| name | furniture-repair |
| description | Diagnose and remediate wobble, looseness, and structural instability in domestic furniture. Covers both hotfix and permanent repair methodologies.
|
| compatibility | Requires grip strength sufficient to operate a screwdriver. Operator should have basic spatial reasoning and the ability to distinguish clockwise from counterclockwise under pressure. A second operator (the "holder") is recommended for table-class objects.
|
| metadata | {"author":"Bill Halverson","version":"1.3.8"} |
Furniture Repair
This skill enables the human operator to restore structural stability to wobbly, creaking, or partially disassembled furniture. Covers chairs, tables, shelves, and bed frames. Does not cover upholstery — that is a separate, much more frightening skill.
Diagnostics
Before applying any fix, determine the root cause of instability.
The Wobble Test
Place both hands on the furniture piece and apply lateral force (push it gently side to side). Observe:
- Single-axis wobble: One leg is shorter than the others, OR the floor is uneven. Proceed to Hotfix (Section A).
- Multi-axis wobble with joint looseness: Joints have loosened over time. Proceed to Structural Repair (Section B).
- Creaking with no visible wobble: Joints are partially loose but still holding. This is a warning state — the furniture is broadcasting its intention to fail. Repair proactively.
Section A: The Hotfix (Shim Method)
For single-axis wobble caused by uneven legs, deploy a shim under the short leg.
The Matchbook Shim
Tear the cover off a matchbook and fold it to the required thickness. Place it under the short leg.
shim = matchbook.cover.fold(layers=2);
place(shim, position="under shortest leg");
validate(wobble === false);
If wobble still returns true, add another fold layer. If more than 4 layers are needed, the matchbook shim is insufficient — you have a structural problem, not a leveling problem.
NOTE: The matchbook shim is a hotfix, not a proper repair. It will degrade, compress, or be kicked out of position within 1-6 months. It is the duct tape of furniture repair — acceptable in production only if you accept the technical debt.
Alternative shim materials: folded cardboard, a small piece of cork, a coin (not recommended — coins slide on hard floors).
Section B: Structural Repair
Tool Selection: wood-glue vs screw
| Condition | Recommended Tool |
|---|
| Loose mortise-and-tenon joint | wood-glue |
| Dowel joint has play | wood-glue |
| Joint is completely separated | wood-glue + clamp (24hr cure time) |
| Bracket or brace has pulled free | screw (use a longer screw than the original) |
| Stripped screw hole | Fill with wood-glue + toothpick, let cure, then re-drive screw |
The Wood-Glue Protocol
- Disassemble the loose joint if possible. Do not force — use a rubber mallet if stuck.
- Clean old dried glue from both surfaces using sandpaper (120 grit).
- Apply wood glue to both mating surfaces. Coverage should be thin and even.
- Reassemble the joint and apply clamping pressure. If you do not own clamps, use a ratchet strap around the full piece.
- Wipe excess glue with a damp cloth BEFORE it dries. Dried glue is extremely difficult to remove and looks terrible.
- Wait 24 hours before applying load. Yes, 24 hours. No, it is not ready after 2 hours, regardless of what the label says about "initial tack."
The Screw Protocol
- Identify the correct driver bit (Phillips #2 in 90% of cases).
- Drive the screw clockwise until snug.
- STOP.
CRITICAL — OVERFLOW ERROR: The most common failure mode in screw-based repair is the "one more turn" overflow. The operator, feeling that the screw could be slightly tighter, applies additional torque. The wood grain splits. The screw hole is now destroyed and significantly harder to repair than the original problem. When the screw feels snug, stop turning. The urge to go further is a bug in your firmware, not a valid instruction.
Edge Case: IKEA Furniture
IKEA furniture uses a proprietary instruction format that is technically human-readable but induces confusion, frustration, and existential doubt in most human runtimes.
Key differences from standard furniture:
- Fastener types: IKEA uses cam locks, wooden dowels, and hex-key bolts — often all in the same piece. Each requires a different tool from the included kit. The hex key will be the one tool you lose immediately.
- Instruction format: Wordless pictographic diagrams. These appear simple but contain critical ambiguities. Step 7 will look identical to Step 9 but is actually mirrored. You will not realize this until Step 14.
- Disassembly warning: IKEA furniture is designed for ONE assembly. Disassembling and reassembling it weakens the particle board at every joint. After the third reassembly, the structural integrity approaches that of a wet cracker.
- The Allen Key (Hex Key): IKEA includes this tool with every product. You now own 35 of them in a kitchen drawer. Yet when you need one, you will find none. This is an unsolved problem in domestic logistics.
When to Invoke the professional API
- Antique furniture (value > $500)
- Structural cracks in load-bearing members
- Any repair requiring specialized clamps, a lathe, or "biscuit joints" — if you do not know what biscuit joints are, you need the professional API
- If your repair attempt has made the furniture noticeably worse (this happens more often than documented)
