We have a big kitchen table which has one or two leaves in it at all times.  I hate it when the leaves work themselves apart.  The table has a latch to hold it together but if you have a leaf installed it doesn’t work because there are not catches on the leaves–it only works when there is no leaf in the table.  Well this is a problem to be solved and I have a solution for you that doesn’t require you to buy any special parts.  You can fix this with what you have around your home.  Here’s the issue:

How to Keep Table Leaves Together

Hardware:

• Any table with leaves

Parts Needed:

• wire hanger

Tools Needed:

• Pliers

Step 1:  Prepare a hanger.

You’ll need a large wire hanger like the one seen below:

Step 1a: Untwist the end of the hanger:

Step 1b: Take your pliers and straighten the bends of the hanger:

I had a pretty big hanger so this is all did to straighten it:

Step 1c: Then cut off the spiral end of the hanger:

Step 2: Bend the end into a loop so it will catch on the fixed side of the table latch.

This is what mine looked like:

Step 3: Bend the other end so the hook on the latch pulls the table together.

Bend the end of the wire so it loops around and then cut the excess off:

Step 4: Lock the latch on the loop.

Now your table will stay together:

Step 5: Make another connecting wire for when you have two leaves in the table.

At our last house we always had two leaves in the table and now that I’m storing the extra leaf, I keep the longer connecting wire taped under the extra leaf, ready when I need it:

Inevitably you (and your kids) will want to “play” your repair: