Looking for help on repairing an antique table

[John Ziebron]

A good friend asked if I could repair a 100 year old 2 tiered table that one of the legs came off. Of course I said I could. The leg repair was pretty straight forward and now completed. However, in closer examination of the table I realized that the top tier was a bit "rocky". For perspective here's a picture of the whole table.
table full.jpg
There is a round block, about 4 1/2 inches in diameter that is glued and screwed onto the bottom of the top tier. The pedestal is then fastened to this block, but I wasn't sure how. My original assumption was that a round tenon formed at the end of the pedestal was used. The pedestal is cracked in 2 places where it meets the round block responsible in part for the top being a bit loose.
table crack.jpg
I was able to turn the pedestal 2-3 degrees and also able to pull it up ever so slightly, enough to know that any glue was not holding. To fast forward from here I ended up cracking a section of the pedestal off which then allowed me to see the issue. A large double threaded screw was used to fasten the round block to the pedestal. And after these 2 pieces were screwed tight a nail was used to prevent it from unscrewing.
table screw.jpgtable half ped.jpg
There is coarse thread on the portion that went into the pedestal but there is machine threads on the part into the round wood block indicating that there must be some kind of metal plate buried there. It's a simple matter to glue the broken piece back on the pedestal but I looking for ideas on how to then fasten it back on. The large screw just turns freely so I can't just screw it back on unless I can get the round block off to gain access to the other side. The 2 options I was thinking of is (1) use a flush cutting saw and cut off the round block. I can then use the original screw to fasten the pedestal and then re-glue the block back to the bottom of the top along with the 3 small screws. Or (2) cut the large screw off and use 3-4 small dowels as tenons to glue the pedestal to the round block. Looking for opinions on either of these 2 methods or any other avenue I don't know of.

[Steve Eure]

That double screw you are referring to is called a hanger bolt. It was probably just threaded into the wood block, then the block was glued and screwed to the table top. If you have the block off, since the threads seem to be stripped in the block, I would install a metal insert into the wood and epoxy it in since I would think that the wood is wallowed out where the hanger bolt went into it.

[Phil Mueller]

I would remove the round block. Have you tried heat? I would heat the joint (hair dryer, careful heat gun), and try to work a putty knife under the round block. Alternately, and probably safer approach, heat the putty knife with a heat gun. Either way, getting that round block off is the best solution to a good repair.

[Jim Becker]

That hanger bolt looks to be pretty modern in condition...this may have been repaired previously. There have been some good suggestions to mitigate.

[John Ziebron]

Steve, I have used hanger bolts in past projects but it's been a long time and couldn't find the name in my old memory file. Thanks for remembering for me.

Phil, thank you. I was leaning toward your advice and got lucky. I took an old putty knife and sharpened it. As I started to go around the edge of the block I realized that if there was any glue underneath it wasn't much. So 30 seconds later without any heat this is what I have.
table block.jpg
As you can see there was just a minor amount of glue near the edges of the recess. Now my present thinking is to utilize the same hanger bolt into the pedestal after the broken piece is glued back. And instead of using a nail to prevent the upper tier from turning and also keep it lined up with the bottom tier I would use a small screw. I believe what perpetrated this whole situation with the cracks and looseness in the top of the pedestal is that the top surface of the pedestal just rested on the surface of the round block. Excess side pressure on the top tier (accidentally I'm sure) transitioned to the hanger bolt and that amount of leverage coinciding with the grain direction caused the cracks. In order to help prevent this from happening again I'm thinking of recessing the top of the pedestal into the round block. The block is 3/4 inches thick so a 1/4 inch recess should suffice. This way nothing will be glued together so that it can be taken apart in the future if necessary just with less trouble than I had right now. Any more thoughts?

