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About Fred Taylor
Expertise
I will attempt to answer questions about American antique furniture, including construction details, style, period, manufacturers, care, repair and storage. I do not have any background in appliances, musical instruments, sewing machines, lighting and clocks and will not respond to quesions about those items.
Experience
I ran an antique furniture restoration business for twenty years. I am a nationally syndicated columnist on the subject of antique furniture for such publications as Antique Week and New England Antiques Journal. I have produced one video on the subject of furniture identification and my book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is now available.I have also published articles in Antique Trader, Chicago Art Deco Society, Northeast Magazine, Victorian Decorating and Lifestyles, Professional Refinishing, Antiques and Art Around Florida and Antique Shoppe. You can visit my website at www.furnituredetective.com
Education/Credentials
BSBA Finance, University of Florida, MBA Finance, University of Florida
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You are here: Experts > Hobbies > Antiques: UK > Collectibles-General (Antiques) > Antique American Former Office Table
Expert: Fred Taylor - 11/10/2009
Question
Hello and sorry for my English, I’m not a native speaker.
This poor table has been used as a workbench before I fell in love with it during a garage sale. I will use the big former office table as a dining table. It was covered all over with paint and glue stains etc., so we had to use paint remover and sanded the wood. Before we start to stain the wood, we would like to know what kind of wood it could be? Our guess American Oak?
The table top surface is our biggest problem, we would like to color it (black). I thought it would be leather that we can use leather paint, but it’s so hard and resists even ink.
I wonder also if you could help us also with the period and style? The table has brass “shoes” and shows a little brass plate with “ Pros. atty. 111 King County” . I'll try to send you more than one picture. Thanks so much!!!
Answer
Bridget - The photo is not clear enough for me to identify the wood. It could be oak but more likely pecan or birch. In any event the wood probably is not going to accept a dark stain unless you use a dye of some sort. The top appears to be a synthetic inlay meant to resemble slate. It probably will not accept any paint or stain.
The style is generic "commercial" apparently from the 1960s.
Good luck. Thanks for writing.
Fred Taylor
www.furnituredetective.com
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