Table With A Twist

Table After

Table Before

My friend, Frances, had asked me to refinish this unique table which
belonged to her husband. I had never seen one quite like it. What made this table so different was that the entire top swiveled. Perhaps it had been used as a television table many years ago. In any event, what she saw was an ugly table was merely a nice table with an ugly, worn finish. It just needed a little love.

First things first, I removed the pivoting top to reveal a large metal swivel mechanism which needed some persuasion, therefore, I greased the bearings and cleaned the metal, making the mechanism much easier to rotate. It was mounted to a rather thin, broken piece of masonite, which I replaced with a piece of 1/4" plywood. Much better.

Table Swivel Top Before

Table Swivel Top After

Then I totally stripped what remained of the old finish, starting with the top, then moving to the legs.. The table sanded easily enough since I believe it hadn't ever been refinished since it was made, who knows how long ago. Upon removing the top layer of peeling varnish, I revealed a beautiful mahogany table, just as I had hoped to find. The stain I used was red mahogany. Perfect.

Table Top Before

I finished it with two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane. I even

Table Top After

surprised myself with the amazing transformation that I made happen with this odd little table and couldn't wait for my friend to see it. I sent her photos and her response was, "Geez! Is that the same table?" I assured her it was. When she picked it up, she couldn't believe how beautiful it looked. I told her that the table not only looked better, it functions better since the swivel mechanism was working great. Another job, well done with a satisfied customer. That's what we're all about! Check out my other tables on these posts. Hit your "back" button to return to this page.
http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2014/08/tiny-table.html
http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/07/antique-round-table.html

Swivel Before