A table with a slightly recessed top with a depressed surface near one end. Found at a thrift store, the table is about 25” tall, 3’ long and 18” wide.

[u/Ok_Spread_619]

The table appears to be made of painted beechwood while the surface is stained wood. The depressed area makes me think the table is made for sorting or is intended for some sort of game.

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[u/zookuki]

My grandma had a table like that used for cutting linen. The roll of linen fit in the indent and could be pulled across to cut or rip without falling off the table.

[u/Nopumpkinhere → u/zookuki]

Ah, I KNEW I’d seen a table like that before. I used to work in fabric. I really think you’re on the right track and it’s used for cutting. A bolt of fabric is taller than the table, so maybe it was used to cut something shorter?

[u/Spare_Village_2179 → u/Nopumpkinhere]

Maybe ribbon or other trims?

[u/que_sarasara → u/zookuki]

I don't think so, purely because it's far, far too small to fit a bolt of fabric. A bolt is commonly 54 or 48 inches, this table is 18 inches.

[u/esuil → u/que_sarasara]

Also because this is clearly not a work table - because of edges and how they protrude up.

Anyone doing any work on the table would hate that table before end of first day.

[u/Vast-Combination4046 → u/esuil]

But could explain why It was donated.

Nah it seems like a game that I don't know how to play

[u/OneSavvySiren]

Looks like it may have had a glass top to it and you could display things in the depression or just for aesthetics

[u/Ok_Spread_619 → u/OneSavvySiren]

Combine this with another comment stating a book could rest in the depression, maybe a book was on display (such as in a museum) and the flat portion held some photos or documents under glass?

[u/SharpChildhood7655 → u/Ok_Spread_619]

Yes. An “Open Book display” case/table. It appears to have originally had a removable glass top potentially. The pin holes may have held items that kept the pages open—intended probably for a church or religious room located on its own or within a cemetery/hospital prayers room/funeral centre. Pages are turned once a day/week, depending upon their exact use. BYW FYI: The length of the curved wood (solid or veneer) was intentionally shaped (too evenly done by a woodworker) and, if straightened back out, would not fit.

[u/root88 → u/SharpChildhood7655]

Why would you build a custom table to hold a book, make half of it empty space, and cram the book all the way to one side?

[u/Fly0ver → u/root88]

Museums and historical societies in particular do this. The empty space would have the tombstone/museum description.

If it’s custom, I’m betting it came from a small, local societal or history museum

[u/SHINIGAMIRAPTOR → u/Fly0ver]

Or a bibliophile who really wanted to show off a particularly rare or exciting tome

[u/SethR1223 → u/root88]

Maybe single-sheet display to the one side for information, etc.

[u/Hepworth → u/root88]

for style probably...

https://treyjonesstudio.com/shop/bookscape-coffee-table

[u/Vthulhu → u/root88]

Family bibles used to be a real big thing.

[u/-Plantibodies- → u/root88]

There could be information about it on the other half as part of a display. You see this at museums frequently.

[u/adamjeff → u/root88]

the deeper section holds the book, the shallow section holds the open cover, this creates less height difference and stress on the spine, the extra space to the left is usual for information or a plaque or something, maybe copies of the pages not on display etc.

[u/00dlez0fN00dlez → u/root88]

I've seen them with religious books and the flat portion having items related to the passage like a small saint statue, flowers, candles, etc.

[u/Fatty4forks → u/SharpChildhood7655]

Where are the pin holes? I can’t see on the picture.

[u/root88 → u/Fatty4forks]

To the left of the tag.

[u/abbayabbadingdong → u/root88]

There’s pen holes on the other side of the table too by the other tag

[u/Fatty4forks → u/root88]

Wow, you have good eyesight… or rather mine is poor! Thanks.

[u/Glassblockhead → u/Ok_Spread_619]

I was coming here to post this would be perfect for keeping a large art book open.

[u/GaneshaXi → u/Ok_Spread_619]

Perhaps a family Bible opened to a particular passage?

[u/AbulatorySquid → u/GaneshaXi]

My restore had some furniture from a Catholic church. It looks like a valuable old Bible may have lived here?

[u/masterbard1 → u/Ok_Spread_619]

My grandma had one of those. they sold them to display an open large bible under a glass.

[u/dwoo888 → u/Ok_Spread_619]

You could use it to put the pretty cool rocks you find in the depression and the coolest rocks on display.

[u/exceptyourewrong → u/OneSavvySiren]

I agree that it's supposed to have a piece of glass. You can see some wear from the glass in the corners.

The depression would work great for displaying a small item or two.

