# Help! Wood Rot on Table Top



## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

Hi there! I'm totally a novice!!! So be gentle please and I need layman's terms too.... I'm new to this site (posting) but have read your posts for a while. I finally have an old work bench that was made in the 1920's by a family member. It's been passed out and abused over the years and I just inherited it from my Father-In-Law yesterday. He had sticky shelving paper on the top but sides and the legs were untouched (thank goodness). I peeled the shelving paper off and found a small area of wood rot (wet?/Dry?) (centered L/R and along the backsplash board). It's approx. 1/4" deep. I haven't sanded it yet because I wanted to get everyone's opinion/advice on what I should do to repair it. I intend to use it as a serving table in the dining room. 
In the past I have refinish utility-grade oak flooring using WS epoxy and stain to fill areas of depression/defects to give it an old-time look (took forever but they look awesome!) Didn't know if I should do that to the rot and keep it as "original" or take out the rot and fill it.
What do you think???

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## nblasa (Nov 29, 2011)

I kinda like the rustic look of it...flaws and all, but I'd be very reluctant to save the dark area if I suspected mold. If it was moldy from moisture being trapped under the shelving paper I don't think there would be an option other than cutting out the bad area and matching it as best you could. If you don't think that there is mold I'd probably stabilize it with some epoxy and then go about with the finishing process. Just my two cents.


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

nblasa said:


> I kinda like the rustic look of it...flaws and all, but I'd be very reluctant to save the dark area if I suspected mold. If it was moldy from moisture being trapped under the shelving paper I don't think there would be an option other than cutting out the bad area and matching it as best you could. If you don't think that there is mold I'd probably stabilize it with some epoxy and then go about with the finishing process. Just my two cents.


He said the rot was there before he put the shelving paper on it. Do you think there could still be mold? I'd hate to try and keep the look (I like the rustic look too!!) if it's going to keep deteriorating. How do I figure out if the mold is still there?
It's completely dry and stored in a temperature controlled house for the last 30 years (he used it as a reloading table for shotgun shells).
Thanks for the advise.


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## nblasa (Nov 29, 2011)

If it still looks the same as it did before your father in law put on the shelving paper and it doesn't smell musty I would probably take a chance on stabilizing it. You should probably hope for a second opinion from some other guys on the forum as well.


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

When I get the area stabilized what do you suggest I use to get the stickiness off the wood? 
Thanks for your advise, I appreciate it.


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## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

I doubt it's dry rot. Dry rot occurs in the presence of water. I would suspect the wood has been damaged by some type of chemical. If it were me I would try to scrap any loose material. If you lose any patina or color, use a small amount of stain applied by hand wiping off the excess to blend in the color.

What do you plan to do to get the piece is shape for finishing? Do you plan to use a chemical paint stripper? What finish do you plan to use?


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## nblasa (Nov 29, 2011)

patobe2009 said:


> When I get the area stabilized what do you suggest I use to get the stickiness off the wood?
> Thanks for your advise, I appreciate it.


Is the stickiness is from the shelving paper? It should sand off easily, but Gum off works to remove adhesive. I have no idea if it would stain the wood though, so if you try that test it on an inconspicuous area


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It's not rot. The table has been on fire at some time or another. I believe if you could get the backsplash off of it the top could be sanded with a belt sander removing most of the burn. The spot is probably pretty shallow however it will have a brown spot running deeper. It looks as thought there was some kind of pan sitting on the table shielding it from most of it.


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## Deanr (Jul 29, 2011)

What does the underside look like and how is it fastened. Is it possible to flip that board over or all over. I realize you loose some of the character but too much character in the dining room may not be a good thing.


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

HowardAcheson said:


> I doubt it's dry rot. Dry rot occurs in the presence of water. I would suspect the wood has been damaged by some type of chemical. If it were me I would try to scrap any loose material. If you lose any patina or color, use a small amount of stain applied by hand wiping off the excess to blend in the color.
> 
> What do you plan to do to get the piece is shape for finishing? Do you plan to use a chemical paint stripper? What finish do you plan to use?


I was going to sand the top but leave the legs ''as is''. I really haven't thought that far into it. I was more worried about how to fill in the top without loosing the character of the piece. Maybe a cherry finish. I did stabilize the fragile areas with WS and dye (darker brown to bring out the flaws more). It looks good so far but won't know for sure until I sand it. Keep your fingers crossed, I am. I hope I did the right thing...


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

Steve Neul said:


> It's not rot. The table has been on fire at some time or another. I believe if you could get the backsplash off of it the top could be sanded with a belt sander removing most of the burn. The spot is probably pretty shallow however it will have a brown spot running deeper. It looks as thought there was some kind of pan sitting on the table shielding it from most of it.


That's what we speculated too (burn). There are definite linear markings suggesting something sat where damage is located. His father used it out in the barn for some kind of work bench (did most of the framing in his house with the trees off his property). 
I kinda wanted to keep the dark spot for character. Do you think that will detract from the table?
Curiously we found several walnut beams (8"x4"x15') with bark on some of them he had cut 60-70 years ago up in his attic when we cleaned it out. I was in heaven and needless to say they are in my pole barn...


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

Deanr said:


> What does the underside look like and how is it fastened. Is it possible to flip that board over or all over. I realize you loose some of the character but too much character in the dining room may not be a good thing.


Ahh, hadn't thought of that. It's fastened with handmade wooden pegs and at some point nuts/bolts on the underneath corner area. I did see water/chemical stains under the backsplash area. The wood is perfectly fine though, just a stain (no mold or fungus seen).
Thanks for the advise!


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

*Finished the Serving table*

Well I have a finished product and wanted to get your opinion. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it. I want your professional (and personal) opinion of what I could have done better or different. I've got more stuff I can work on... Thanks for your input.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Other than the burn it looks good to me. There's really nothing you could have done with the burn. It would have taken resurfacing the top to get rid of it. From what I can see in the picture I would estimate the burn would run 1/8" into the top.


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## nblasa (Nov 29, 2011)

Hard to tell from the picture, but I'm assuming there is other bits of charactor (ahem, chips and flaws). If so there is probably a good blend of imperfections that make it a little more obvious that you wanted to keep the aged look. If the burn was the only flaw it would stand out drastically, but I think you're fine. Nice finish, by the way!


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## patobe2009 (May 20, 2010)

nblasa said:


> Hard to tell from the picture, but I'm assuming there is other bits of charactor (ahem, chips and flaws). If so there is probably a good blend of imperfections that make it a little more obvious that you wanted to keep the aged look. If the burn was the only flaw it would stand out drastically, but I think you're fine. Nice finish, by the way!


Thank you for the feedback. I was going for the look with as many flaws as I could. The dark area (rot or burns) too a long time to stabilize. I'm glad I did keep it. It was approx 1/2 to 3/4" deep, wouldn't have been able to get it out towards the middle of the piece. 
My father-in-law finally saw it tonight and I thought he was going to fall over in surprise. He said he was going to throw it away and now wants it back.


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