It's just a table, right ?

[Ridgeway]

Third time i'm prepping and varnishing our kitchen table, No4 daughters asks why "it's only a table", but.....

It was a piece of oak i picked up at a farm auction in Worcester over 20yrs ago
We convinced the removal man to to find a place for it in his van when we escaped the UK (because i knew one day it would come in handy)
Once we realised the kitchen in our new house needed a family kitchen that slab of oak came in handy.....
It's actually now part of the house as i installed a supporting beam through it (that was a fun day)

and since then

We've eaten off it 3 x a day
Argued across it more than once...
Used it as a homework desk, most days
Prepared meals on it daily
Even groomed the dog on it a few times a year

So every few years or so it does need a bit of TLC in the form of a good sanding down and a few coats of varnish, ready for the nest phase in family life

This afternoon it got power planed down, roughly sanded and will get finished tomorrow before probably 8-10 coats of clear varnish make it look like new

So somehow it's become more than a table

Next job after that is to sand and varnish the supporting beam after Ozzy the Maine Coon has been using it as a scratch post

 

[Littlewheels]

We bought a table when our kids were 5/7 it was made from recycled timber from a church weighed a ton and we ate around that table for the best part of thirty years the memories that table held over the growing years of our two sons will never be forgotten.
Its amazing how a piece of furniture can play a part in your life.

 

[Gromett]

Whenever I go to my Mum's I sit in a chair that my parent bought 43 years ago (I was 7). Solid oak and beautiful.

That three piece suite has had 3 generations of kids bounce around on it, climb underneath and had many cats claw it.

When you buy decent solid oak stuff, it should outlast multiple generations, unlike the cheap tat that barely lasts 5 years these days.

 

[GirlyVanGirly]

When I married for the first time in 1970 we bought an Ercol table and six chairs. In the late 1980's we moved to a much bigger house so bought another, bigger, Ercol dining table and chairs. The old set went into the loft.

My son now has the old Ercol table and chairs and I can expect that to be passed on to his daughter!

Lots of memories around that table.

 

[Two on Tour]

I was working as a shopfitter and joiner when a rather tasty young girl started as the secretary in the office and it was not too long before we were a couple.
Soon after we made a four poster bed during lunch breaks and over a couple of weekends at work and Yvette helped by hanging on and steading lengths of timber
that were being passed through the planer and spindle moulder and held them nice and steady on the morticer.
Yvette put her sewing skills to work by making the canopy and curtains to go around the bed and it looked the biz when it was finished.

35 years on and a couple of house moves and we are still sleeping in the four poster.

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[Silver-Fox]

Don’t varnish oak, you need to use and oak specific sealant

 

[Grasmere9]

I love this thread...I am sitting in my lounge with my 10 year old son and in front of us is the original Cadbury display cabinet that was in my grandfather's driving school office when I was a little girl (1970's). It used to have Dinky cars in it which were handed down to my brother and cousin (because they are boys!)...but I don't mind because I have the cabinet and it's beautiful and it reminds me every day of the times when I used to play in the office while driving instructors came in and out between lessons. I think that was the start of my love of cars and anything with wheels in general.

 

[Grasmere9]

Don’t varnish oak, you need to use and oak specific sealant

Wax!! Looks beautiful and natural.

 

[orridge]

We brought a recycled rimu floor table from an old Victorian villa in Auckland, NZ which is rather large seating 10 thats now in it's 4 house after travelling half-way across the world to the UK. Any discussion on a change of scenery usually includes the Cat(s) and this table it is part of the family. Many many memories over the years.

 

[chaser]

Don’t varnish oak, you need to use and oak specific sealant

Just what I thought, but don't really know enough about it to comment.

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[Ridgeway]

Don’t varnish oak, you need to use and oak specific sealant

tell me more before I get the varnish out

I need a finish that is wipeable and hard wearing hence varnish has always seemed like a logical solution, usually it’s 8 or so coats of acrylic based clear gloss as it’s as hard as nails afterwards but open to alternatives

 

[Bucket]

Third time i'm prepping and varnishing our kitchen table, No4 daughters asks why "it's only a table", but.....