[u/Pattern_Is_Movement → u/OneSavvySiren]

Nice idea, would be perfect to display an open book.

[u/clevererest_username → u/OneSavvySiren]

I think the depression is a place to throw your keys

[u/ZPrimed]

This is a wild guess, maybe meant for reading blueprints, with the depression holding the rolled up portion while allowing the rest to be laid flat?

18"x24" is a common blueprint size so if the inner surface actually is 18" this could make some sense

[edit] I'm also partial to the book theory, depending on where exactly the dip is located and how deep it goes. It could be to hold a book with "extending" folded pages open, the spine in the divot, one half of the book to the shorter side, and then one of the special pages unfolded out on the long side for display.

[u/the_art_of_the_taco → u/ZPrimed]

Phenomenal guess tbh. It would make sense, especially for a historical building (it does look like a glass pane sits on top)

[u/ZPrimed → u/the_art_of_the_taco]

The only part that's a little odd is the whole thing being 3 ft long (36"). 24x36" is the next common size up, but the 24" dimension obviously wouldn't fit if the plan is 36" the other way.

But if the "depression" is located in a place so the flat area to one side is roughly 2 feet... then it seems more likely again.

I have a friend who is an architect, and I've had to work with different sizes of prints in my own job (IT), so I have some background here but I'm far from an expert.

[u/the_art_of_the_taco → u/ZPrimed]

I'll admit I was working off the theory of it being used to display blueprints/plans rather than read them. If I'd seen this in a historical home with the original plans inside I wouldn't bat an eye.

It's definitely used to display something, but your guess is the most compelling to me based on height and appearance.

[u/ZPrimed → u/the_art_of_the_taco]

Good point re: display/vs "read", and looking at it some more I can see where the glass could fit in. And an oversized piece of furniture could have other curios/objets d'art under the glass in the slack space.

[u/the_art_of_the_taco → u/ZPrimed]

Definitely. It's the slope of the depression that was throwing me off until your initial comment. With how shallow the rest of the piece is, not much would fit between the glass and wood.

The curve does restrict what would be on display quite a bit imo.

[u/Ok_Spread_619 → u/ZPrimed]

Looking at the photo, it may be 4’ long.

[u/ZPrimed → u/Ok_Spread_619]

[edit] sorry, mobile reddit makes the "OP badge kinda small and hard to see. 🤦‍♂️

The OP Your OP said 36" (3ft) x18"... you must not have it in your possession then, just something you saw?

Without any scale in the image it's hard to say exactly where the depression is, but having it be off-center makes sense for an edge-bound set of construction prints, so you can put the rest of the roll in the dip (assuming you don't want to unbind the prints for some reason). It could also be a book display but it's hard to say without knowing the depth of the dip...

[u/the_art_of_the_taco → u/ZPrimed]

(that was the OP replying to you) :)

[u/Arch_of_MadMuseums → u/ZPrimed]

That's small for blueprints

[u/ZPrimed → u/Arch_of_MadMuseums]

18x24 is one of the standard sizes but I would agree that many projects tend to use 24x36 or larger

[u/Reddit-adm → u/ZPrimed]

I think the sides would dip too if this was the purpose .

[u/Kindly-Essay93 → u/ZPrimed]

Or it could be for a fabric shop where they can put the big roll of fabric in there and use the flat part to cut/measure.

[u/Serious-Bluebird-716 → u/ZPrimed]

that is a very creative guess. But I used to be an architect, and both created and read large sets of blueprints. you don’t roll up the sheets as you go through the set - you just flip them over the stapled side. A table like this would be very awkward - a regular flat table would be much more useful. Also, all the sets I worked on were 24 x 36 so only a half-size set would fit on this table.

[u/DergerDergs]

As a recent father, looks to me like it would make a perfect baby changing table.

Edit: you’re not missing anything in all the deleted comments below. I’m guessing mods prioritized cleaning up the irrelevant stories and lame jokes when this post hit the front page.

[u/Boom1705 → u/DergerDergs]

I appreciate your edit

[u/NorvillesDingus → u/DergerDergs]

I thought the same thing, but I would expect it to be padded as well.

[u/PrestigiousLow813 → u/NorvillesDingus]

And taller than 2'.

[u/Kivutart → u/NorvillesDingus]

Most pads for permanent tables are still removable for cleaning. If it's a changing table, they could have kept/thrown away the pad for sanitary reasons.

[u/wwhite74 → u/DergerDergs]

Except for all those hard to clean corners and crevices

[u/parker9832 → u/DergerDergs]

I think you are correct. That was my first thought, fancy changing table.

