Mersman Table: reborn from the trashpile

Ok, found an old table in a trash pile awhile back.    Top was in layers, two of the aprons had split apart.    Legs were…Ok.     Tore the mess apart, leaving behind a bunch of bugs.    Saved two aprons, and all for legs.   Even saved the hardware,covered in rust!Pretty sight?   Looked under the top, this was made by a company called Mersman.     There was no Mortise and tenon joints, just those metal brackets.     Pocket screw thingys held the aprons to the top.    Hmmm, we can do better than that..   I had a couple planks of old Black Walnut, about 4/4 by 6" by 90" longand chose one to cut up into three pieces for a top for the reborn table.    after the glue-up, and a little shaping on the ends.  Top was almost done, time to make a base for it.  Aprons were used as patterns.    I just traced them out onto a slab of the Walnut, and then cut away the waste areasYep, that is a 70s B&D sabre saw.   Still does a nice job, as long as a fresh blade is used.     Although I used both aprons as patterns, I found out the short ones weren't quite short enough.    Had to trim away about 2", and then cut 1/2" long tenons.   Chisels to chop a few mortises.    Tenons were just sawn to form the shoulder, and then a wide chisel to cut away the waste, and pare flat.     made up some corner blocks, as well.    Then glued up a base for this tableStarting to look like a table?    Routed a cove around the edge of the top, and even had to sand a bit, where the planes couldn't go.     Set it in a window to cure a bitbefore I started the BLO/Varnish process.   I do the undersides first.    Those old weathered legs were like a sponge.    Took FOUR coats on the legs before they quit soaking the finish up.   Once that was done, on to the topNow you can see the cove around the edges of the top.    Like the grain?      Not quite a bookmatch, as this came from a single plank.     A little sap wood on one corner.    Now residing in the front parlor!Saved the legs from a landfill?     Only the old top went there.    The old hardware?    Might keep it for another project, someday…