Large Industrial Table from Woods & Co, 1910s

Large Industrial Table By Woods & Co Circa 1910 – Cast iron base – Solid Oak top – English ~ 1910 – 98cm tall x 90cm deep x 200cm long Industrial Tables By Otto’s When it comes to making our tables, we start from the bottom up. It begins by sourcing the best quality cast iron bases. We focus on bases from Western Europe and from the period of the late 19th century to the early 20th century. We focus on the shape, style and the quality of the casting; the bases come from a variety of sources, some were used as machine bases from factories and workshops and others for farm equipment. We begin by sandblasting the bases, this removes years of dirt, grease and very often many bad paint jobs! We then burnish them, this removes any remaining paint and smooths any coarseness from the sandblasting process. After a good dust and clean the bases are given several coats of clear lacquer, – for this we use an acrylic lacquer, the same type used in the manufacturing and restoration of cars. Once the bases are complete its time to move onto the tops and for our table tops we use a 3 plank planed Idigbo hardwood. Idigbo is the same wood used on lorry beds and in other industrial settings and is known for its toughness as well as its interesting grain. The 3 planks are cut and planed and then clamped and glued into place. After everything has set the top is then sanded. Now the piece that connects the top to the base is made and the decorative Idigbo skirt finishes it off. The table top and skirt now has its first few coats of hard wax oil – we use a premium natural hard wax oil by the German company Saicos. As well as being extremely hard wearing, it is also waterproof and allows the wood to breath but at the same time reduces swelling and shrinkage. The final touch on our tables is the protective steel edging, we use a 3mm thick hot rolled steel banding made locally in Gloucester which is cut to size, lacquered and fitted in our workshop. The table top now has its final coats of hard wax oil and then base has its final coat of clear lacquer and it’s now complete!