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Hello!

I have a Jennings slot I am repairing. Like most, the base is warped/damaged. This one has mostly a warp to it though once that is repaired I will refinish the stain.

So My question is, how is the best way to go about taking the warp out of the base? See pics. One pic is an over all base pic and one is showing the separation from the side of the case and the base due to warping. I understand these are made in 3 pcs. at least I believe this to be the case. Any ideas appreciated.

Looks like it's only about 1/16" warp. Personally, I would just drill a hole in the bottom on each side about 1/2" back from the front of the sides and put in a wood/drywall screw in to pull up the front base as much as possible. You can use a little filler in any remaining cracks then do your refinish. I expect that will do the job in this case. The only other way I know would be to pull out the spline on each side, saw off the board (or break it at the glue joint), match a board and rout it all out to fit the tray, and reinstall the splines. That seems like extreme overkill for the amount of warp in the pics. I'd much rather have it be original with a teeny warp than to fit a new board unless it just isn't salvageable.

deleted comment.

atac wrote:Looks like it's only about 1/16" warp. Personally, I would just drill a hole in the bottom on each side about 1/2" back from the front of the sides and put in a wood/drywall screw in to pull up the front base as much as possible. You can use a little filler in any remaining cracks then do your refinish. I expect that will do the job in this case. The only other way I know would be to pull out the spline on each side, saw off the board (or break it at the glue joint), match a board and rout it all out to fit the tray, and reinstall the splines. That seems like extreme overkill for the amount of warp in the pics. I'd much rather have it be original with a teeny warp than to fit a new board unless it just isn't salvageable.

Thank you @atac. That approach seems very reasonable and will give that a try. I May want to remove the sides to refinish the base. I assume they are not only screwed in but nailed as well?

Jennings sides are glued and nailed from the bottom.

One other thing, if you do decide to detach the sides, my pal Rick Hector recommends drilling a couple pilot holes thru the bottom up into each side so you can maintain the original alignment. If you don't and either or both sides move, you are asking for trouble with the castings/subbase, etc., when you go about reassembling it.