Originally Posted by Mitch's mom

Caroline, Fix your table top to use it. They made these tables by the hundreds of thousands. You didn't hunt it down and drag it home to look at it - use it! The antique value of them is negligible at best. They are only 60 years ( roughly) at this point and won't be a true antique for another 40 years. These tables are not fine furniture by any stretch of the imagination, they are a utilitarian table, meant to be used with sharp things like pins and scissors around them. They will have dings, scratches, worn varnish and peeling veneer.

Mine looked so bad when I brought it home I used denatured alcohol to soften the varnish enough to smooth it out some. Once it was dry I bought a roll of clear self sticking shelf liner and covered the top with it. It is really very slippery, which is nice when quilting. It isn't pretty, but it's pretty functional.