Okay so this whole thing started because my backyard tree was gonna get cut down. Big rubber tree thing, like thirty feet tall. Heavy branches smacking the roof whenever the wind blew hard. My girlfriend wouldn’t stop nagging about it. “Gonna break something! Need it gone!” Fine, fine. Got the tree guys in. After they chopped it down and hauled away the main chunks, I saw this big old log section left behind. Looked sturdy, heavy. Felt kinda wasteful just leaving it there for the trash truck, you know?

The “Great” Idea Strikes (Blame YouTube)

Saw this video clip online somewhere, probably YouTube rabbit hole stuff. Guy using thick wood under heavy machines. Said it helped soak up the shakes and bumps, made things less noisy. Got me thinking. That rickety old wooden stand my TV sits on? It wobbles every time I try to grab the damn remote off it. Could this log help stop the wobble?

• Step 1: Drag & Drop: Man, this thing was HEAVY. Like, stupid heavy. Grunted and dragged that log chunk from the backyard to the garage. Nearly wrecked my back.
• Step 2: Axe Murder Attempt: Figured I needed a slice off it, a nice thick slab. Tried using a hand axe. Dumb move. Barely made a dent. Axe just bounced off like it hit concrete.
• Step 3: Enter the Power Tools: Gave up on that. Dusted off my old chainsaw, hoped it still worked. Fired it up, scared the cat half to death. Cut myself a thick chunk, maybe two inches thick? Still super heavy. Sanded the rough edges down. Didn’t make it smooth-smooth, just “won’t give you splinters” smooth.

Does It Actually Do Anything?

Here’s the test run:

1. The Shaky Setup: My TV stand is basically four skinny legs and glass top. Tapping the glass makes the whole thing buzz.
2. Rubber Log Placement: Slid my heavy, rough-cut rubber wood slab underneath the stand, right in the middle of those legs. Figured if anything could kill vibrations, it was this dense, heavy block.
3. The Knock Test: Time for science! Knocked the table leg HARD. Without the block? Whole thing rattled, glass buzzed like an angry bee. WITH the block underneath? Less buzz. WAY less. Still a tiny bit of shake, but nothing like before. Hit it again. Same thing. Shock soaked up pretty good!

Did I Win? Sorta?

Okay, so putting a huge chunk of heavy wood under a shoddy table leg DOES make it wobble less. Worked better than I expected. That thick rubber wood definitely absorbs the thump. But come on, it’s also ridiculous. Now I’ve got this massive log piece hiding under my TV stand. Looks ugly as heck. Girlfriend walks in: “What in the world is THAT?!” Try explaining shock absorption using leftover tree bits. She just rolled her eyes. Still, the table doesn’t buzz anymore when I WHACK it grabbing the remote. So, small victory? Maybe? Worth the effort? Jury’s still out. Feels like I traded one kind of stupid for another. Big, ugly, bouncy wood doing its job. Guess I gotta live with the wobble… and the eye-rolls.