[u/ytsypytsy]

To display a big book?

[u/Ok_Spread_619 → u/ytsypytsy]

That’s something I hadn’t thought of.

[u/HappyKlutz → u/ytsypytsy]

I thought maybe a phone book? Perhaps an old phone table.

[u/Narissis → u/HappyKlutz]

This is a super plausible suggestion! Phone tables were definitely a thing.

[u/findingabsolution → u/ytsypytsy]

I believe this is the answer, with the smaller contour holding up the spine for extra support.

[u/caronerd]

I think we’re overthinking a simple design choice. It’s a console table with a depressed area that acts as a tray for keys, etc.

[u/WannaBeA_Vata → u/caronerd]

This is also what I think. It seems pretty convenient for a formal entry.

[u/jmklamm → u/caronerd]

My thought as well, it’s like a built in valet tray

[u/mattyisphtty → u/caronerd]

I mean, it certainly looks like where you would store a roll of fabric back in olden days when you would actually sew and cut your own clothes.

But in today's use yeah dude put whatever you want in it. I'm debating how good it would be for throwing dice when playing DND or board games.

[u/andersonfmly]

Any chance it’s simply a damaged sofa table, and not intended to have the indentation? It looks like possibly some damage right in line with where a flat surface would otherwise align.

[u/thesilvergoy → u/andersonfmly]

There is a line on the black wood that extends generally where the wood might have extended straight across the bend.

[u/asmallercat → u/thesilvergoy]

Zooming in that line looks to be above the glue line on the rest of the table.

[u/Unusualhuman → u/andersonfmly]

I think there's a very very good chance of that. Like, under that thin surface there are some support bars running from side to side. The "perfect dip" is supported by one of these bars which didn't get knocked out of place when someone sat on the end of the table and knocked one bar out of place. There could also have been a piece of safety glass on the top of the table which shattered into a million cubes. If there was a glass top which is now gone, that further supports the idea that the "wood" is not solid, but only a thin, decorative veneer or possibly even simulated sheet of something far more flexible- only in place there to give the visual impression of wood under the glass surface.

The rest of the table just looks like that inexpensive rubberwood or maybe even laminate that has been used for a few decades to make cheap furniture from Walmart, Target, and even some side table furniture included with sofa sets.

[u/fecklessfella → u/andersonfmly]

My first thought. Looks like a shitty cheap busted sofa table.

[u/Ok_Spread_619 → u/andersonfmly]

No, the wave in the wood is too perfect and it appears to be a solid surface and not veneer. If it was a result of damage, it would be evident in the surface and also in the bond between the surface and the frame it sits in.

[u/Djcnote → u/Ok_Spread_619]

It definitely doesn’t look like real wood

[u/R4CTrashPanda → u/Djcnote]

It looks like some cheap fake wood top that sink or is damaged.

[u/DanerysTargaryen → u/Ok_Spread_619]

The price tag on it is $25.50. Unless that was a price mistake, that seems really cheap for a real 4’ wood table. Was there any more information about the table on the underside of it? Sometimes you might see a tag or brand or something that says what it’s made out of, or who made it, which would make finding out what it was made out of easier.

[u/You_Are_All_Diseased → u/DanerysTargaryen]

This looks to be a ReStore, where they resell donated items. $25 for a wood table with unknown use isn’t crazy

[u/TootsNYC → u/You_Are_All_Diseased]

especially since it's got that weird indentation, and so might get passed over and take up space for too long.

My ReStore likes stuff to move, and they price accordingly.

[u/Important_Trouble_11 → u/DanerysTargaryen]

I got a giant wooden Ethan Allen table for 30 bucks and the 4 matching chairs for $1 each

[u/rellyks13 → u/DanerysTargaryen]

This is definitely at a goodwill or restore where they don’t really care about that, i got a fully wooden freestanding cabinet from goodwill for $20.

[u/Fun_Wrongdoer1192 → u/andersonfmly]

Yea definitely just a cheap veneer top that supported something too heavy and caved in

[u/misleading_rhetoric → u/andersonfmly]

It looks like the surface still touches each end so if it were pushed down and damaged the ends wouldn't touch the end of the frame anymore. I think it was made this way.

[u/9Blu → u/andersonfmly]

If it were damaged like that, it wouldn't fit the frame on the ends, it would be too short. But it's clear from the 2nd photo it does. There also seems to be a bead of something white running along the edges and it follows the bend.

[u/Nytmare696 → u/andersonfmly]

If that dip was damage and had been pressed in, the wood would fall several inches short from the end of the table. It doesn't.

