I would really enjoy fixing it. It would be beautiful and sturdy when I get through with it.

I used to have a job right after college in an antique furniture repair place. We fixed them and refinished them, but didn't know a damn thing about provenance or value.

Sotheby's will do it for free. Just email them some photos. They'll email you back with an estimate. It's their bread and butter.

My friend who I sent the photos to started out in a antique restoration shop and was given a highboy with a missing drawer. The owner told him to match the drawer. After fifteen years there the owner would hand a drawer and tell him to make the highboy.

He's very very good, he's made a lot of antiques.

Fascinating table. I suspect that because it is a Frankenstein job, you wouldn't get super-top dollar for it. Buyers like original condition. On the other hand, it has such a great character and story this itself becomes a plus.

[echoing] Appraise first. if it isn't crazy expensive, you'll have a fun little project. [/herd]

Sometimes the Frankensteining makes it more valuable because it's part of the history, like this part is definitively pre-Civil War, and we can infer that that part is newer and had to be added after half the table got burned in Atlanta...

I heard back from Sotheby's!!

So now I can fix it up!

excellent!

Good news, good news.
Keep an account of your restoration, and it will make it much more interesting to anyone you bequeath/ sell it to. And also mean they are never disappointed on Antiques Roadshow.

Today I am considering making Cheese and Onion Monkey Bread, and/or cookies.
I have the ingredients.

I would prefer to make things out of Yummy Dough (edible PlayDough) but they are supposed to be eaten within 24 hours. Maybe on Sunday then.

And I've love to make my Dalek cake, but I can't get a lift to work on Monday and I fear he would shake himself loose on a mile walk.

Cool!

I mean, it would be cooler if it were worth half a million dollars, but hey, getting to start a new project is cool too. ;)

I'm surprised that it's worth so little. It's a nice looking, hand made, 200 year old table. A similar quality new table without the fancy inlay designs would cost close to $1000. So I figured that would be the starting point. Oh well.

But I really am happy that I get to just keep the worthless table now, because it really is nice and will look good in our living room.

Now, a question for you woodworkers, when I re-glue these joints should I just use regular wood glue like I would use in new construction, or should I invest in a glue pot and get some hide glue for a more traditional approach?

grind up some horses! If you're going to go old school, don't pussy foot about it!

Go hide glue, it's much more reversible, especially if you get good at this and want to remove the frankenstein parts and make it "right" Then, if you are really good, it will be worth mad loot.

have fun

Go totally old school - no modern glues, no power tools. Use 18th century cusses while working, dangnabbit.

for the win

couple hundred