Hello! I recently acquired a table that I am fixing up (it was in terrible shape). I am very new to restoration and am unsure about this issue I’ve come across. There’s a slight gap in just the middle of the table when the leaf is removed and I’m not sure how to fix it or if it’s even something that can be fixed. Ideally I’d like there not to be a gap at all. I wanted to see if anyone with more experience might be able to offer some advice. Thanks!
Replies
Option 1 would be just to leave it as is.
Option 2 would be to use a long straight edge to mark in pencil to see how much wood needs to be removed from one or both sides. If the top comes off easy, you could use the tool of your choice to get the edge flat. Of course that assumes the top would close further in so the gap disappears.
You’re always get a line there where the halves meet. In this case there is a curve in the wood so you would have to joint the edges. That involves removing the extension rails and the skirt and the dowels that are used to align the panels when the table is closed and when using the extensions. When puting it back together you may have to screw the rails in a different location as they may not allow for it to close enough, trim the skirt and put back the dowels in the exact same location.
Agree. Determine which edge has the most curve and then plane in from the outer diameters until the gap disappears. As mentioned above, it won’t be easy as you’ll need to support the tabletop vertically and use a sharp handplane.
Take out the pins and any hardware near the center, close the table as far as you can and run a tracksaw with the blade depth set to barely go through it right down the middle of the gap. The gap will either be gone or be smaller. Repeat until it is gone.
I would not do anything to it. That is not a bad gap and anything you do risks making it worse. I certainly would not take any measures involving power tools. Even if you were able to correct it, the gap could return later. I think there is a possibility that the gap is due to differential expansion and/or contraction from temperature and humidity changes.
Thanks for all the responses! I think I'm just going to leave it.
That's not a bad gap at all, but I guess you could saw it, plane it and join it again. Consider that you could risk messing up the whole proportions of the table this way...
Another solution would be to use the router in the middle and fill it with epoxy using a nice pigment.
Finally, you could add some bowtie dovetails to the gap.
I would leave the gap, my friend.
My interpretation of the OP is the top opens at the joint in question to accept a table leaf. Epoxy or butterfly splines would preclude use of the leaf.
Are the runners for the top in alignment? If not perfectly parallel( or even if they are) then they could be causing the top to close on one side and leaving a gap on the other. It could be just an adjustment.
The gap appears to be tight at the ends and slightly more open in the middle area.