One of my first projects that utilized the air dried lumber (Hickory in this case) from the portable sawmill was this table. After the initial assembly, it stayed in Mississippi for a few years, migrated to Mexico City for a couple of years, returned to Mississippi for another year and then came to rest in Albuquerque. All of this movement became a study in what changes in humidity can do to what I though was a well built table – not to mention well intentioned but indelicate moving company employees. Most notably, the final move to a sub 20% humidity level has almost destroyed this table and several others.
The top shrunk in width almost 1/2 inch and multiple planks in the laminated top split with one of the splits running the entire length of the table. Six of the eight mortise & tenon joints in the base were loose after extreme drying probably shrunk the tenons and pulled the glue back from the joints.
Reglue, Sand , Stain & Finish Base
The base was most of the work as usual and was even more challenging to sand while completely assembled. Deciding whether or not to knock down the base into individual pieces for refinishing was a difficult choice. I decided not to risk breaking anything even though the sanding, staining & finishing was going to be more time consuming while working around the assembled corners. All corners were further rounded to soften the look of the table.
Hickory Sapwood Butterfly
After a couple coats of polyurethane
I was able to fill most of the surface cracks and added a butterfly in the end grain using some light hickory sapwood. This should hold the worst crack and should keep it from moving any further. The butterfly contrasted nicely with the dark table top ends. Final finish was 2 coats of poly wiped onto the base components and 4 coats of brushed-on poly and a final wipe-0n coat on the surface and underside of the table top. I used a simple, fine steel wool pad to put a final polish on the top.
Finished 1
Finished 2
Claudia put the final touch on the whole scene by sewing some new curtains to back up the table and provide a fresher, brighter look. The curtains will also keep most of the harsh sun from the kitchen windows from attacking the table top. It’s amazing how other decor can give a piece like this table a very different and much more “homey” appearance. She did a great job picking the fabric and turning this corner of the kitchen into something special. We’ll see how long it takes before we can bring ourselves to actually put something on this table.