Would a Monkey Make Mealtime More Fun?

Kids Painted Furniture Shop recently introduced two new kid's high chairs. One is a "Friends at the Zoo" theme and the other is a soft pastel "Princess" theme.


It is so much fun to put your child in a colorful high chair at each meal. Unlike many things, this is something that you will use every day and probably several times a day. It will create a color-filled space that both you and your child will enjoy.

Take time today to see these new introductions and put meal-time at the top of their list of fun things to do. Here is the place to check out the first kid's high chair - http://www.kidspaintedfurnitureshop.com/product/W8366A

How to Repair a Loose Leg/Rail Joint in Your Kid's Furniture

Repairing your kid's furniture can be a rewarding task. Here is what you would do to repair a loose leg/rail joint in your kid's furniture. Underneath a padded removable seat or table top, there is a rail frame. The legs are located in the corners of this frame. The rails have a tenon (tab) and the leg has a mortise (hole). In some designs the leg is mounted inside the frame and secured by screws or a special bracket.

The loose joint is often due to the stress applied to the leg in usage and it needs to be re-glued before it breaks. To re-glue the joint it is best to disassemble the leg and rail. Once apart you can clean the old glue from both pieces.

You may find that the tenon is slightly too small and doesn't fit. This can be remedied by building up the tenon with a shim. A tapered shim may work but probably a piece of flat stock would work better. You can make a flat shim with your table saw.

Another approach would be to carefully saw a slot into the tenon and then insert a wedge to expand it to the proper size. Drilling a small hole as shown in the drawing at the top of the slot will reduce the chance of splitting.

Once done it would be best to glue the wedge/shim in place and let cure. At that time you can test fit the tenon to be sure that it is tight. Apply white glue evenly to all surfaces of both the mortise and tenon and assemble. Be sure that the tenon is fully into the mortise and that the alignment is correct. Clamp and wipe away the excess glue. Stand the chair or table on a level floor and put a heavy tool box on it so that all four legs will be square with the floor as the glue drys. Touch up the finish if necessary.

To see some nice kids furniture that you don't have to repair go to http://www.kidspaintedfurnitureshop.com

How to repair a broken leg or spindle on your kids furniture

You may have a broken chair/rocker leg or spindle on your kid's furniture. The strength of this repair is critical in providing safety for your child. There are several ways to make these repairs to provide strength. Your good judgment comes into play when deciding the best technique.

If you are working on a round or turned leg/spindle, you are limited by the smallest dimension of the leg as to what size dowel rod you may use. You can find a good selection of repair dowels at a store like Lowes. Obviously, the larger the diameter, the stronger the dowel and thus the repair. Some dowels come with ribs or grooves on their surfaces to increase the gluing surface and aid in distributing the glue into the repair. However, those dowels are generally too short for the repair that we will illustrate here. It may be necessary to make your own grooves on the surface of a smooth dowel rod. Dowel materials are made from different woods and a hardwood is preferred. Kids furniture often is subject to hard use and so strength is important.

Depending on the leg diameter, use a 1/4", 5/16", or 3/8" dowel. First, glue the break with white glue and clamp. Let it cure for 24/48 hours. Then, per the illustration, very accurately drill a hole through the leg into the spindle about 1/4" longer than the dowel. Since a dry fit doesn't work well with a dowel repair, check your measurements carefully before applying the glue. If the hole isn't deep enough or the dowel sticks out too far, that will cause you trouble. Again it is very important to apply glue evenly to the inside walls of the hole as well as to the dowel. Carefully tap the dowel into the repair. Be sure to go about an equal distance on either side of the repair and leave about an 1/8" at the outside end to fill and finish the repair. Clamp the repair making sure that the pieces are completely together without over tightening. Wipe away excess glue with a damp cloth.

If your repair is in the length of the leg and if the break is close to one end of the leg/spindle, you can glue the repair and drill in only one direction as described above. If the break is too far into the leg, then it requires that you drill the leg first in one direction then the other and get it lined up straight in the process. This would be very difficult to do by 'eye.' If you have access to a drill press and can clamp each piece securely and straight in all planes, you have a good chance for success. If the holes are not lined up accurately then the repaired leg will be crooked.

Does all of this sound like too much work to repair your kid's furniture? Then how about taking some time to check out all of the wonderful kids rockers and chairs on our website, http://www.kidspaintedfurnitureshop.com/.