Solid Mahogany table

In 1956 my parents bought “Craftique” a antique reproduction of a drop leaf table and china hutch.  The pieces were certified as solid genuine mahogany by the Mahogany Association (Certificate Number SO 138859).

Certification tag from 1956

Original Manufacturing tag

The china hutch has remained functional by today’s standards but the table’s space saving drop leaf design meant the table had “too many  legs (8 total)” to allow a large gathering from sitting comfortably.  When the “she who must be obeyed” and I added new chairs to the dining room suite, we found a new design problem.  The 18 inches gap between the legs prevented modern chairs (about 4 to 6 inches wider than chairs manufactured greater than 100 years ago – according to our interior designer – today’s chairs are wider because as a population our butts are wider than they were 100 years ago) from properly “pulling up to the table”.  This leg gap reduced a roughly 24 square feet table to seating 4 individuals.

The original table with the drop leaves removed. Everyone had to “fight a leg”. Modern wider chairs would not fit between the leg gap while the older antique chair (1847) could be accommodated.

Solution:

Convert the dropleaf mahogany table to a monolithic solid top table with 4 legs in the corners and increase the footprint from 72 x 47 to 91 x 47.

Finding genuine mahogany to match the original mahogany table parts was challenging.  The “save the rainforest” mentality of the 21^st century makes genuine mahogany from Central America a scarce and expensive resource.  The wood for the top extension (roughly 20 inches X 47 inches), the new 4” inches surrounding apron and the four new legs cost as much as the original table’s retail price in 1956.  In those rare occasions when I work with real mahogany, I understand why mahogany was the wood of choice for the 17^th and 18^th century fine furniture makers.  It works easily, has limited defects and takes a finish.

Now 8 modern design chairs will comfortably fit and no one fights a leg