[Shop-talk] Unwarping an antique tabletop?

[Eric Russell]

If you have fairly unobstructed access to the underside, you can use a
Skill saw or router to cut some grooves 1/2 to 3/4 of the thickness of the
table's top (especially in areas of the most warpage) and then add some
cleats across the underside to pull the warpage of it.

I wouldn't do this to a valuable antique but it is more likely to be
successful than trying to rehydrate/dehydrate warped wood.

EjR

On Tue, Jul 25, 2023 at 7:56 PM Jim Franklin <jamesf at groupwbench.org> wrote:

> I foolishly picked up a "free" 1930s dining table. It has a stunning
> veneered top and nice fluted double legs with intricate designs on the
> skirt.
>
> It was free because the PO stored it in his basement and the top warped
> pretty good, the sides cupping upwards as moisture entered the underside.
>
> I stripped the shellac off the top and laid it face down on the lawn to
> try and introduce moisture to the top while the sun baked the underside
> under weight, but it didn't move. I was able to remove the loosened
> underside veneer (maybe I should have done this before I put it in the
> sun?) but a few hours of hot steam and clamps wasn't enough to budge
> things. I don't want to remove the top veneer since I'd prefer a warped top
> to destroyed veneer.
>
> It seems I have 2 choices - soak the underside long enough for the entire
> 1/2" thick solid wood top to get wet and then clamp and dry it, and risk
> loosening the veneer, or build an environment where the humidity is very
> low and let the underside dry out well below ambient humidity, pulling the
> top straight. I'm in MA and it's a very damp summer.
>
> Any thoughts on which is better, and if the latter, how to create this
> artifical desert?
>
> thanks,
> jim
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