It was a piece of oak i picked up at a farm auction in Worcester over 20yrs ago
We convinced the removal man to to find a place for it in his van when we escaped the UK (because i knew one day it would come in handy)
Once we realised the kitchen in our new house needed a family kitchen that slab of oak came in handy.....
It's actually now part of the house as i installed a supporting beam through it (that was a fun day)

and since then

We've eaten off it 3 x a day
Argued across it more than once...
Used it as a homework desk, most days
Prepared meals on it daily
Even groomed the dog on it a few times a year

So every few years or so it does need a bit of TLC in the form of a good sanding down and a few coats of varnish, ready for the nest phase in family life

This afternoon it got power planed down, roughly sanded and will get finished tomorrow before probably 8-10 coats of clear varnish make it look like new

So somehow it's become more than a table

View attachment 531008

Next job after that is to sand and varnish the supporting beam after Ozzy the Maine Coon has been using it as a scratch post

I agree that is a magnificent piece of fine timber.
My dad was a carpenter of the old school and I learnt to love wood and woodworking by watching him; when he died I donated some of his tools to the local museum (Ware). I still hear him saying " that's a nice bit of me'ogany"
I also have a plank that has travelled the world (literally New Zealand and back, Holland and back), which was recently stripped back and is awaiting installation in our home sometime, hopefully before I pop me clogs.
Thanks for sharing

 

[timetochill]

We re purposed our old tables when we down sized might seem sacrilege but still of use and have the memories

 

[Puddleduck]

I have the writing desk my Dad made as his "College Piece" - he had to make it as part of his final exams, I suppose the modern equivalent of an Apprentice Piece when a young man would gain journeyman status if his work was good enough (Dad's was). It's made from Australia Black Bean Tree. The other piece I have is an inlaid small table that we use as a stand for av equipment - that, together with a matching cabinet still with my parents - were the equivalent of his Master Piece Set.

When I was given the two pieces I had Dad sign them for me - under a drawer and under the tabletop with a bit of their history and when they were given to me. I am hoping to inherit the cabinet when the time comes but my sister will have first option given that I have the other two pieces. Mum replaced the writing desk with a bureau she inherited from her father. I already have a very similar (mass produced) bureau so my sister will also receive that should she want it.

I tend to buy furniture at auction and often wonder if the original owners are content (or even happy) that I buy things I like and that "call" to me. I have no issues with upcycling - the pieces are being used and loved and repurposed which must be better than replacing with plastic or resin infused pulp.

 

[Larrynwin]

We have had a replacement cast and tiled fireplace for some time for our lounge to be in keeping with the Edwardian fireplaces in the rest of the house and finally got to make the change .
When we removed the white painted surround realised it was solid oak and from the original build in 1924 , so scraped , sanded and beeswaxed and for us it looks much better.
Decorate the room next.

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[nicholsong]

Third time i'm prepping and varnishing our kitchen table, No4 daughters asks why "it's only a table", but.....

It was a piece of oak i picked up at a farm auction in Worcester over 20yrs ago
We convinced the removal man to to find a place for it in his van when we escaped the UK (because i knew one day it would come in handy)
Once we realised the kitchen in our new house needed a family kitchen that slab of oak came in handy.....
It's actually now part of the house as i installed a supporting beam through it (that was a fun day)

and since then

We've eaten off it 3 x a day
Argued across it more than once...
Used it as a homework desk, most days
Prepared meals on it daily
Even groomed the dog on it a few times a year

So every few years or so it does need a bit of TLC in the form of a good sanding down and a few coats of varnish, ready for the nest phase in family life

This afternoon it got power planed down, roughly sanded and will get finished tomorrow before probably 8-10 coats of clear varnish make it look like new

So somehow it's become more than a table

View attachment 531008

Next job after that is to sand and varnish the supporting beam after Ozzy the Maine Coon has been using it as a scratch post

$ daughters and only 5 chairs?

 

[nicholsong]

When I married for the first time in 1970 we bought an Ercol table and six chairs. In the late 1980's we moved to a much bigger house so bought another, bigger, Ercol dining table and chairs. The old set went into the loft.

My son now has the old Ercol table and chairs and I can expect that to be passed on to his daughter!

Lots of memories around that table.

I seem to remember that Ercol used beech timber, am I right? Has it still lasted as well as oak?

