[klondike98]

Started working on the tabletop to try and eliminate those spots. I gave a slurry of baking soda with light brushing with a toothbrush a try to see if it would help. That's the recommended approach for ink stains. The backup is to try a bit of alcohol on a swab. Neither of those did much of anything. My tub of oxalic acid came out. A solution (the concentration of which varies depending on who you listen to, but I put about 4 tablespoons into about 200 mls. Worked the solution into the spots a little with a toothbrush and then wiped the entire top with the solution. You need to wear rubber gloves and avoid inhaling the crystal dust (wear a mask). I then let it all dry, neutralized it with a solution of baking soda, rinsed with water and let it all dry. For the most part the spots came out which means Arran was right, probably iron deposits.

   

Next I tackled some of the lifting veneer around the edges of the table top.

   

The top two glue ups worked just fine but for the bottom one...as Chuck Schwark was fond of saying...

   

When I put the caul down for the glue up, I put the wood side down on the table rather than the side with the packing tape on it (packing tape will not stick to the glue). So I now have a piece of wood glued to my table top!

*&*(^%%%$!! darn it.

I heated up the caul and underside of the tabletop and tapped the side of the caul with a hammer. It did come off but it took some of the veneer with it. In this picture I've gotten some of the pieces unglued from the caul using water (I had thankfully used hide glue to do the glue up) and am starting to put them into position. Its very "fiddly" as they say in the UK as the small pieces move all over the place as you try to get them to fit. I've finally gotten them into place and put the caul back on ... correct side down this time... and we'll see how it looks tomorrow. You can also see two of the spots I was trying to bleach that did not respond as well as the others...