Table and Chairs - Restoration

  My sister in law told me that she had a table and chairs that came from her husband's family and she had always intended to fix them up for their use.   For twenty years or so she had intended this, I volunteered to make this long held dream a reality.

  This what I have with which to work:

 a fruit box of parts.  By the way the table and chairs are for kids.  I like kids and that is why I volunteered for the project.  In this box are nearly all the parts for the table and two chairs  no legs.

  I gathered the pieces together.  One wing of the top was badly split, I took it apart and re-glued it first then I took the hardware and wire brushed the rust off and painted it.

  This table and chairs are so old that they are constructed  just like adult furniture.  The legs are held on by corner brackets into which the legs bolt.

  One of the legs did not have the bolt in place, it had rusted away with time.

  I drilled the leg, threaded the hole (1/4-20) and drove the piece of threaded stock into the hole with glue.  It is as good as new as far as anyone can tell.  Doing this stage of the repairs called to service a set of tools that came from my Grandfather's  workshop, which I have never used before, these tools have traveled around in the bottom of my metal tool box for at least twenty five years. I kept the tools because they were my Dad's, Dad's and for no other real reason.

    As a kid I remember my Grandfather using this tap set a couple of times and in high school shop class I drilled and taped something as an assignment but had not used these tools before.  I have drilled and taped wood for nut crackers in the past, same principle. So I drilled the leg and then taped the hole so the threaded rod would have good grip. As a diversion while glue dried I took the time to remove the many years of rust and neglect from the handles. That tap and die set was made my Ace ? and is at least 60 years old. Good tools last, buy good tools.

  

table complete,

  as far as I am taking it anyway.  My sister-in-law can paint it to her personal taste.  There are really too many filled spots to make this a nice piece to be stained I feel. I think it is made from poplar or some other semi-hard, white wood.  There is an underlying green tint that makes me think poplar.  And with new replacement hinges the wings go down just like kitchen tables did when we were kids. 

  The next step is to turn eight legs for the chairs.  Turning matching items has not been successful in the past.  I need to study on the design and make a plan and a template.  Luckily the legs are only about ten inches long so failure won't waste much wood.

  Legs.....next week.