How to treat a dry oak table?

Feed the timber with a good quality beeswax polish. Apply it sparingly with a soft cloth and leave it overnight to sink into the grain. Buff the surface the next morning using a clean duster. Avoid aerosol sprays because the silicone content ruins the early patina.

My dining room floor is quite uneven and I'm worried the swinging legs on a gateleg table won't sit flat when it's fully opened up.

A slightly uneven floor often causes a wobble when the gates are open. The rigid frame cannot flex to accommodate dips in the floorboards. Place a discrete felt pad under the floating leg. Many old floors are uneven, and a simple pad prevents the drop leaf from sagging while protecting your floor from the timber. Check the hinges if the leaf still dips. Sometimes the wobble comes from loose screws rather than the floor.

Can you remove water marks?

White rings sit in the surface wax rather than the wood itself. A brisk rub with a dark beeswax polish often lifts light blooming. Leave darker stains alone. Stripping an antique gateleg table destroys the accumulated surface colour and exposes raw timber.

I have a small cottage with narrow doors and I need to know if the central section comes apart to get it inside the house.

The central frame is permanently fixed. Joiners drove wooden pegs through the mortise and tenon joints, locking the base together for good. Measure your doorways before buying. You can usually tilt a standard antique gateleg table sideways and angle the narrow central frame through most domestic door frames.

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Antique Gateleg Tables from the 19th Century

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An antique gateleg table features hinged drop leaves supported by pivoted legs that swing out from the main frame, providing a substantial dining surface that folds away compactly to save floor space.