Q. I really like the informal, non-shiny look of some of the old, redone furniture so after talking to several decorators I have decided to refinish my high gloss maple coffee table. Can you recommend a wax to use as the final finish that will be both durable and easy to maintain?

A. No. Wax is not finish, it is dressing for a finish. It is designed to protect finishes, not wood, by deflecting abrasion and repelling moisture as the first line of defense, not the last. Wax, which contains a high percentage of organic compounds, will eventually evaporate - just dissipate into the air. It also will wear off very easily each time you use your table. In a larger sense just think of it as finishing your table with a crayon. That's how durable it is. With the large array of modern finishes available to you, surely you will find one that suits your taste.  Wipe on "oil" finishes, which are essentially just thinned out urethane or varnish, are easy to apply and have a very low, informal look. Many are even water based so you don't have the solvent problem and they will offer much more protection than just wax.   

Q. We have recently acquired an antique table that opens out to about ten feet. It has all the extra leaves to fill in the space and they match very nicely. The problem is that the table sags badly when we open it that far. Where can I obtain stronger slide pieces to put under the table to support this weight?

A. You probably don't need bigger slides. In fact the ones that are on the table now probably are the ones the table was built with since replacing slides is a big job. Climb under the table while it is in the closed position and do two things. First count the number of individual pieces of wood that make up the slides on each side. There should be an odd number. That is the first clue that something is missing. The second clue is to see if there are screw holes or marks that line up in the very center of the slides when they are closed. If you locate the holes you know you are missing the center support leg which carries the weight of the table in the extended position. These legs are often removed for convenience when moving a table or putting it in storage. Sometimes they just get left in storage when the table goes. Sometimes they crack or break because the slides aren't working right and they are just discarded.

The importance of the odd number of pieces in the slides is so that as the table extends, the middle piece of the slide stays in place, letting the ones on each side do the traveling. That way the center support leg, which is always attached to the middle sections, will remain in the center of the table when opened.

If you find evidence of the missing leg you may want to consult a furniture professional about having a replacement fabricated if you intend to use the table in the extended form.

Q. I have an old Hammond organ from the 1950's which I thought was about when the small electric organs came out. My friend says she is sure she saw one much older than that in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. several years ago. Is that possible?

A. If she went to the Smithsonian it is possible she saw Hammond Organ Model A, Number 1, the first electric organ produced by the Hammond Clock Co of Chicago in 1935. Until then organs had been ponderous, institutional instruments with pipes, bellows and complicated relays. Laurens Hammond came up with a way to produce sound waves that very closely imitated the original organ sounds by rotating a metal disk in a magnetic field. The result was the portable, console electric organ occupying only four square feet off floor space, a very modest "footprint" in today's terms. Production was interrupted by World War II but the growing prosperity of the 1950's put an electric organ within the reach of many households and they became very popular in the following decades.

 Visit Fred's website at www.furnituredetective.co Fred Taylor's new book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is now available for $18.95 plus $2.00 S & H. Send check or money order for $20.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.

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