tia: tAkE tWo

Antiques are neat.  The history makes it fascinating, especially if it's been in the family for a generation or more, or if it has served some historic purpose.  Provenance and condition are the key pieces of information used to assess the value of a piece.  In the meantime, "usability" is as important a  determining factor because we don't all live in gargantuan mansions with oodles of room to hide things.   Generally, it makes no sense to own a dumpy, broken-down $5000 paperweight.

I happen to be the caretaker of my grandmother's golden oak dining table.  It was "professionally" sabotaged... I mean, restored, if you could call it that.  According to the pictures on their website and the initial assessment of repairs these p.r.o.s. recommended, I truly expected to get it back in better shape than the one in which it was delivered.  Sigh.  These guys in Philly slogged on the wood glue and used a sander to remove the top layer of dings and things that, in my opinion, gave the table its character.  Had I desired a "new" piece of furniture, I would've purchased one.  Now that I have that off my chest,  I can get to the point of this blog.

I have had to learn of new ways to reinforce this wonderful family behemoth and thought to share the most recent repairs.  The leg trusses are screwed into the table top.  However, all but two of the screws kept falling out.  I was so afraid of someone bumping into it and breaking it completely that I set about to fix it and make it usable again.

There issues addressed in this "fix"
1. The screw holes were stripped.
2. The slider supports were completely missing.
3. The apron was missing 6 screws.
4. The wheels were not moving freely.

Supplies needed:  Wood glue, an oak dowel, toothpicks, wood screws and beeswax, liquid wrench.
Tools:  Drill, snips, flat and phillips head screwdrivers.

This was not a difficult fix, but it did take some time to google and check out recommendations.  My aunt had heard of people using dowels to fill holes and this awesome Gator fella I know expanded on that by adding that toothpicks were also used.  I used both! : )  Dowels were great for the larger holes. The toothpicks were wicked terrific for the smaller holes (especially on the apron) and for really filling them.  It was easy to shove in and break off the wood.  Once the appropriate amount of filler was determined, that bundle would then be swirled in the wood glue, refitted back into the hole and tamped down.  After it dried, I'd break off the surplus making them even with the table.




This was also done along the apron as well... using the toothpicks because the angle wouldn't allow for anything larger.  After these dried, I drilled a hole into the centers to allow the screws to be inserted without fear of bursting the wood surrounding the hole.  Applying the beeswax to the wood screws before inserting them allowed them to go in easier.





The slider supports were the exact size of a yardstick and all four went on like a charm.  Drilled the holes and flipped them up onto the table top.