"js" wrote in message
...
read up on it here. Alcohol will soften it if its strong enough, but how
often you going to have alcohol greater than 50% on a table? and it isn't
"use it on kitchen counters water resistant, but more than suitable for
what
you want to use it for. what do you think they used before varnish and
poly?
.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/fe...ea.asp?id=1206


The article states:
"Now shellac is rarely used as a finish except by high-end antique
refinishers (which ought to tell you something)."
I think that tells me that antique refinishers are trying to match the
original finish which, by definition, would be what was used something like
100 years ago. Not that it's a superior finish.
It has it's place, but based on what I've read in the Flexner book, I
wouldn't use it on a table top unless that table was meant to be show-only.