Gateleg table Questions

[madtique]

Hello all,
Took a ride with my lady today to check out a shop nearby that deals in used items. Some old, some not so old. Anyway, ended up leaving with this gateleg table for $80. It appears to be walnut. The leaves are 21.5" wide and the top 18.5" Each being built by a solid piece of wood. The leaves have been kerfed at some point, the table top has not and has split and cupped. Also metal plates were put on the underside of the leaves assuming to discourage splitting. The legs that hold the leaves appear to have originally run on wooden hinges. At some point metal hinges were installed.

I'm curious of the time period this may have been made. I'm assuming the value has taken quite a hit from the repairs-modifications that have been done to it, which I'm not too worried about as I think it is a beautiful table and am not looking to sell for $$. Also looking for any tips on the finish, ie: how to rehab the finish thats on there. I have stripped and refinished a few pieces and work in a shop that does repairs and refinishing but I have a feeling sanding this piece down to new and spraying lacquer on there would be blasphemy.

On to the good part, pictures!!

ps. forgot to mention, there appears to be a profile of some old hinges that may have operated the leaves(possibly wood??)

pps. Had a lady I know look at this and she thought the legs were hand turned due to minor size variations in some of the leg details. It also seems to be the original finish due to the profile of what may be the original hinge. I can post a more detailed pic of that if it helps.
 







kerfing and add-on rails


Some of the metal


remnants of wooden hinge


to the right of this pic you can see the possible old hinge profile I mentioned.



Thanks for looking folks!

[bigwull]

I have the feeling that this is a .."Cut & Shut."......by that i mean the bottom half and the top are,nt a married couple......ask yourself ..."why would someone take off the original hinges then fit backstraps...there are just too many anomalies for my liking.....

[ghopper1924]

Wull may be right about the marriage, so my comments are really more about the bottom portion.

First, it is walnut and does look to have the original finish, so don't strip it! Some feed and wax product and some stain matching may do it a world of good!

Second, the legs are sometimes called "spool style" (for obvious reasons) or occasionally English Cottage style. You often see this kind of turning on Jenny Lind bedframes. This was a long-lived "style" that lasted from the 1840s well into the 20th century. However, yours has the look of the mid 19th century (1840s-70s or so).

It's really attractive, whether a marriage or not. You are correct; the alterations will take away alot of the value, but don't let that get you down. You should post pictures again after you've cleaned it up!

[bigwull]

agree with the leg configuration....ov er her we call them Bobbin Legs....whitch is our name for a spool....

[KC]

Ditto on the legs as bobbin or spool legs! 

[mart]

Nice primitive cottage or farm table !! However,, the top looks quite a bit older than the bottom part !! I would agreee that its a marriage of parts rather than a single table !! Grooved to keep from warping !! Top before kiln drying maybe ??

[madtique]

Thanks for the replies all. Couple more questions. What would be the best way to clean this up? We took some soapy water to an area of the table and it let more of the character of the wood show through. Guessing the top is an oil or wax finish. Would mineral spirits be the thing to use. Also when I take it apart to plug some of the stripped hinge screw holes I plan on also polishing up the old hinges. Curious to see the age they are from. Cast or hand forged, etc. Any concerns I should have there?

Thank you very much for the replies. Your knowledge and sharing of information are greatly appreciated!

[ghopper1924]

With a piece like this it's always best to start with the mildest forms of cleaner and stain, and if they are ineffective then move on to more "severe" products.

As I mentioned above, I would start with a feed and wax product such as Howard's Feed n' Wax (and no, I don't work for them ), which has beeswax and orange oil. I used it for about 45 minutes on a hall tree from 1884 that looked like it had not been cleaned since then, and it worked wonders. For stain matching start with Old English polish for dark walnut, which has a stain blended in. However, I will go against some of the other regulars here and say do NOT use it regularly, as it will artifically darken the wood over time. Some Howard's - or some similar product - once a year at most should be sufficient. In between times use a simple soft cloth VERY SLIGHTLY  dampened (NOT wet!!) to pick up dust. If the wood appears to be drying out, then reapply some feed and wax.

You might also want to try some dilute Murphy's oil soap for cleaning.

If the table still doesn't meet standards, come back and ask again.

As far as polishing hinges goes, I wouldn't. Just clean them up and leave them be.  Of course it's your table, so you'll have to decide. Kudos to you for taking such pains with your table; it will appreciate the love!

[mart]

Only an agreement with ghopper here !! He is correct !! I would add that in cleaning the hinges and metal you remove all age from them so like was said just wipe them off and let the age remain !!