re: Table top rehab

I did one far worse than that. The lady's family didn't secure it well and it went for a flight, during a move. She thought it was toast, then met me. I asked her to hold my beer. . . . 

The break was so bad there was no way it could be put back together without creating a new flat line.  So I went there using the jointer.

I used my router to bring it back to round. In the end, it only lost an inch or less off the diameter.

After that came the damaged edge. I ended up chiseling a piece out. In a fit of brilliance, I butt jointed a new piece in, to make the repair look horrible. I took it back out and added a V to the end and the new scrap oak I tried to match to it.  That helped, but still no banana for me. However, an Exacto blade helped me make some genuine fake grain. That, and some dark stain to highlight my artistry, before the overall stain and finish, and it was off to the races.  Even I had trouble finding the damaged edge.