Bun legs for Furniture

For this project you will need: 1) an electric drill with a 5/16″ wood bit; 2) pliers or vise-grip (locking pliers); 3) four 5/16″ metal screw dowels that are 4″ long; 4) a 3″ to 4″ length of 1/2″ wide masking tape.

Begin by marking the centers of the tops of the bun feet and the centers on the piece to which you will be attaching the bun feet. Place the piece of tape onto your drill bit at the two inch mark, leaving a “flag” of tape to the side: this will help you ensure that you are drilling the correct depth. Drill the centers of your bun feet until the tape flag begins to sweep the drill shavings from the top of the bun foot: at this point you have drilled 2″ deep. Now repeat the same by drilling into the places on the piece where you want to attach the feet. Now you want to screw the metal screw dowels into the bun feet. You will want to grasp the center of the metal screw dowel with the pliers and turn the bun foot onto the dowel. Tip: If your bun foot is made of a hard, dense wood you may want to use vise-grips or locking pliers instead of regular pliers. When all the metal screw dowels have been mounted into the bun feet, you may now screw the bun feet onto the piece of furniture to which you are attaching them. Note: The advantage of using metal screw dowels is that they are almost self-squaring when attached to a piece of furniture. The attachment of the foot is also extremely sturdy and stable.

When starting your bun feet project you will first need to gather your equipment. For this project you will need your bun feet, #8 screws, drill, and the piece to which you are attaching the bun feet. Each of your feet can be set up and installed in the same manner.

There are different types of drill bits that can be used for this project. Several popular drill bits are standard drill bits, paddle bits, and brad point bits. For this application any of these bits would work equally well. You will need to select a drill bit that will drill a 1/4 inch hole, and one that will drill a 1/8 inch hole.

Choose the number of screws you would like to use on this project and mark the bottom of your feet where you would like to place the screws. Use the drill bit that will give you a 1/4 inch hole and slowly drill through the bottom of the foot. Be careful to stop about 1 inch from the top of the bun foot. This will leave about 1 inch of material between the top of the bun foot and the bottom of this hole.

In the remaining 1 inch of material between the bottom of the hole you drilled and the top of the bun foot you will drill a 1/8 inch hole. Select your second drill bit and carefully drill a hole through the center of this remaining material. This will serve as a guide for your screw.

The screws chosen for the example are 2 1/2 inch long #8 screws. If the bottom of your piece is less than 1 3/4 inches thick you may want to use shorter screws, because the screws will drive nearly 1 3/4 inches into your piece. Mark your piece where each of the feet will be attached. Line up the first foot and use your drill drive the screws through the foot and into the bottom of the piece.