We've covered 'how to stain an Oak dining room table'... I would love
to refinish our dining room table but the leaf has cupped and I'm not
sure of the best way to fix it before I move to refinishing it. Should
I scrap the leaf and build a new one. It is not very big; about 4'-0"
x 1'-0" x 3/4" I could join and work some oak boards to match the
original piece but this leads to another stain question - which I'm
less comfortable with. How do I get the new leaf to match the original
wood table after I strip everything down?

if you choose not to rip and re-glue and go with the clamp method, if
the under cup side is not finished moisten with water this will cause
the wood to expand on one side. you will have to take a little time and
may have to reapply a couple times to let the water soak in a little
this works, iv'e done it
ross