineering mind looking for a simple solution. Keep it away from the oafs who dropped it!
dbw
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It's difficult to tell exactly what is and isn't damaged from photos alone. One thing I can tell is that the legs aren't directly screwed into the top. The legs are screwed onto a trapezoid-shaped intermediate block, and then that block is screwed onto the top surface. If the screw holes in that intermediate block are stripped or damaged, I wouldn't even attempt to repair it. I would remove that block and replace it with fresh, undamaged wood. It should not be visible once the desk is reassembled.
The holes in the top are at least a little damaged. If it's not too bad, you may be able to clean up the edges of the holes and use a slightly larger screw plus some wood glue. Threaded inserts are another option that would also make the desk easier to move in the future. Since the top screws into the intermediate block, you might also be able to replace it with a larger block that allows you to relocate the screw holes away from the damaged wood. I see five holes in the top and three screws in the block, which implies that someone already had to do this once in the past.
If the damage is too severe, you may have to replace the bottom panel of the desk. Your photo makes it look like it wouldn't involve too much disassembly, but the details will depend on exactly how the top portion was constructed. If it comes to this, I recommend asking on the Woodworking Stack Exchange site as they will be able to give much more detailed tips.
bta
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