Geoff

 

[Jamesh]

We have had a replacement cast and tiled fireplace for some time for our lounge to be in keeping with the Edwardian fireplaces in the rest of the house and finally got to make the change .
When we removed the white painted surround realised it was solid oak and from the original build in 1924 , so scraped , sanded and beeswaxed and for us it looks much better.
Decorate the room next.


View attachment 531165View attachment 531166View attachment 531167

Much better!!

 

[Jamesh]

Same here with my parents Mahogany dining table the arguments and laughs (6sisters!) Burnt food (often! ) Feeding the food you didn't like to the dog under the table. Sneaking a aero modeller magazine under the table to read.....

We bought a table when our kids were 5/7 it was made from recycled timber from a church weighed a ton and we ate around that table for the best part of thirty years the memories that table held over the growing years of our two sons will never be forgotten.
Its amazing how a piece of furniture can play a part in your life.

 

[Silver-Fox]

As with all wood that has been felled and machined, it is effectively still “alive”

Oak likes to “breath” so sealing with varnish causes issues with the oak.

You can buy things like Dulux Diamond Glaze.
It’s formulated to allow the oak to do its thing whilst preventing fluid ingress

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[Phill D]

tell me more before I get the varnish out

I need a finish that is wipeable and hard wearing hence varnish has always seemed like a logical solution, usually it’s 8 or so coats of acrylic based clear gloss as it’s as hard as nails afterwards but open to alternatives

Danish oil is the stuff I use on our oak work tops

 

[Silver-Fox]

I seem to remember that Ercol used beech timber, am I right? Has it still lasted as well as oak?

Geoff

Beech is much better for furniture than oak.

 

[Larrynwin]

Beech is much better for furniture than oak.

Stable but very featureless grain .

 

[Silver-Fox]

Stable but very featureless grain .

Yes but nice in its own right.

Also when your Oak chair decides to twist and it starts to rock

 

[Larrynwin]

Yes but nice in its own right.

Also when your Oak chair decides to twist and it starts to rock

Shouldn’t do if seasoned before machining , it is susceptible to worm but I do love the character of grain and the smell of English oak being worked.

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[Gaston aires]

Third time i'm prepping and varnishing our kitchen table, No4 daughters asks why "it's only a table", but.....

It was a piece of oak i picked up at a farm auction in Worcester over 20yrs ago
We convinced the removal man to to find a place for it in his van when we escaped the UK (because i knew one day it would come in handy)
Once we realised the kitchen in our new house needed a family kitchen that slab of oak came in handy.....
It's actually now part of the house as i installed a supporting beam through it (that was a fun day)

and since then

We've eaten off it 3 x a day
Argued across it more than once...
Used it as a homework desk, most days
Prepared meals on it daily
Even groomed the dog on it a few times a year

So every few years or so it does need a bit of TLC in the form of a good sanding down and a few coats of varnish, ready for the nest phase in family life

This afternoon it got power planed down, roughly sanded and will get finished tomorrow before probably 8-10 coats of clear varnish make it look like new

So somehow it's become more than a table

View attachment 531008

Next job after that is to sand and varnish the supporting beam after Ozzy the Maine Coon has been using it as a scratch post

Looks great. You could hang garlic, fruit, and shrunken heads on it. It would remind you to eat all your greens.
Phil

 

[Ridgeway]

$ daughters and only 5 chairs?

Yup one has flown (finally). Did consider adding an extension to the end or a drop leaf but could never find an acceptable match.

 

[Ridgeway]

As with all wood that has been felled and machined, it is effectively still “alive”

Oak likes to “breath” so sealing with varnish causes issues with the oak.

You can buy things like Dulux Diamond Glaze.
It’s formulated to allow the oak to do its thing whilst preventing fluid ingress

it was actually diamond glaze we used the first time around as i had some over from some floors we'd done at the previous house. Didn't know it allowed the oak to breath although being lazy i don't varnish the underneath of the table, maybe that helps ?

 

[Ridgeway]

Danish oil is the stuff I use on our oak work tops

will have a look, many thanks

 

[GirlyVanGirly]

I seem to remember that Ercol used beech timber, am I right? Has it still lasted as well as oak?

Geoff

Beech for legs and chair backs Elm for table tops and the chair seats. Apart from a mark on the table top where my ex-husband spilt boiling hot gravy, in about 1985, the table is as good as new, a couple of the chair backs are a little bit creaky, but can be restored. My son and his partner love it and are using it every day.

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