Scavenger Chic

DIY Table Leaf for Vintage Dining Table

• By Joan
• April 29, 2020
• 13 Comments

DIY Table Leaf

What you see here is an early 1900’s oak pedestal table that I found at the local Goodwill well over a year ago.  I had no need for another table but it just happened to be half price day and I couldn’t possibly pass him by. This solid oak vintage table was selling for only $12.50.

Considering his age he was in pretty good condition with just a few bumps and bruises.  His top separated to allow for a leaf, as I found out quickly when I tried to roll him to the checkout, but that was long gone.

I’ve pulled him out of the garage twice over the past year and a half when I’ve needed extra seating for holidays but mainly he has just sat patiently waiting for his big makeover.

 

His big makeover day has finally arrived and the person to give him his big makeover is son #3, Nathan.  Nathan has been at college for the past few years.  First year he was in a dorm, last 2 years in a furnished apartment, but next year he and 4 other roommates are renting an unfurnished house.

Now how can I talk him into taking the table off my hands and doing all the work? 😆   Actually, that part was easy.  He was looking for a project to do before going back to school.

The pedestal, while it was still useable, had split and been repaired with brackets.

But what if you could replace the wooden pedestal with this iron base that I also had stored in the garage?  Then it would go from looking like a Grandma table to looking more like a pub table.

And what if you could make a leaf for the table that would make the table large enough for all the roommates.  Currently it would probably sit 4 comfortably.

The iron pedestal  was given to me by oldest son, Keith, who had scavenged it from an old Italian restaurant his work was about to tear down.  He had also given me one other iron pedestal several months back which I used for this wire spool table.

This iron pedestal appeared to be in worse condition with a whole lot of rusting going on.

The rust wasn’t nearly as bad as it first appeared.  After a good scrubbing with a wire brush most of the rust was coming from just a few nooks and crannies.

The rust disappeared even further with a cleaning of vinegar and water.  Rust?  What rust?

He did spray the base with a coat of semi-gloss black Rustoleum for any little spots that might decide in the future to reemerge.

 

The old wooden pedestal base sat on this nice little X underneath the table which allowed the table to spread apart when you insert a leaf.

The iron base was 3″ taller than the old base.  If the iron sat on the same X, the table would be way too tall, you would feel like a little kid sitting at the adult table.

The solution would be to remove the X and have the iron base sit directly on the table but this would remove the option of inserting and removing a leaf at any time. Given that he and his new roommates would total at least 5 or 6 at all times, Nathan liked the idea of a permanently larger table.

When adding a leaf you need to match up your woods as close as possible unless you’re going to paint.  Nathan found this beautiful 8 ft piece of 12″ oak hardwood at Home Depot.

Measure and cut your 12″ piece of oak saving the excess for the sides.

Line up the new leaf and mark both sides where the dowels stick out on the existing table and where the holes are on the opposite side.

Drill holes on both sides of the new leaf  about 1/2″ depth where you marked.  Use a drill bit the width of the existing dowels on the old table.

On one side of your new leaf, you’ll leave the holes as is.  On the opposite side, cut dowels to fit that mimic the width and length of the dowels on the existing table.  With wood glue, glue these dowels into place.

Insert your new leaf into the table matching up all your holes and dowels.

With an orbital sander, sand the new leaf until the new edge has the exact same curvature as the old table. (Skip ahead 7 pictures for a closeup of the edge)

Nathan removed the X which held the old wooden pedestal in place.  If you’re keeping your existing pedestal don’t remove it and you can skip the next step too.

A couple of old fence boards are screwed directly to both sides of the old table (make sure your screws are short enough that they don’t go thru the top).  These will prevent the table from sliding and give something for the new iron base to screw to.

The new leaf is not attached in any way except by the dowels.  If you ever change your mind and want to add another leaf or make the table smaller once again, the fence boards can be unscrewed and removed.

From your leftover oak, cut the sides of your extension.  Sand  the edges well.

Use wood glue to attach the sides to the table top.

Cut four corner braces from your scrap wood to match the existing braces.

Use more wood glue to attach the corner braces.  Nathan also used a pneumatic nailer to hold the corners in place.

The table top edge has been sanded to match the existing table and the bottom edge of the side piece is also slightly rounded.  

The only thing left was to refinish the table so that the new leaf matches the old wood.  Since the old finish was extremely scratched and had darkened over the years it had to be removed.

Paint remover and scraping got rid of most of the old varnish.  Mineral spirits cleaned it up a bit more.

He finished the table with a lot of hand sanding.  Medium grit paper followed by fine grit to get a beautiful finish.

Our supplies for the final finish.

This was after one coat of the Minwax Golden Pecan on the old finish which was darker and a coat of the Varathane Early American on just the new leaf.  How did we decide on those stains?  Those were the lightest and darkest stains I had on hand.  Very scientific. 🙄 

After the initial coats of stain had dried, both the new and old wood were both treated with an additional coat of the Early American stain.

Another day of stain drying and the table was ready for the Danish oil wax.  Use a paper towel to rub the finish into the wood and let dry. The Danish oil wax has a little bit of stain in it which further helps to darken that beautiful new leaf.  

Let dry and repeat.

I took the “final” pictures but I think he still wants to add a couple more coats of the oil for durability.

Nathan did such a fantastic job with this project, I wonder what other pieces of furniture he might like to tackle.

Stay inspired.