Hi -

I posted this item before - I thought I would post it again.

I have a yellow pine "this end up" dinette set. It is 10 years old. We
moved recently and because of my poor job packing - a piece of metal of
was scratching the table top in near one corner for 1100 miles.

The table is finished with some kind of oil finish.

I have tried sanding the area but the scratches are still about 1/16
inch deep.

We really like this 3 x 5 table top and want to simply sand it smooth
and put a durable finish on it. We eat three meals a day on it.

We would get rid of it - but it is very sturdy plus we have all the
other furniture that "matches" it.

The top is about one inch thick of solid wood. Around the edges there
are three inches of thickness of the same boards.

Would you please give me some sincere suggestions?

I have considered taking it to a local wood shop and getting it planed
down. Would that be expensive?

Would it be cheaper for me to buy a planer and do it myself?

I am retired and have the time.

What would you do? Please don't say go out and get a "bitchin" dinette
set for $6000.

Harry

I have considered taking it to a local wood shop and getting it planed
down. Would that be expensive?

Would it be cheaper for me to buy a planer and do it myself?

I'd try taking it to a shop that has a wide belt sander. They can easily
remove the scratches in a few passes. You might also see if they can
refinish it for you. It shouldn't be all that expensive.

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:21:26 -0700, "mp" wrote:

I have considered taking it to a local wood shop and getting it planed
down. Would that be expensive?

Would it be cheaper for me to buy a planer and do it myself?

I'd try taking it to a shop that has a wide belt sander. They can easily
remove the scratches in a few passes. You might also see if they can
refinish it for you. It shouldn't be all that expensive.

They might be reluctant to embed any oil finish into their relatively
expensive sanding surface. The machine is intended to process
untreated wood, not finished. If they do say No, then I'd suggest
that you give it a rough-over with a belt sander/hand plane yourself,
then take it to them to have it resurfaced smooth. You shouldn't lose
too much from the thickness if you're careful.

Method #2: Set up a jig, basically a couple of boards of equal
thinckness, and run over it with your router and a straight, wide bit,
then hand-sand with a block. Again, care and patience will pay off.
From what you say about the set, it won't hurt to have a tiny bit of
"character" [not machine-level] if you can say, "I did that myself."

Sounds like the scratches are pretty deep. I wouldn't want to take off that
much of the table surface. If you don't mind seeing where it has been
repaired (if you live in snow country anyway) find a shop that tunes
downhill or xcountry skis. Theses guys use a compound to repair ski surfaces
called P-Tex that has different colors including clear that can be melted
into the scratches that will level them up and stand up to minor scraping
and sanding then just refinish the entire tabletop. Homer Formby used to do
the same thing by melting a similar color crayon into the scratches but that
is only cosmetic, P-Tex will take some abuse.
OR
Find a woodworker in the neighborhood and see f you can get him to do a
dutchman repair where there is a section of wood removed and a new matching
piece of wood glued back into place. If done properly a dutchman adds
character to the piece.

Knothead

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:09:32 -0400, Harry Everhart
wrote:

I have tried sanding the area but the scratches are still about 1/16
inch deep.

Take up pewter or sulphur inlay 8-)

Would you please give me some sincere suggestions?

Get on the phone and talk to local workshops with a wide belt sander.
They might be able to help.

Otherwise buy yourself a sander and fix it yourself. You want a random
orbital sander, and a good one (Bosch PEX 400 in the UK). Failing that
you _might_ use a belt sander, so long as it has an external sanding
frame around it to control the depth. An unconfined belt sander will
_destroy_ your table, as these things are divot-cutting machines at the
best of times.

Don't use a planer, don't use a router, don't try to hand plane it.
--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:09:32 -0400, Harry Everhart
wrote:



The top is about one inch thick of solid wood. Around the edges there
are three inches of thickness of the same boards.

I had a not dissimilar problem, but with a solid oak table. I am a
lazy man, this was not an heirloom, just a solid piece of furniture
that had lasted my family more than 30 years - it already had
"character", but there is a difference between distressed and messed
up.

I took a belt sander to it (flames expected). 320 grit belt, and a jig
that allowed only 1/32 of cut, especially at the edges! The jig took 2
hours to figure out, 2 more hours of experimentation to make it work.
The table took 15 minutes to get to bare wood with no scratches!
Worked it in individual passes, one end to the other, then did the
next sweep adjacent to the previous.

