Cherry Dining Table with Seven Leaves (Ca. 1950)

I recently picked up a dining room table made of Cherry which expands to accommodate seven leaves. In addition, each end has a drop leaf which is supported by a gate leg. The nice thing about this table is that it can be used as a small kitchen table or a full dining table.

The finish on the top surface of the table was scratched and worn heavily so the finish had to be removed. The finish on the legs and apron was restorable so that will get cleaned and waxed. I have included below photos of the removal of the finish as well as the preparation of the top surface for the new finish. The owner of the table was looking for a good all purpose finish that can withstand daily use and be relatively maintenance free. After discussing the pros and cons of French Polish versus Varnishing we decided to put a durable Varnish on the table. For a discussion of these different finishes and the pros and cons you can follow this link to my website:

http://www.johnmarkpower.com/conservation.html

The first two photos show the damage to the finish.

Here is a photo of the original finish on the table. The drop leaves have been removed to be finished separately.This photo shows the removal of the finish from the table.When the finish was completely removed the table needed to be sanded to remove surface scratches. the surface on the right has been sanded. You will notice that the color is lighter. That is due to the fact that the top was stained and the sanding removed the old stain. Once the top is completely sanded, It is stained to match the original color.

The drop leaves with the finish removed and fully sanded.The leaves during the staining process.The top (and leaves) after they have been fully sanded.

The top and leaves during the staining process.

I will post photos of the table once it has been finished on in a future post!