Shopsmith Forums

I was recently asked to restore a old table , it was rescued from a thrift store ,in taking it apart I found a maker's tag knowing it was really old I did a search on the web, I found a patten under the .maker from the middle 1800, hope you all enjoy the restore as it happens , so far managed to get the legs apart from the aprons and one set of legs glued using home made hide glue just as they had . Pictures to come

My guess is it is butternut , according to records I found online a paten was filed in 1867 , giving there is no exact date for the table my rounded off guess is 1867-1890 ? , the wood on the aprons have worm holes and was very crudely made by any standard . I dont believe it is dark enough to be English Chestnut , the old finish acts like shellac . the extensions for the leaf's are made using sliding dovetails , the casters are well rusted , the wheels look to be real porcelain . the journey to the next 150+ years begins .

I’m looking forward to this ... butternut is a beautiful wood! I have a few pieces from a CL lumber purchase, but haven’t yet used any of it.

Do you think the casters are original?

BuckeyeDennis wrote: Fri Feb 26, 2021 8:35 pm I’m looking forward to this ... butternut is a beautiful wood! I have a few pieces from a CL lumber purchase, but haven’t yet used any of it.

Do you think the casters are original?

=========


By the looks of the mounting screws and mounting brackets my guess would be they are, if they are not original than they were added or replaced a long time ago , possibly circa 1920's? the brackets are rusted pretty bad , three of the brackets are broken , 4 of the { what appears to be porcelain} wheels are in great shape .

a few issues that happen after 150 years

the top 2 are the leaves , they are still in very good condition only needing one of the dowels replaced .After very very lightly sanding I have applied one coat of wood stabilizer . This will help seal the wood from moisture while the table is being repaired . Here in the north the humidity is up and down, especially this time of year and this is a vital step in preserving the old glue and the wood . the casters are all in pretty bad shape, one of the legs will need to be drilled and a custom made dowel fabricated to fit.

FYI the first porcelain casters were introduced some where around 1870 .

I'd agree with your opinion that it is likely butternut. Butternut was very popular a 100 years ago when it was readily available. The butternut canker has killed most of the butternut trees in the US now, so butternut has become less easily available today.
I came across a load of butternut about 5 years ago. I got somewhere between 125 and 150 board feet of it for under $2 a board foot. It is all used up now because we liked it so much that numerous projects consumed it all.
These are some of the butternut projects that used up my butternut. I would happily take another load of the wood if I came across it.

Very nice !!
Like you said there isnt much butternut around any more, at first I thought it may have been hard maple but after sanding I realized the tightness of the grain was all wrong.