The the usual orbital sanding to smooth it out and Murdoch's table top
gloss finish - 5 coats, sanded with 600 grit between, then a buff with
0000 steel wool.

Is the table perfectly flat? Hah, not close. Does it show a divot or
two if you lay a machinists straight edge on it and shine a light
parallel to it - yep. Does my family notice - nope.

Regards.

Tom

Harry,

You can raise the scratches by steaming. Just wet the area, place a wet
cloth on top, borrow Mums iron and steam away taking care not to scorch..
Maybe practice on a bit of scrap first, I think you will be amazed. You
will then need to sand (by hand maybe) the residual scratch marks and
re-oil.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Bill
New Zealand

"Harry Everhart" wrote in message
...
Hi -

I posted this item before - I thought I would post it again.

I have a yellow pine "this end up" dinette set. It is 10 years old. We
moved recently and because of my poor job packing - a piece of metal of
was scratching the table top in near one corner for 1100 miles.

The table is finished with some kind of oil finish.

I have tried sanding the area but the scratches are still about 1/16
inch deep.

We really like this 3 x 5 table top and want to simply sand it smooth
and put a durable finish on it. We eat three meals a day on it.

We would get rid of it - but it is very sturdy plus we have all the
other furniture that "matches" it.

The top is about one inch thick of solid wood. Around the edges there
are three inches of thickness of the same boards.

Would you please give me some sincere suggestions?

I have considered taking it to a local wood shop and getting it planed
down. Would that be expensive?

Would it be cheaper for me to buy a planer and do it myself?

I am retired and have the time.

What would you do? Please don't say go out and get a "bitchin" dinette
set for $6000.

Harry

My wife calls that character. Or at least that's what she says when
it's a beloved nephew or niece that does the damage.
It could be run through a planer that was big enough (36" is huge
for hobbiest) or a drum sander. I have one that sands 16" wide but it's
open ended and you can turn the piece around and run the other side.
The 4"s left in the middle will have to be hand sanded or belt sanded.
****Be very careful of who you let belt sand it. If you've ever
operated a floor buffing machine or a floor sander......it can be a
little wild like that in the hands of someone that just came home from
Home Depot with their very first beltsander.
I'm just getting familiar with hand planes and cabinet scrapers but
these would do it too and just about anybody that knows how to use them
will also have a genuine fondness for things made of wood and can
probably make you very happy.
Hope that helps.
Robert Smith
Jacksonville, Fl.

At some point you will have to quit and be satisfied with what you've
got.
Harry Everhart wrote:
Hi -

I posted this item before - I thought I would post it again.

I have a yellow pine "this end up" dinette set. It is 10 years old.
We
moved recently and because of my poor job packing - a piece of metal
of
was scratching the table top in near one corner for 1100 miles.

The table is finished with some kind of oil finish.

I have tried sanding the area but the scratches are still about 1/16
inch deep.

We really like this 3 x 5 table top and want to simply sand it smooth

and put a durable finish on it. We eat three meals a day on it.

We would get rid of it - but it is very sturdy plus we have all the
other furniture that "matches" it.

The top is about one inch thick of solid wood. Around the edges there

are three inches of thickness of the same boards.

Would you please give me some sincere suggestions?

I have considered taking it to a local wood shop and getting it
planed
down. Would that be expensive?

Would it be cheaper for me to buy a planer and do it myself?

I am retired and have the time.

What would you do? Please don't say go out and get a "bitchin"
dinette
set for $6000.

Harry

The top is about one inch thick of solid wood. Around the edges there
are three inches of thickness of the same boards.

Would you please give me some sincere suggestions?

I don't think you're going to be able to just go out and get a 36"
planer for one job, unless you really planned well for your
retirement. My advice would be just to go get yourself a good random
orbital sander and sand that sucker with 60 grit until the scratches
are gone. Change your paper frequently, and it shouldn't take too
long. Then work up the grits to whatever finish you feel comfortable
with (I'd say 220 grit as a minimum), give it a coat of sealer, stain
it, then clearcoat it. You've got plenty of wood there, and you said
you've got the time, so I would imagine that is the best way for you
to go.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam