Barley Leaf Table...

[tenman]

well... this be the thing I'm working on at the moment, its an old table that had been sat in my parents basement for years, been a little attacked by woodworm, think the 3rd photo shows the worst of that, I'm just trying to make it look OK to be a feature in my place and prob. have a fishtank sat on it.

it had a mega thick layer of really thick varnish on it that I've already got (mainly) off with nitro moors, little bits to go yet that'll be needing wirewool and nitromoors to strip off I think, all I really want to do with it is get it back to the wood as much as possible and then oil it to show the grain as much as possible similar effect to the last photo I think, which is another table the wife got cos she liked the finish....

gonna nip to the hardware store tomorrow for some oil to polish with, any recommendations on brand (that I might be able to get in the UK), tips for applying (etc), and also about the word worm bits, should I just oil over and leave as a "feature" (I'm tempted, gives it a bit of history) or is there anyway I can make it look totally new/original again where it has been eaten. (I'm actually not all that bothered, I quite like the character the woodworm holes give it)

[graemet]

Hi Tenman,
Your table looks to be a brother to one from my family, at least 100 years old. Fortunately, mine has no worm damage and the finish is worn, but not to the extent of your photos. Mine is english oak which has been ebonised, probably fumed. I haven't decided how to restore mine, refume, stain or just sand back and shellac.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers
Graeme

[tenman]

hmm, those photos were taken after I've already attacked it with Nitromoors, sandpaper and wirewool, the finish before I started was just really really dark, to the point you couldn't see any of the grain of the wood, a bit like I think its the 4th piccie up there, where I haven't bothered to try and remove the old finish at all... a quick question I have is when using nitromors, it seems to leave a sort of grey residue actually in some of the grain that for me is spoiling the look of the wood somewhat, am I best just hitting this with white spirit to try and clean it out?, or just hit it with more of the nitromors to try and dissolve it before using white spirit to get clean it?

[tenman]

and finished...