How to fix a jewelry bench

I bought a used jewelry bench, a very well used one. The price was right, so I decided to take a chance.

The table top looks dirty and rotten. I'm guessing it's because a pickle pot was sitting on it. My friend, Jon Hughett, gave me some tips...Use a MDF board, look for 1" thick, cut to the size and voila... As for the existing table, I could just pry it open.
Sounds easy?

Yes,... it sounds easy. I wasn't sure if I should plunge to this project. I'm so not handy but I was trained as an architectural designer.

I decided I'll try the easy way... I use steel wool and try to clean it. It turned out the table top is really in a bad shape that each time I rub the steel wool, more pieces are coming off. I don't think I want to bring this inside the house. So, I let it sit in our garage for a while.

After contemplating and doing some internet search, I decided to take the plunge. So, in the next few weeks, I will be blogging about it...:)

I went to the garage, turn on the heater (we got a heated garage) and start working.
First, I took all the moving parts out, including all the drawers and dust pans.

Then I attack the back cover. I use a raw hide mallet so it won't damage the table. Trust me, it's very noisy.
Next, with the mallet again, I start pounding the rail guard. That one is pretty easy to do too.

Perhaps, the harder part is cleaning the nail out from the wood. In the beginning, I use pliers and try very hard to pull the nail out. I see the back of our hammer is made to pull nails out. So, I use the back of our hammer and voila... nails are coming out from the woods.

Then I need to take the table top off. Thanks to Derek L who gave me some tips. I found the table top is screwed around the perimeter. Hubby helped with his electric screw drive to take the screw off.... and it's off.

Will continue next week...