How to fix sticky table drawer?

Remove the drawer and check the runners inside the carcase for heavy dust or splinters. Often the oak sides have simply expanded with seasonal humidity. Rub a plain wax candle along the bottom edges of the drawer sides and the internal runners. This provides dry lubrication without swelling the wood further.

Clean brass casters antique table?

Leave them alone if they show a dull, dark patina. Georgian brass was often lacquered, and aggressive metal polish strips away both the lacquer and two centuries of accumulated surface history. If they are caked in floor wax or carpet fibres, pick the debris out carefully with a wooden toothpick. A soft cloth is all you need to dust them.

I just inherited one of these from my grandmother but the top leaves don't sit flat when they are folded up, is that normal?

Yes, this is normal for a table of this age. Over two centuries, the solid timber flaps naturally warp as they react to changes in central heating and humidity. The rule joints also wear down through constant friction. When the hinged brackets are tucked away, the leaves lack support and gravity pulls the warped wood inward.

When I pull out the wooden arms to hold the side pieces up they feel stiff and make a squeaking sound, should I oil the hinges?

Avoid household oil. It will soak into the timber and leave dark stains. The squeak is just wood rubbing on wood. Brush some powdered graphite into the gap instead.

Home > Tables > Pembroke Tables > Page 2

Antique Pembroke Tables from the 18th Century

← Page 2 of 6 →

A light, portable drop-leaf table with two hinged flaps supported by hinged wooden brackets, designed primarily for occasional meals, tea-drinking, or writing in late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century domestic rooms.