I found this great empire coffee table at a thrift store a few years ago. 
It was not in the best shape and pretty rickety but I didn’t care. I added a bit of glue and put it in my living room and loved it. 
And then I sat on it.
Yes, I did. Not one of my kids (in particular my 16 year old son who just happened to be walking down the stairs last week when the banister fell off the wall). No, it was I who sat on the already shaky, old table and broke it. This time it was not “glueable”. It went into the depths of my garage where it stayed for a year.
Over the weekend, I very carefully took it apart bit by bit and figured out how it was constructed. 
I then pieced it back together and made sure the screws were in tight and everything was secure. 
The paint finish is pretty banged up but it’s that old, oil based chippy paint and I hate to cover it. 
Besides, it will continue to baffle my mother-in-law.
I told you I love it 😉
Oh, me too…so glad that you fixed it and kept it. I really, really like that table..now on to the bannister, right? LOL Diane W.
It looks great; glad you could save it.
Love it …..and….your great sense of humor!
Love that table. It’s great that you figured out how to fix/save it.
Fun to get a little peak into the construction of it all…especially those round support legs. Good for you for getting it repaired and functioning again! And as for baffling your mom-in-law, I think we creative DIY types all have plenty of those items in our homes that perplex the not-so-creative people in our lives!