Exquisite Restored Oak Dining Table

I purchased this restored oak dining table back in 1996 while attending an auction. The table was the featured item at the auction and when I saw it I knew I wanted to add it to my personal collection. The magnificent lions paw feet, and hand carving around the outer edges made it a treasured piece.

Where the table had originated I do not know but it was found in an old Manitoba farmhouse and restored by the auction house for sale. They did a superficial job. Enough to make it look good for the sale. There were a few flaws here and there but the piece was  still stunning. I bought it and brought home. Shortly thereafter I moved from Calgary to Vancouver and the movers took this very heavy table apart for transport. The table never fit back together properly after that move and then when I moved back to Alberta it was taken apart again.

Wood is very sensitive to moisture and the humidity of the surroundings. Alberta and Vancouver have very dissimilar climates and the impact on my table was severe. A couple of large cracks developed across the table top. That combined with the table not fitting together and the chairs needing to be re-glued caused me to begin my search for a  quality furniture refinisher.

Full disclosure here, Rick Conklin is my brother Rick’s son and my company, OTR Web built the website for Master Furniture Repair. I will admit however that it was with some trepidation that I had my table and chairs delivered to Rick’s shop. I mean he had always just been “jr” to me and I even though I knew he liked to tinker with wood this was my treasured oak dining room table!

Furniture Refinishing Shop

The table was delivered to Rick’s Edmonton furniture refinishing shop and I then went up a few weeks later to see how he was making out with it. I got there to see my table fully apart and in a few hundred pieces and went, oh my. Rick reassured me that he knew how to put it back together and that he was personally sanding and finishing each part.  We looked at the chairs and determined that the seat pads needed to be reupholstered and Rick said he could arrange.  Feeling confident in what I had seen and the calm demeanor of Jr … I mean Rick I made my way south and back home and then off for some time in Mexico.

Upon my return to Alberta I connected with Rick and he told me my table and chairs were ready. I drove to his shop and he showed me the restored oak table and chairs. To say I was stunned would be an understatement. The workmanship was superb with careful attention to the smallest details. The two cracks across the tabletop were just gone! Even knowing where they were located I could not discern the repair.

My oak table and chairs are back in my home. Soon I will be finished some renovations in the house and once again I can entertain guests around my table. The joy of a magnificent piece of furniture with good friends around the table enjoying a fine meal. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Thanks Rick Conklin and your team at Master Furniture Repair for a first class restoration of my antique oak table and chairs.

Ian Conklin