Repair and modification of 18th century farmhouse dining table

In one of our more unusual commissions we were hired to repair and modify a family heirloom that had been passed down through several generations. This farmhouse table originally made by a member of its owners family to celebrate the birth of a daughter and had been passed down ever since. The table top is a single solid slab of English Oak, more than 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and three inches thick. a beautiful piece of timber that would be almost impossible to obtain today. Unfortunately, the timber had not been perfectly seasoned when the table was made. This combined with how much warmer and drier modern houses are than their historical counterparts had caused large shakes and splits to open in the slab over the last few decades. Wooden Duck Workshops were hired to bring a new lease of life to this classic piece. The owners wanted the shakes repaired with resin so that the history and life of the table weren’t hidden, but so that the children couldn’t drop their peas down the gaps!