Description
M8 Wood to Metal Dowel Screw for Wooden Furniture Legs
The 70mm M8 Wood to Metal Dowel Screw provides a practical way of adding an M8 threaded fixing to wooden furniture legs, feet and other suitable timber components.
The fixing combines two different thread types in one component. Approximately half has a coarse wood-screw thread designed to grip securely into timber, while the opposite half has an M8 machine thread designed to engage with a compatible threaded furniture fixing.
This allows a wooden furniture leg to be converted into a removable M8 threaded leg that can be screwed into a suitable T nut, D nut, fixing plate or angled furniture-leg bracket.
70mm Wood and M8 Machine Thread Fixing
The dowel screw measures approximately 70mm overall.
One section provides the coarse timber thread required to secure the fitting into the wooden leg, while the exposed M8 section provides the machine-thread connection required to attach the leg to the furniture frame.
This dual-thread design makes the fitting particularly useful for:
- Wooden sofa legs
- Chair feet
- Footstool legs
- Ottomans
- Upholstered benches
- Bed and furniture feet
- Replacement wooden furniture legs
- Bespoke furniture manufacture
- Upholstery repairs
- Furniture restoration
The fixing can be particularly valuable where a replacement wooden leg does not already contain a threaded stud.
Create an M8 Threaded Wooden Furniture Leg
A traditional wooden furniture leg may be supplied without any threaded hardware.
By fitting an M8 wood-to-metal dowel screw into the timber, the wooden leg can be given a projecting M8 threaded stud.
That M8 stud can then be screwed into a compatible furniture-frame fixing.
Depending on the furniture construction, suitable receiving fittings can include:
This means the same basic wooden leg can potentially be used with several different furniture-frame fixing systems, provided the complete assembly is suitable for the furniture design.
Ideal for Wooden Furniture Feet
This type of fixing is especially useful when manufacturing, replacing or repairing wooden sofa and chair feet.
Browse Livedale’s Wooden Furniture Feet range for complementary wooden furniture-leg options.
Potential applications include:
- Replacement sofa feet
- Armchair legs
- Footstool feet
- Turned wooden furniture legs
- Square furniture feet
- Round wooden feet
- Bespoke furniture legs
- Upholstery restoration
- New furniture manufacture
The suitability of any individual wooden leg will depend on its dimensions, timber construction and the amount of sound wood available around the fixing.
How a Wood to Metal Dowel Screw Works
The coarse-threaded section is installed into a suitable pilot hole drilled into the wooden furniture leg.
Once fitted, the M8 machine-thread section remains exposed.
This projecting M8 thread then screws into the corresponding threaded fixing mounted within or beneath the furniture frame.
The arrangement provides two different connections:
Timber Connection
The coarse wood thread grips the wooden furniture leg.
Furniture-Frame Connection
The exposed M8 machine thread engages with the M8 nut, threaded insert or mounting bracket attached to the furniture.
This creates a strong but removable furniture-leg assembly.
Removable Furniture Legs and Feet
One of the main benefits of this type of fixing is that the wooden leg can remain removable.
Removable furniture legs are useful when furniture needs to be:
- Delivered
- Carried through narrow doorways
- Moved up or down stairs
- Transported
- Stored
- Repaired
- Reupholstered
- Fitted with replacement feet
Rather than permanently screwing or gluing the furniture leg directly to the frame, the threaded connection allows it to be removed and refitted when required.
Installing the Dowel Screw into a Wooden Leg
Correct positioning is important.
Start by marking the centre of the wooden furniture leg accurately.
A dowel screw installed noticeably off-centre may weaken one side of the leg and can also cause the finished leg to appear incorrectly positioned when attached to the furniture.
Drill a suitable pilot hole for the coarse wood-threaded section.
The pilot hole should be:
- Centrally positioned
- Straight
- Appropriate for the timber
- Deep enough for the wood-threaded section
- Surrounded by sufficient sound timber
The pilot hole should not be so small that installing the fixing risks splitting the leg.
It should also not be so large that the coarse thread cannot grip securely.
Keep the Dowel Screw Square
Alignment is particularly important with furniture-leg fixings.
The dowel screw should follow the centre line of the leg so that the exposed M8 thread emerges squarely.
If the fixing enters the leg at an angle, the furniture leg may not sit correctly even if the M8 thread engages successfully with the furniture-frame fixing.
Poor alignment can result in:
- Crooked furniture legs
- Uneven floor contact
- Furniture rocking
- Uneven gaps beneath the frame
- Additional stress on the threaded fixing
- Difficulty tightening the leg fully
Take particular care when producing several matching legs for the same sofa, chair or footstool.
Avoid Damaging the M8 Machine Thread
The exposed M8 section needs to remain undamaged so it can engage smoothly with the receiving furniture fixing.
Avoid gripping the machine thread directly with ordinary pliers, grips or serrated jaws during installation.
Crushing or marking the thread can make the furniture leg difficult to screw into the M8 fixing and may damage the receiving nut as well.
Where resistance is encountered during assembly, stop and inspect the thread rather than forcing the connection.
Setting the Correct Exposed M8 Thread Length
The amount of M8 thread left projecting from the wooden leg is important.
Too little exposed thread may provide insufficient engagement with the furniture-frame fixing.
Too much exposed thread can prevent the shoulder of the furniture leg from tightening firmly against the underside of the furniture.
Before final installation, consider:
- Depth of the receiving thread
- Thickness of any washer
- Furniture-frame construction
- Required leg position
- Shoulder height of the furniture leg
- Depth of the wood-threaded section
- Required final projection
Where several identical furniture legs are being prepared, use the first completed leg as a reference so the exposed thread length remains consistent.
Use with M8 T Nuts
An M8 T Nut provides a traditional four-prong furniture-frame fixing.
The T nut is installed into suitable timber and provides the internal M8 thread required to receive the projecting end of the dowel screw.
This combination can provide a straightforward removable wooden furniture-leg assembly.
The T nut is generally best suited where the furniture construction allows the flange and four gripping prongs to be correctly positioned within sound timber.
Use with M8 D Nuts
An M8 D Nut provides another compatible M8 threaded anchor.
Instead of using gripping prongs, the D nut has a coarse external thread and screws directly into a correctly prepared pilot hole in the furniture frame.
This can be particularly useful where the threaded fixing needs to be installed from one accessible side of the frame.
The wooden leg containing the M8 dowel screw can then screw directly into the installed D nut.
Use with an M8 3 Point Fixing Nut
The M8 3 Point Fixing Nut provides an M8 threaded connection on a broader mounting plate.
The plate is secured to suitable furniture-frame timber using three fixing positions.
This can provide a useful combination where:
- A screw-fixed mounting plate is preferred
- A larger fixing area is available
