Ever since we bought our new AS last February, we've been irritated that the dinette table wobbles. Lean on one side and it would tip a bit, lean on the other and it would tip a bit in the opposite direction. It's really only an irritant, but the wobble's enough to spill a bit of wine out of our stemware ...
I finally hit on an simple fix that eliminated the wobble. Step-by-step, here's what to do.
1. Scribe a fine pencil line across front surface of each metal table tab that is inserted inside the slot in the fitting attached to the interior rear wall. These are the tabs that secure your table to the wall. The pencil line should align with the upper edge of the slot opening.
2. Remove the table. You don't need to remove the tabs and hardware from the table to proceed.
3. Transfer the pencil line to the back side of the tab. You'll be drilling and tapping on the back side of the tab so as not to mar the table top. Carefully drill and tap a hole in the metal tab located so that the upper edge of the hole touches the scribed pencil line.
Vertical location of the hole is important, so use a center punch to locate the hole and to help prevent your drill from wandering.
If the hole is much below the line, this solution won't work. That said, however, you can compensate for a hole that is slightly lower than it should be by filing the screw head a bit less (see step 4 below). My holes were actually very slightly above the line, maybe 1/64".
I suggest that you select a fine thread, as the tab is thin and a coarse tap may not actually create threads in the tab material.
4. File the heads on two 8-32 round-head machine screws so that one edge of the screw head is flat and roughly flush with the screw threads. Looking head-on at the filed screw head, it should look like the letter "D". Cut the screw shaft so that its somewhere between 1/8 and 3/16 inch long.
5. On the
front side of the tab, insert the machine screw in the threaded hole and rotate it so that the flat surface of the head is parallel with the pencil line (facing up). It should align with the pencil line, maybe be just a hair above the line.
Don't worry if in order to have the flat surface align parallel with the pencil line that the screw is just a bit loose. When the table's reinstalled, it will be tightly held in place.
6. Reinstall the table. If you've done this right, you'll find that the flat edge of the screw head jams slightly against the slot fitting and stabilizes the table. I did this about a month ago; we've used the table several times and it's steady as a rock.
I can't seem to upload a picture of the finished fix into this post. If you'd like a pic, PM me and I'll respond with a picture by email.
Hope this fix helps a few of you out there, and maybe prevents your losing some of that good wine you're all enjoying with dinner.
Paul
Linear Mode
