Restoring a table that's been through... a lot

I have this old table that's been sitting in a basement for closing in to 30 years. It's been abused a lot--stuff piled on top, creating scrapes, gouges, and indents, and two coastal floods (Hurricane Irene to start, and then the total inundation of Superstorm Sandy).

At some point in the past I must have started a refinishing project, as most of the topside had been sanded down--i.e., the dark brown finish was gone, though probably a good part of the physical damage happened after this. In any case, that probably happened >20 years ago so I don't remember what I'd done.

There is no veneer; this is solid wood, almost 2" thick. In addition to the top, it has two "legs"--in quotes because they're not leg-shaped but solid pieces nearly the width of the table--set about a foot back from either end, with a lower shelf/cross piece just little smaller running between them. Everything is attached by pegs or something similar (I can't quite see them).

I took the table out and sanded the top and rim again, just to see what was possible. I don't know if the remaining stains in the first picture below is from the original stain that seeped in more deeply, or something from years later. I tried steaming out some of the indentations without success; I read that steaming works best if you do it right after the damage, and I'm at least four presidential administrations away from that.

The first picture is an overall shot after that sanding (palm sander, 120 grit). Lots of little indentations.

In the second and third are a closeup of the indentations--small and large. No photo of it, but there's a similar bit of damage on an edge that would need either filling or total reshaping. Third photo also shows a knot.

Fourth photo has a crack, and shows the original stain I'd removed from the top. I wasn't sure if I should address the crack with a bowtie inlay, which I've never done, or CA glue. In that picture and the next you can see a closeup of something also visible in the first shot the hole for the peg (or whatever), which are in turn covered by wood disks. If glue held them in it's long since dried out. I think I'm going to try to clean out the recesses (most discs are already loose) and re-glue the discs. In the last photo, some of the discs are missing entirely, so I was going to cut some doweling to fit.

I'm down to minimal tools at this point, thanks again to Superstorm Sandy. I've picked up a few items since then, as needed, but I have a 5" orbital sander and (not helpfully here) a electric hand planer. I also have a router. All of my handwoodworking tools are gone--I had a demolition/mold remediation company in after Sandy and asked them to set aside all of my tools (I had some beautiful old block planes I was sure i could save) but the idjits saved all the now useless POWER tools (which had sat in saltwater for a couple of days) and threw out (or, more likely, took) the hand tools.

I'm not sure how I want to eventually finish this. I'm not crazy about painting, though that would probably save a lot of headache since I could just fill in all of the knots and other issues without worrying about matching. I don't have experience with epoxy or CA glues, though I probably have some experimentation freedom here.

Anyway, those are the issues/ideas that come to mind; I'm sure I've overlooked some. Any ideas?

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Just some alternate views:

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I love old stuff like this - the patina is irreproducible. :2tsup:

If it was mine, unless the gaps leave it unusuable, structurally unsound or wobbly, I wouldn't even fill any gaps - but that's up to you.
I'd leave it just as is - sand it, and then seal it with some sort of oil.

If the stains offend you, after sanding you could try a 10% oxalic acid (available at bunnings), it will remove or at least lighten most stains especially any caused by rust etc. Before treating I would wash the surface withs something like sugar soap to get any oil/grease off otherwise teh oxalic won't do much. Make sure you completely rinse the sugar soap off.

Its called oxalic acid but its a relatively weak acid (also found in some foods) but don't go drinking it.

You can't just treat the stains with the oxalic acid as it can slightly lighten the wood around the stains so you will have to at a minimum treat a whole panel in a uniform way.
You might want to try it on a panel that will not normally show eg teh underside of the table top.
Sometimes multiple applications of oxalic are needed.

+1 for oxalic acid which you should be able to get from a good hardware store. (Bob L - Scott is in New York so Bunnings might be a bit of a drive :D)

For some tips on restoring pieces like this I recommend watching Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration on YouTube. Tom is based in Gorham, Maine. Many of his restorations show how he uses things like oxalic acid to remove stains.

I agree with Bob - I think less is more with a piece like this. I’d start with cleaning it all down, try to remove or minimise the stain, leave the cracks unless they are structural then finish with something minimally invasive such as Osmo hardwax oil or, if the table won’t be getting rough usage, just some quality furniture wax (whatever the local equivalent of Gilboys is) applied along the grain with 0000 steel wool.

Love to see any progress pics, Scott.

