A few weeks ago I posted a questions regarding lightening the color of an antique oak table. The table is a family heirloom that goes back at least 100 to 120 years. My folks had already stripped and stained it in the 1950's so preservation of patina was not a concern.

This morning I am sipping my coffee and getting ready to apply the 4th coat of finish on a project that is coming together fairly well. I am doing it in heated garage workshop that includes a 15" surface planer, 5hp table saw, wood lathe and other power and hand tools I have accumulated over 30 or 40 years of woodworking and general tinkering.

A project like this gave me lots of reasons to think. The table is made of a combination of red and white oak, rather artfully combined. I wonder if material use was really artistic or just the use of available material in a small, shop. The red oak top is made of 4" wide boards that were edge joined with a modified tongue and groove edge. The under-frame and slide mechanism, that allows it to be expanded, needed a little work. Some of the double-dovetail slides were damaged. I was able to "duplicate" these parts on the table saw but I noticed the old ones still showed slight tool marks even after years of use.

Then the legs. The table has five 4" diameter lathe turned legs. The top and bottom 6"-8" are artfully turned spindles with decorative rings, etc. Everything else is a graceful rope turn design that kept us busy for days gently removing the old finish with toothbrushes. The other morning I laid them out side-by-side before starting the staining process. That is when it occurred to me they are not duplicates. They are damned near duplicates--but there are small variations in the width of the turned rings, the coves, the depth of the groove in the rope area etc. I noticed variations because I was looking for them but it is clear that the lathe was loaded five times for five legs. Then I looked over at the 14" JET lathe near the wall of my shop and shook my head wondering if these pieces of craftsmanship were turned on a water or foot operated machine.

My wife and I have built a few pretty nice projects over our years including some hardwood rocking horses that have sold or raffled well . We have also finished out our entire home.

We are rank amateurs!

RonB