During the month of December we have traveled the entire East Coast from Maine to Florida.  We visited our daughter and son-in-law in Orlando this past week.  Their Christmas tree is in the spot where the table and chairs will call home.  Although we tried to find round-head, quarter inch, Phillips head, two and a half inch zinc screws for the chair seat braces, we were unable to locate any.  Lowes did have the proper size but we had to get flat-head instead of Phillips.  The important thing was their fit and they are perfect in that regard.  With the sanding and repairs completed, today we bleached the entire set.  The evening is young and we may begin conditioning the wood and staining tonight.

Merry Christmas!  Especially around holidays, we reflect on past family gatherings and celebrations.  Many great meals, Scrabble games, and discussions have taken place around Jeff's parents Molly Stark table.  This table and chairs shown above have been in his family since 1950.  During Jeff's parents first year of marriage, they bought the set from the previous occupant of the house they rented.  We are thinking that this family had the table and chairs for at least 5 years, dating the set to the mid 1940's.   Through many moves, the raising of two children (now in their 50's), the addition of two daughters-in-law, and the life of one grandchild (now 27), the Molly Stark table has been a constant gathering place for now approaching 65 years.  This past year, their table had to be refinished due to water damage, but it came through the process better than ever.  Their granddaughter (our daughter) loved the table as much as anyone.   She was married this year and she and her husband began searching for a similar table.  Although they had wedding funds for a dining set from these grandparents, they did not find anything near the quality of Molly Stark's solid maple.  We have done internet searches for Molly Stark for many years and found one in Detroit, but were too late to get it.  When the one we bought appreared on Craig's List we moved fast and are so glad we were able to purchase it.  We are delighted to do all this work for our daughter and her husband.  It is a true labor of love.  Right now they have their Christmas tree in the spot where the table and chairs will go.  We hope to have it finished and delivered by Easter.  Her grandparents began their first year of marriage with Molly Stark and she and her husband will as well.  We hope our daughter and son-in-law will have many happy years with their "new" table as well.  Won't it be great when her grandparents visit and share a meal on Molly Stark II?

Yesterday we went to the Woodcraft store in Parkersburg, WV.  The associate, Shawn, was so helpful in his suggestions and time.  We settled in on General Finishes Water Based Dye Stain in light brown.  For the finish, we bought Tried & True Original Wood Finish.  The combination of polymerized linseed oil and beeswax appealed to our thoughts of a natural type finish.  Shawn spoke of the high tactile sense of this type of finish.  Finally, we purchased bowling alley wax for the final touch.  It is a paste wax with imported carnauba.  Oh the choices!  We hope we have made good decisions.

Today, we have been on a quest for wood screws for some missing blocks under the chairs.  We want the furniture to remain as authentic as possible so are trying to find exact replacement screws.  We had no luck in town.  We will still try to check at Lowe's or order over the internet.

Molly Stark Maple Furniture is stamped on the bottom of each piece.  This line was manufactured by the Readsboro Chair Company in Vermont.  This company was known for making school desks, auditorium seating, and sturdy maple houshold furniture.  The company closed in 1988.  We are thinking our set was made in the mid-forties.

So, initially Jeff was hand sanding just using sandpaper.  He worked many hours "lovingly" using the old method of refinishing. 

Jeff now has moved onto using his power tools if Black & Decker's Mouse Sander can be considered as such.  The job is going faster and the results are just as good if not better.  Jeff is also using a dust mask due to every family member being concerned about his breathing dust.   

The table is pretty much ready for it's finish, although it will be awhile until that happens.  The butterfly leaves have several weeks of being clamped until we are sure they will hold their "straightness".

Jeff will have 3 chairs sanded as of tonight.  One chair bottom was a bit warped and he has it nearly repaired.  He feels this will be faster to insure that it stays "unwarped" as he will be screwing it tightly onto the chair frame.

We have had the table and chairs one week now and are so glad we went to Maine last weekend instead of this one. It has snowed all day and at last count we have 13 inches of snow. That's OK though as we spent the day in the basement sanding the furniture and organizing the work area. Jeff has stripped and sanded the table. There is some warpage of the butterfly leaves and he has them in clamps which seems to be working. Three of the 6 chairs have been sanded. The finish was about gone, so there is no need to use stripper which is nice. Even though a few boards are warped and there are a few splits, the solid maple wood is in good shape. We are aiming for 90% to 95% restoration to original condition. We are leaning towards using a product called TransTint to "stain" it and finishing with lacquer. We also have to order some maple mushroom screw covers and Jeff has to fashion some chair braces for under the seats. We are having a good time working on the set and are so happy to have found it.

After years of searching for a Molly Stark maple table and chairs, we finally found one on Craig's List. The owner was so nice and accommodating.  After several emails we decided to go to Maine to get the set.  On December 10, we began our 800 mile road trip to Maine. We arrived on December 11 and were back in West Virginia on the 12th. We had the best time on our two day, 1600 mile trip!  The weather was good, the seller and his wife were a pleasure to meet, and we had a safe trip.  The table and chairs are in "rough condition", but are definitely what we want. We have a lot of work ahead of us.