Dr Frankenstein creation or confused Silky Oak table

[Blackout]

Confused because being silky oak I expected it to be longer (I think someone has chopped a dining room table top down but kept the width) and a dining room table. Under the table top is a mixture of silky oak rails but I think maple legs and a mess of support wood sections (will need removal and sorting out later). I think Dr Frankenstein may have built this from others tables. Any how when I bought it there was a mess of some sort of poly covered in a mess of paints. Maybe someone was using it as a work bench. It was a challenge to see what the grain underneath was. It has now had the paints and poly sanded off. Yep, sanded because this is nothing original to bring back to it's former glory. I sanded with orbital sanders and finally applied sanding sealer and sanded (twice) using 320 grit. The surface was nice and smooth. I finally used blonde shellac to expose some really nice grain in my books. The shellac will be gradually built up in layers. Eventually we will decide what to do underneath but for now this is destined to become a sewing table.

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[Xanthorrhoeas]

The final finish looks good. Please work out how to orient the photos correctly though because my neck is getting too old to twist sideways like that!

One of the interesting things about old furniture is working out what has been done to it over time. When I was first collecting and developing some recognised expertise in Australian furniture my in-laws' neighbours in country NSW (three very elderly ladies) asked me to come over to admire and comment on their lovely antique cedar extension table. I was really keen to see it ... what a disappointment ... They explained that, when they moved into a smaller house, their great grandparents' table had been too big to fit, so they got 'Fred' to re-size it to fit. Ouch, a few polite words later and I could not get out fast enough. Fred was no cabinetmaker - rough sawcuts abounded.

With the benefit of hindsight I can see that at least they still had a bit of their family history - but back then I was a purist. In $$ terms altered furniture is worth less than the timber it is made of. In practical terms it can be very useful (think of all those chiffoniers without backs doing sterling service as cupboards). You have brought out the beauty of the timber and made it both useful and lovely to look at. Conservation at its best.

[Blackout]

I'll admit I bought the table for materials but once the grain was exposed I consulted SWMBO. I look forward to seeing what the legs really look like but the rails made me weep. The trim around the table top was a challenge to recover. Yes, the photo situation is frustrating. I check them and they look good but as soon as the get uploaded the spin 90 degrees.

Any suggestions on how to sand and treat the legs?

[artme]

Good to see you kept the table as a table and did not just use the timber for other purposes!!

The grain in that top looks almost 3 dimensional.Sensational stuphph!!!

[Blackout]

It's a pity the photographs doesn't do the 3D affect justice. It's this sort of grain that keeps me practising and learn about French polishing.

[PJM16]

Great restoration. It's always interesting trying to work out the story of an old piece of furniture as you restore it to beauty.