Trashed Antique Table, Refinished and Modernized

Trashed Antique Table, Refinished and Modernized

Welcome back, today I have for you another dump find.  An antique tabletop, stained, peeling,  slightly falling apart with no legs or pedestal in sight.

On the plus side, the tabletop is solid wood.  OK, that’s probably the end of the plus side.

 

As if the top wasn’t bad enough, the table skirt was separating from the table.

At one point, I considered painting the wood, removing the skirt and turning it into a giant clock. Since I’ve made a giant clock in the past, the current plan is restoring this table back to it’s former glory.  If this post  happens to turn into a giant clock then the table failed and I fell back to Plan B.

I love to tackle the easy parts first, therefore I’m sanding the flat top.  I think it gives me a sense of accomplishment.  😆 

Out came the circular sander  and 120 grit sandpaper.  I like to use the 120, it takes off the finish without leaving gouges like a coarser grit sandpaper would.

This is a picture of the extension slides beneath the table.  The slides allow you to open up the table to insert a leaf,  I had no leaf so I had no use for these gorgeous slides.

Anybody know anything about slides with which you can date a table?  I’m thinking late 1800’s, early 1900’s perhaps?

By the time I had finished sanding the tabletop, the entire wood covering of the skirt had fallen completely off.  The glue had completely failed probably due to age and moisture.

Lots of wood glue and lots of clamps and that repair is an easy one.

Let the wood glue dry, preferably overnight.

Meanwhile, while I’m waiting for the glue to dry, I’m tackling the legs.

Wait…didn’t I just say this tabletop had no legs?  Why yes I did.

Theis was the leftover pedestal from when my youngest son added an oak leaf to a table very similar to this one but then used an iron pedestal to make it look more like a pub table.  That table was a $12.50  Goodwill find and it turned out fantastic.

Here’s his table from 2020. I’ve had the pedestal sitting around ever since.

The original pedestal had started to separate and had been repaired with wood glue and flat mending plates.

While the varnish on the pedestal was in much better shape than the top, I’m still removing all  the varnish and stain so I can apply a lot lighter finish and match the top to the base.

A disc sander will only take you so far.  Time to get out the paint remover for varnish in the nooks and crannies and hand sanding for the remainder of the stain.

Even with regluing, the table skirt was not in the best of shape.  I’m planning to cover the skirt with thin strips of wood.

A table saw makes quick work of chopping down these reclaimed bed slats into strips. What was not as quick was sanding the 250 ish pieces of wood. 🙄 

After sanding, glue on with a couple of beads of builders adhesive.

One more round with the sander along the lower edge will even out any slight inconsistencies in the length.

I’ve permanently attached the 2 sides of the table with longer flat brackets.  

A square wood piece is screwed directly to the tabletop.  The pedestal is attached to the smaller square then that is bolted to the larger wood square.  The bolts allow me to remove the legs for transporting.

The two squares added with the pedestal now makes this a standard height table.

To get that very light wood finish, paint your wood with a white wash.  White paint that has been watered  down, about 3 parts water to one part paint.

Try your paint out, you can always add more paint or more water.

Wipe off the excess paint with a paper towel until you see the wood grain shining thru.  

If you used too much paint, dampen the paper towel and wipe again.

 

I wanted the light wood finish which is fairly popular right now, sort of like the top and skirt.

Unfortunately the pedestal took the paint much differently and appeared much lighter.  Just one more problem to solve.

To the legs I’m using a clear wax with just a touch of the antique wax mixed in.   Paint on and wipe off the excess with a dry paper towel.

Add more antique wax if the finish doesn’t match the top or use a damp rag to remove the excess wax if it’s turning out too dark.

To the top and skirt I used two coats of a spray on polyurethane in a clear satin finish.

 

Another view of the top.  

So pretty and ready for dining.  

Until next time, stay inspired.