[Lee Schierer]

I believe what perpetrated this whole situation with the cracks and looseness in the top of the pedestal is that the top surface of the pedestal just rested on the surface of the round block. Excess side pressure on the top tier (accidentally I'm sure) transitioned to the hanger bolt and that amount of leverage coinciding with the grain direction caused the cracks. In order to help prevent this from happening again I'm thinking of recessing the top of the pedestal into the round block. The block is 3/4 inches thick so a 1/4 inch recess should suffice. This way nothing will be glued together so that it can be taken apart in the future if necessary just with less trouble than I had right now. Any more thoughts?

I would make the round block thicker and as you have outlined, build a recess in the bottom to accept the top of the post. Doing as you have outlined with a thicker round block increases the bearing surface.

As far as gluing the piece back onto the round post: Gather a bunch of rubber bands, apply your glue and then stretch the rubber bands around the end of the round post. Keep adding rubber bands until you have 8-12streched and wrapped around the post. This will apply plenty of clamping pressure to give you a tight joint.

[John Ziebron]

Lee, thank you for the advice. I had given some thought to making a new round block but wanted to try and keep everything as original as possible. Turns out the block is actually 7/8 of an inch thick. But the small counter bore that was made for the washer and nut was 7/16" deep. So I made a plug for it and glued in place. Then I re-bored it shallower, only enough for clearance of the washer and nut. Then on the other side I bored a large recess, that matches the diameter of the pedestal top to a depth of .2 inches.
table small bore.jpg
table large bore.jpg
The piece that broke off had 2 places where it was previously cracked and shrunk a bit and so would take a lot of pressure to glue back on. I decided to use a metal hose clamp with a strip of rubber to prevent marring. After several hours I kept the clamp in place while I re-screwed the hanger bolt, with some beeswax, back in place. I didn't want to stress this part with the hanger bolt being installed.
table spindle clamp.jpg
Now I could add the block with a new stainless steel screw (instead of a nail originally used) to keep the top tier in alignment with the bottom one. Then to install the 3 screws fastening the block to the underside of the top tier and it was done.
table block & screw.jpg
table final.jpg
Thank you all for your help. It's been a fun project for me and a good learning experience. I never thought one day I'd be repairing a 100 year old table.

[Bill Dufour]

If you make a new bigger block you have two choices. Try to find wood that, when stained, will match today and in ten years as it darkens. The other way is not to match the wood at all and use a contrasting color wood or even stone, metal or plastic.
Bil lD

[Ronald Blue]

Lee, thank you for the advice. I had given some thought to making a new round block but wanted to try and keep everything as original as possible. Turns out the block is actually 7/8 of an inch thick. But the small counter bore that was made for the washer and nut was 7/16" deep. So I made a plug for it and glued in place. Then I re-bored it shallower, only enough for clearance of the washer and nut. Then on the other side I bored a large recess, that matches the diameter of the pedestal top to a depth of .2 inches.
table small bore.jpg
table large bore.jpg
The piece that broke off had 2 places where it was previously cracked and shrunk a bit and so would take a lot of pressure to glue back on. I decided to use a metal hose clamp with a strip of rubber to prevent marring. After several hours I kept the clamp in place while I re-screwed the hanger bolt, with some beeswax, back in place. I didn't want to stress this part with the hanger bolt being installed.
table spindle clamp.jpg
Now I could add the block with a new stainless steel screw (instead of a nail originally used) to keep the top tier in alignment with the bottom one. Then to install the 3 screws fastening the block to the underside of the top tier and it was done.
table block & screw.jpg
table final.jpg
Thank you all for your help. It's been a fun project for me and a good learning experience. I never thought one day I'd be repairing a 100 year old table.

I've enjoyed following this project. Often times figuring out the methods and assembly processes used on old pieces is the most difficult thing you will do. I repaired a sewing/library table for my MIL years back. The main issue was it was never sturdy because of all the worn and failed glue joints. It was nothing compared to this project but it still gives you a feeling of pride and accomplishment when it turns out well. Job well done John!

[Phil Mueller]

Well done, John. Glad it worked out. Table looks great. Here’s to another 100 years!