Redgum table repair

[Elliotaw]

I have to confess first of all that I only signed up to this forum to get help with a table I bought from ebay (yes I can hear your opinions already....haha).

I have built a few peices of furnature and done a little bit of basic box making but thats about as far as my woodworking skill goes. I am a fitter by trade and play with metal all day every day, I have a great admiration of everything timber, just lack some of the knowledge so this seams a good place to start.

So first off.. this table. Was advertised as needing restoration and that it had a warped top. Its a big size (about 1400 x 1400). Made of reclaimed redgum. It was probably a very fine table when new (the seller told me he paid $2000 for it about 7 years ago.. if he did, he was ripped off..either way, I picked it up for $100 so at the time of bidding I figured... it will, either be a nice buy or some expensive firewood, so took a gamble expecting the worst).

He said it started to move after about 2 years and then after 5 years it had reached its current state when he then put it inot storage.

Heres how it looks now
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/elliotaw/Photo0075.jpg

All four corners are buckled, one side much worse than the other...
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/elliotaw/Photo0074.jpg

It also has a cracked leg
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/elliotaw/Photo0071-1.jpg
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/elliotaw/Photo0073.jpg

This is stamped on the underside
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/elliotaw/Photo0082.jpg

This is how the top is held to the frame
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/elliotaw/Photo0084-1.jpg

My first problem I would like to attack is how to straighten up the top. There are no cracks at all and all the glued joins still look perfect. I have heard that it can be wetted and then clamped and tighten a bit each day... is it really as simple as that ?
Should I use the frame as the source of clamping or use something more structural ?

If anyone can give some detailed help I would appreciate it very much.

I was considering if it is not repairable to cut the top into individual planks and then take them to a wood machinist to have them made good again and then I could use my biscuit joiner and glue it back up.. sounds very extreme, but i am happy to go that route if it is the best option.

Elliot

[HakimOerton]

Hi Elliot,

I did a woodcarving course decades ago at the Redgum Studio in Sydney. The advice there for straightening warped wood was to place it in the sun. The drying of the wood on the sun side would cause it to bow in the opposite direction. In your case the bottom of the table top would be the sun-up side.

You would need to keep an eye on it if this is a method someone with a little more experience seconds. It has worked well for me though.

Hakim (a woodworking dabbler)

[Col]

Elliot

Wetting and clamping will not work as when it dries out again it will return to its current bent state. The top needs to be re-cut and rejoined with growth rings alternating so as to end up with the cupping up and down on each board to keep the top flatter. The orientation of the growth rings in the second picture is incorrect and is the cause of the problems. The top should not be glued to the frame but left dry and fixed with the same buttons to allow movement. The cracks and old screw holes can be filled with suitable filler or epoxy and the whole job then refinished. It will be a fairly simple restoration if you take your time. Apply the same finish to both sides of the top to equal it out not just the top surface.

Col.

[Elliotaw]

Thanks for the quick replies already. I checked the orientation of the growth rings as you mention and all but one of them are the same way up. I see the logic in fitting them together in alternate positions to maintain overall flatness. It does strike me strange though that a manufacturer of furniture would not know this. I'm not trying to second guess you, I think your comment is very valid, just posing the question.

If I decide that the way to go is to cut the top back to boards, I think I will also make the whole table smaller, maybe bring it down to 1200 instead. That would mean some machining on my part of the tennon joints, but it would make for a stronger repair of the damaged leg and we could also probably delete the worst of the warped top planks. (I'm sure plank is not the correct word, someone correct me please).

Elliot

[Col]

Thanks for the quick replies already. I checked the orientation of the growth rings as you mention and all but one of them are the same way up. I see the logic in fitting them together in alternate positions to maintain overall flatness. It does strike me strange though that a manufacturer of furniture would not know this. I'm not trying to second guess you, I think your comment is very valid, just posing the question.

If I decide that the way to go is to cut the top back to boards, I think I will also make the whole table smaller, maybe bring it down to 1200 instead. That would mean some machining on my part of the tennon joints, but it would make for a stronger repair of the damaged leg and we could also probably delete the worst of the warped top planks. (I'm sure plank is not the correct word, someone correct me please).

Elliot

I would be cutting the the tenons off the broken leg if it was me because you will be reducing the width of the top when you cut and remachine the top boards. Just because the table may have been "professionally" made does not ensure good joinery practices. There are a lot of wood butchers out there in and out of the trade. But that is another subject. If you need to ask any questions email me and maybe we can catch up.

Col