We had been eating around our new dining table for about week. Then one afternoon my oldest daughter and I were sitting in the living room when we heard a tremendous crash from the dining room. We ran out to find a huge mess–and a broken table.
There are wooden valances above each of the dining room windows, and we had been storing books on top of the valances for years. But something happened that afternoon, and one of the valances came down, books and all, right onto one edge of our new table. Thank God nobody was sitting there at the time!
It must have been a couple hundred pounds of books that fell five feet before they hit the table top. The books that had fallen weren’t harmed much. The valance, however, had broken in a couple places. (I guess this was a literal case of multivalence? Okay, sorry, that pun is bad even by my standards.) When I saw it, I collapsed onto the floor with my head in my hands. There was nothing for it but to clean up the mess and figure out how to repair my new table.
The Chair Dr. Veneer Repair
The top was a clean break, so I knew I could glue it back together without much difficulty. (By the way, notice that the wood did not break at any of the joints–a properly-made edge joint is indeed stronger than the wood itself!) The support underneath was another matter. Each I-shaped assembly is a single, solid piece. I had neither time nor materials to rebuild the whole assembly. So I opted for a reinforcement that I’ve seen used for weakened joists in old houses.
The crack did not run the full length of the table. I think the bolts holding the top onto the legs kept it together at the far end. I put a clamp onto the far, undamaged end to keep it together. Then I used wooden wedges to expand the crack far enough to force wood glue down into it. Toothpicks and a palate knife were useful in spreading the glue throughout the crack. I used a couple of cauls to keep the joint aligned. Everything seemed to go together pretty well.
Once the glue was dry on the top, but before I pulled all the clamps off, I loosened the lag screws that held the broken piece to the top. I shot some Liquid Nails adhesive into the break and pulled the two pieces together with clamps.
Mosaic Table Repair — Laura Bachynski
Just to be clear: I glued the two pieces together only for alignment, not for strength. Once that glue was dry, it was time to install a reinforcement.
I cut a clear 1 1/2X2 from yellow pine and screwed it to the wood on each side of the break. Then I tightened up the lag screws in the original piece.
It doesn’t look pretty, but the result is a stable, solid table. And unless you crawl under the table, you’ll never see that it’s been repaired.
American White Ash Dining Table
All that’s left is to scrape/sand the glue line perfectly flush and refinish it. But at this rate, I’ll probably just let the younger kids continue to destroy the current finish, which already has some noticeable scratches in it. Then after a couple years (or decades) I’ll sand it all down and do a proper refinishing job.
Because, frankly, it took me two afternoons to repair the table, and by that time the family was a little tired of not having a table for meals. I got the undercarriage fixed just in time to eat supper.
This entry was posted in Furniture, Wood and Woodwork and tagged caul, clamps, dining table, disaster, fix, glue, repair. Bookmark the permalink.Back in the Fall, I worked on completely transforming our dining room from top to bottom (you can read more about that here). As part of that transformation, I worked on a variety of different projects to bring it all together, but the one I was most nervous to tackle was refinishing a secondhand dining table. I had purchased this table on our local buy-and-sell for $100 CAD nearly two years before I got around to tackling it. I saw a lot of potential in it with the beautiful oval top, tapered legs, and brass detailing, but just didn’t love the glossy, speckled and yellowed finish on it. Before this project, I had never used a chemical stripper to strip down a piece of furniture, but I really envisioned this table staying a beautiful wood tone and knew it was finally time to give the refinishing process a try. Some pieces you just can’t paint - this table was one of them.
Stone Furniture Repairs
Before I explain exactly how I tackled this project, let me show you what this table looked like before I started. From the moment I picked it up from the seller, the table was already disassembled and I never bothered to put it back together. It has a beautiful oval top and includes two leaves to extend the length. Each tapered leg nestles into the skirting of the table and all the details are the perfect balance between classic and simple. But that finish -
. It was beautifully done and still in great condition, but I just didn’t like the high gloss and yellow undertone. I wanted the new finish to be a little more natural so the beautiful details of the design could shine. And yes, a little less
I figured I would share a tutorial about exactly how I tackled this project so that you can do it too. Trust me when I say that it seems intimidating, but it is definitely a really satisfying project when all is said and done. If I can do it, so can you!
Early 1900's Dining Table And Chairs Refinishing Series
My first step was to strip down the existing finish to bring the table back to raw wood. I decided to do this using a chemical stripper. You may be wondering if you need to use a chemical stripper or if there is another option for removing the old finish. In short, no, you do not need to use chemicals to do this. But - and this is a huge
To save yourself a lot of time spent endlessly sanding, using a chemical stripper will definitely help to expedite the stripping process. Don’t get me wrong, though, even though I chose to go the chemical direction, I was definitely still intimidated to try. Even in my limited knowledge about chemical strippers, I knew going in that they were smelly, messy, and involved multiple steps. But like any other time I try something new, the best thing I could do was prepare by doing some research and gathering all the necessary supplies before diving in. I ended up watching this video multiple times and referenced this tutorial to make a plan of attack for my own table.
This process gets messy and smelly and takes some time, so set up your workspace in a well-ventilated area that you can use for a while. If you have a shop with doors that open, that would be a great option. I simply set myself up on our driveway on a nice autumn day and decided that I would work on my table in sections. I ended up working at it over a series of three different days, completing the table top one day, the leaves on another, and the legs on yet another. Ideally you would just do it all at once, but it does take some time and unlimited time is not a luxury I have at this phase of toddler-parenthood so I had to split it up.
How To Restore Wooden Furniture
You can fully intend to be really tidy and careful, but I guarantee that this process will still make a mess. I laid a drop sheet on our driveway, propped the table pieces up on a sawhorse and some scrap pieces of wood, and gathered all my supplies. I had a garbage bag for disposal nearby and extra cardboard boxes to toss used supplies into. Before opening the stripper, I put on my nitrile gloves and a respirator to protect my hands and lungs from the chemicals.
When you’re ready to get started, dump a generous glob of the stripper onto your table surface. Use a chip brush to spread an even layer across the surface, being sure that it sits on the surface in a fairly thick layer. If you notice that the stripper is drying out quickly, you likely need to apply a thicker layer. Be careful not to go over the areas you have already applied stripper to repeatedly. You should simply apply it and then let it sit, undisturbed, for the recommended amount of time that the package outlines. For the product I used, the recommend wait time was 10-15 minutes. Once you apply it and let it sit for a few minutes, you should see the finish on your table start to bubble. Resist the temptation to start scraping - wait the fully recommended time.
I strongly suggest working in small areas at a time, such
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