Regards,

Brian

Thanks for the replies. I picked up some oxalic acid at a local hardware store, brushed on, let it sit overnight, brushed with a sodium bicarb solution, then a wet rag, and then a dry towel. Much improved (below). There are a few remaining stains that make me debate another treatment.
The cracks don't seem to go through the wood. There are a few scratches that I think I'd like to address, since they look more like simple negligence than "aging."
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I reckon that's pretty good as it is.
Gotta leave it with some patin.
Once you put some oil or similar on it the grain will "POP" and the defects and stains will fade into the background.

Hi Scott,

That's come up really well.

If it were mine I'd just find some matching dowel to patch those round holes then apply the finish. That said, another go with the oxalic acid shouldn't do any harm if the residual stains bother you.

if there are dents you could try steaming them (steam iron over a cloth) to swell the fibres back up.

Any cracks in the knot holes etc you could fill with a mix of PVA glue and a matching or darker colour wood dust - or fill with clear epoxy. I'd only fill the cracks myself if I was concerned about foodstuffs getting into them.

Kind regards,

Brian

I absolutely love old stuff like this.

Not the dust, grim and grease.... but the look.

Its a tough call. There are some who like pristine, but then why not buy something new? The old, beaten up, well used look that only time and neglect can impose is a rarity. Wabi-Sabi....

Now the deed is done though, Id imagine its a job of getting it so it lasts another 50 years. Ensuring the bolts are good, filling the bolt-covers and the more massive knot holes (artistically) is the way to go.

What a marvellous kitchen table this would be.

I did try steaming out the dents and it didn't work; I'd read somewhere that if left too long the wood fibers acquire a "memory" so that the dents won't steam back out, and that seems to be the case. I tried different variations of steam (cotton vs paper towel, letting the drops soak into the dent for a while) without any noticeable changes.

By happenstance I have a section of wood dowel that fits just fine into the holes; I ordered a flush cut saw to better fit them. Probably could get away with using my mitre saw to cut lengths, but this gives me an excuse to buy a flush cut saw to replace the one destroyed by Sandy.

I don't know if i"m overthinking this part, but I think the peg holes need some cleaning out: the wood at the bottom seems a little suspect and I don't know if glue will stick to it (and perhaps that's why the plugs came out to begin with). I need something that would let me excavate the hole out to an even depth (no more than 1mm or 2, I hope) while not making the hole any wider. I thought that a Dremel with the router attachment would be appropriate, but I can't find any bit that would work: all the bits I can find cut to the side as well as down. I suppose I could be very, very careful, but Murphy's law and all....

I have some cheap Forstner bits but none quite the right size and, with a hand drill, I'm sure I'd mangle things.

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A stubby router bit with a top bearing like this should allow you to clean up the bottom of the holes without removing any wood from the sides:

CMT Mortising Router Bit with Bearing - 1/4" Cut Depth | Carbatec

The cutting flutes are only ¼” long, which would allow the bearing to drop into the hole.

Unfortunately, the existing holes are almost exactly 1/4" deep (I just measured the cap), so it looks like I could accidentally widen the hole before the bearing came into play.

EDIT: I just tried the Dremel sanding disk--the thin flexible ones that are like flimsy sandpaper. It worked pretty well. There's an "EZ Lock" model (which I don't have) which might be even better: the type I have attaches with a screw, which protrudes in the center, while the EZ Lock model attaches at the back and so has a flat sanding surface. But I don't know if the diameter is the same or not: a mere millimeter or so wider and it would be too big.

EDIT 2: darn it, the EZ Lock version is MUCH wider, 31.8 mm vs 19.1 mm for the discs I have.

EDIT 3: huh. No pegs at the bottom: they're screws. Very rusty screws. On the one hand I'm concerned about what the salt water immersion did to them; on the other, I'm *more* concerned with what might happen if I attempt to remove and replace them. As someone once told me, it would be playing the game of "why the f did I do that?"

Well, I'm very glad I didn't buy some nice woodworking bit to clean this out with!

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Hi Scott,

Why be concerned with the crud at the bottom of the holes? Glue will stick the sides anyway and the bottom of the holes are not going to be seen. I’d clean the holes by loosening the dirt with something like a satay skewer then vacuum out (best to do this when the domestic goddess is out :o ). Glue in the dowels, put down a couple of pieces of blue tape to prevent accidental score marks when you cut off the dowels with your new razor sharp Japanese saw, pare down to level with a sharp chisel, retire to the couch with a cold beer and a sense of achievement :D

Regards,

Brian