150+ years old table

[Ron Altier]

A friend brought over to me a small table........in parts. She said it has been in her family for more than 150 years. I could see where had been repaired before (maybe 3 times) with hide glue and even it was falling apart. She wanted to keep it as original as possible. The top was awful and it looked like it may have been replaced. There were nail holes on the underside that went in two rows. She said she believed it to be Walnut.  When cleaning/sanding some areas, the dust was more reddish than Walnut and the wood was very light. However when I applied a finish to the top, it came out looking like walnut. Having never worked with really old wood like this, I don't know how it ages. 

Does Walnut act this way as it gets really old?

Another thing I found that was unique was that the end of the post, where it goes up in the table, had a tapered slit. You put a tapered shim in and when you tapped the post in, it self tightened. Never even heard of that, but a great idea. The bottom mount board was split in 3 pieces with a forth piece missing, which I replaced.  You can also see the red look on the underside of the top.

Edited November 21, 2017 by Ron Dudelston
tags added

[Nickp]

Nice restore project...

Edited November 21, 2017 by Nickp

[HandyDan]

The red color indicates it may be Honduran Mahogany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lew]

The chip out area on the underside of the top looks pretty light in color to be walnut.

 

You did a beautiful job on the restoration!

[DAB]

150 years ago, the wood of choice for the well to do was mahogany.  walnut was used for railroad ties and carved work.

 

the center bench at the Supreme Court is made out of mahogany.  not walnut.  the base color of mahogany is orange, not brown (like walnut).

 

i concur, looks like mahogany to me.

 

very delicate work, not the way i'd build a table.

[Stick486]

very nice restore Ron..

[HandyDan]

21 minutes ago, lew said:

The chip out area on the underside of the top looks pretty light in color to be walnut.

 

I don't know if they did veneer  150 years ago but a lot of old furniture used veneer and a lot of it was Honduran Mahogany. 

[Stick486]

6 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

 

I don't know if they did veneer  150 years ago but a lot of old furniture used veneer and a lot of it was Honduran Mahogany. 

 

a lot of older veneers were done on plank cores...

 

It is true that a piece of inferior quality furniture may be veneered but again it is not the presence of the veneer itself that determines that inferiority. More important to quality is the overall design and construction of piece, e.g. blocked corners in the case, good dovetail joints in the drawers, etc. But perhaps more important than any of these items is the underlayment of the veneer. In the 18th century thick veneers were applied to solid wood underlayments and secondary woods using primarily hide glue. Expensive mahogany veneer was applied over less costly woods such as pine and poplar. The veneer was so thick that slight imperfections in the underlayment did not “telegraph” through the veneer. As veneers became thinner the sub surface became more important. In the early 20th century the five layer process came into general use solving that problem.

For example, a well made drawer front of 1925 started out as a piece of solid poplar or oak with its grain running the length of the drawer. A sub-layer of inexpensive veneer, gum or poplar of 1/20 inch thickness, was then applied to both sides of the core with its grain at right angles to the grain of the core. Then a face veneer, walnut or mahogany of 1/28 inch was applied to the drawer front with its grain running the same direction as the core. Another inexpensive face was applied to the inside of the drawer front to finish it off. With the sub-layer of veneer to cushion it, the expensive face veneer can be very thin. Of course modern production solves that problem another way. It is very common to see veneer laid over a perfectly smooth manmade material, such as particle board, chip board or even highly compressed paper known in the trade as “medium density fiber core,” a fancy name for cardboard. What’s UNDER the veneer is more important than the veneer itself.

[Ron Altier]

I am sure that you are correct, Honduran Mahogany. When I did some sawing/sanding the dust smell was NOT walnut and now that you said that, it did smell like Mahogany. I've used some before, not much and a long time ago

[Cliff]

12 minutes ago, Ron Altier said:

now that you said that, it did smell like Mahogany

 

We used to get this Mahog' that smelled like dirty baby diapers when sanded.

 

[Gene Howe]

Honduran mahogany does stink when sanded. I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of working the African stuff. 

The place where I get most of my lumber sells African mahogany, Honduran mahogany and "Genuine" mahogany. What the heck is "Genuine" mahogany? On their web site, they all appear to be the same. But, "Genuine" mahogany is way more expensive. Like two and a half times more than either of the other two.

[HandyDan]

3 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Honduran mahogany does stink when sanded. I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of working the African stuff. 

The place where I get most of my lumber sells African mahogany, Honduran mahogany and "Genuine" mahogany. What the heck is "Genuine" mahogany? On their web site, they all appear to be the same. But, "Genuine" mahogany is way more expensive. Like two and a half times more than either of the other two.

 

I would suspect that they have Honduran Mahogany farms that are not in Honduras.  Genuine probably means it comes from a tree farm that is in Honduras.  

[p_toad]

HIdden wedged tenon

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by p_toad

[Gene Howe]

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

 

I would suspect that they have Honduran Mahogany farms that are not in Honduras.  Genuine probably means it comes from a tree farm that is in Honduras.  

Location, location, location.

[Cal]

That is a pretty little table, great save Ron,

Cal

[Gerald]

I agree Mahogany. But remember that walnut lightens in color with age.

[Smallpatch]

The top is not as old as the base. Not near as old as the legs. The top is not a match in style and the base. The main trunk is either maple or birch and the wings, or what ever might be walnut as I can't see them to be sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T

[Grandpadave52]

Very nice restoration Ron. She should be extremely pleased with what you've done.