The Cellar - View Single Post

glatt · 08-31-2011, 09:59 AM

I've got this neat old card table that came from my FIL's apartment and won't fit into his new digs at the assisted living facility. Unfortunately, it's really rickety. Before I start to fix it, I want to make sure it's not worth a fortune and I'd be ruining its value by even regluing the joints. I'm also really curious about what the story is behind this table, because it's got some very unusual features. I was hoping maybe a someone in the Cellar might know a thing or two about antiques or can point me to a forum about them.

Here's an overview of the table. I think it's in the federal style, but I really don't know anything, so if you know, please let me know.

The rear leg swings out to support the table top when it folds out.

This is the open table top. It's got some stains on it and could use some cleaning or even stripping and refinishing.

This is where it gets interesting. See how this support leg has a little notch cut in it so it can wrap a little bit around the apron? The other legs also have this, but they don't wrap around anything, so they have all been patched.

See this leg? It has a patch where it was notched just like the leg that folds out. Also, see the mortise and tenon joint that has been cut apart, showing the end grain of the tenons? This leg was cut off of another card table before it was added to this one! And the rest of the stationary legs on this table are also that way. See the horizontal saw kerfs in the apron joint to the right of the leg? They are there to hold splines that will reinforce the joint, and they are all different depths. They were hand cut. Also, look at the pocket hole for the screw that holds the apron and table top together. That was definitely chopped out by hand with a gouge.

This picture shows the structural problem with the table. The legs are connected to the apron with dowels, and the joints are really loose. You can see daylight through the joint, and clearly see how the legs are loose. Also at some point, somebody must have dragged the table forward, because the upper dowels on both front legs broke the aprons and made the veneer flake off in places.

This table needs to be disassembled and re-glued, but I'm not sure if it's something I should touch. I'm confident in my woodworking skills, but portions of this table are clearly hand made, and I see no evidence of machinery use on the table anywhere. So it might be fairly old and possibly valuable. Thoughts?

08-31-2011, 09:59 AM	#93
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I've got this neat old card table that came from my FIL's apartment and won't fit into his new digs at the assisted living facility. Unfortunately, it's really rickety. Before I start to fix it, I want to make sure it's not worth a fortune and I'd be ruining its value by even regluing the joints. I'm also really curious about what the story is behind this table, because it's got some very unusual features. I was hoping maybe a someone in the Cellar might know a thing or two about antiques or can point me to a forum about them. Here's an overview of the table. I think it's in the federal style, but I really don't know anything, so if you know, please let me know. The rear leg swings out to support the table top when it folds out. This is the open table top. It's got some stains on it and could use some cleaning or even stripping and refinishing. This is where it gets interesting. See how this support leg has a little notch cut in it so it can wrap a little bit around the apron? The other legs also have this, but they don't wrap around anything, so they have all been patched. See this leg? It has a patch where it was notched just like the leg that folds out. Also, see the mortise and tenon joint that has been cut apart, showing the end grain of the tenons? This leg was cut off of another card table before it was added to this one! And the rest of the stationary legs on this table are also that way. See the horizontal saw kerfs in the apron joint to the right of the leg? They are there to hold splines that will reinforce the joint, and they are all different depths. They were hand cut. Also, look at the pocket hole for the screw that holds the apron and table top together. That was definitely chopped out by hand with a gouge. This picture shows the structural problem with the table. The legs are connected to the apron with dowels, and the joints are really loose. You can see daylight through the joint, and clearly see how the legs are loose. Also at some point, somebody must have dragged the table forward, because the upper dowels on both front legs broke the aprons and made the veneer flake off in places. This table needs to be disassembled and re-glued, but I'm not sure if it's something I should touch. I'm confident in my woodworking skills, but portions of this table are clearly hand made, and I see no evidence of machinery use on the table anywhere. So it might be fairly old and possibly valuable. Thoughts?