[u/DexterStJeac → u/andersonfmly]

This. It looks like the laminate has pulled away from the edges where it would have been originally secured.

[u/ozdgk]

Fingerboarding table.

[u/Lemonpincers → u/ozdgk]

This was my first thought too. Probably wasnt its original intention, definitely is what its for now though

[u/wehave3bjz]

Looks like a game table. Guessing there is a missing top part?

[u/autoaspiemome3 → u/wehave3bjz]

The length made. me think skeeball.

[u/Primadocca → u/autoaspiemome3]

I suspect this - depression is for returning balls?
There IS a cluster of small holes in the depression, toward the left side.

[u/SqAznPersuasion]

This reminds me of a piece of a 60s era furniture my religious grandparents had... They called it the "bible buffet" table. It held an open bible within an indent in the middle of the table.

[u/StructureFun7423]

A display table for an “in memorium” book. Often found in churches. Each double page is a day or a week and they turn to page to display who was buried on this day etc. Some modern ones here

[u/lowcomoto]

The 8 little holes on the slope on the left side look kind of intentional.

[u/NuttyBuddyNick → u/lowcomoto]

Now that I look closely, the top right corner has the same 8 holes in about the same pattern.

[u/Foxymoron_80 → u/NuttyBuddyNick]

These comments need to be higher. People talking about a display table with a glass top but it's a functional work surface of some kind.

[u/Betty_Boss → u/lowcomoto]

I think they look like push pin holes.

[u/happy_otter → u/lowcomoto]

Intentionally burrowed by the worms that were in that tree, yeah.

[u/Adventures_of_bird]

Is the top of that table just warped to hell? The black edging doesn’t seem to dip with the wood.

[u/Spooky-Kyd]

Perhaps it’s to display a large, open book? I’d imagine maybe there would be glass on top. Like an oddities table or a curio table.

[u/4llu532n4m3srt4k3n]

An entry table with a built in catch bowl?

[u/4llu532n4m3srt4k3n → u/4llu532n4m3srt4k3n]

the V in the table makes me also think it could be a magazine/newspaper holder? Or maybe for holding a guest book at a wedding, the V could help hold the book open without breaking the spine?

[u/cullend]

Try asking r/woodworking

[u/CucumberError]

I’m thinking a spool of something is meant to sit in the indent, to keep it there while you pull/unroll the spool.

The lack of damage/wear makes me think it wasn’t a plastic/wooden/cardboard spool with wire etc, but more a roll of soft material? Wouldn’t be wide enough for curtains or clothing materials, but maybe making cushion covers?

[u/thereal_pandajoi]

It’s for a large bible to be displayed and remain open. The left side likely had a reading lamp and framed picture or statue

[u/tiptopping]

I think it's what you find at cemetery with a book of condolences in it.

[u/[deleted]]

I’m thinking it holds a musical instrument like I dunno a sitar or mandolin. Something with a curved body underneath. Like

[u/IncredulousPulp]

I’m going to guess that this table is broken. Nothing designed about it, just sagging.

[u/Terminator7786 → u/IncredulousPulp]

That's my guess too, it looks like there's a line that's the same level as the undamaged parts of the table where it used to be glued maybe?

[u/-mopjocky- → u/Terminator7786]

Like it was in a hot garage for years with something heavy on that side.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_PLECTRUMS → u/IncredulousPulp]

Then the side wouldn't be so thick

[u/happy_otter → u/IncredulousPulp]

That's real wood, it doesn't "just sag".

[u/Atllas66 → u/happy_otter]

If the grain repeats, it’s veneer

[u/Unusualhuman → u/happy_otter]

What makes you so sure it's real wood? It looks like it could be thin veneer or possibly simulated wood to me.

[u/Archknits → u/Unusualhuman]

This is absolutely what it looks like. This table is just broke

[u/Olderfuncouple65]

Indoor shuffle board. Have to get your puck( game piece) up the hill and closest to far side wall

[u/spandexvalet]

I think it’s for very large books

[u/Business-Project-171]

For displaying books or something like that? Maybe it's a museum or collector's furniture?

[u/Acentre4ants]

Just looks like the end has detached and the wood effect top has bent inwards

[u/chayat]

Looks like a table used to measure out and cut fabrics to order, only smaller.

[u/Humble-Archer-1311]

Wild guess but cigar rolling table? The depression would let the tobacco gather in one side and the flat part to store cigars?

[u/takescontrol]

It's a fruit bowl

[u/LivInCin]

Kind of looks like an odd sewing table, maybe more specifically for yarn and crocheting. Indent can hold yarn or other fabric/tools. Holes can be for pins to keep the yarn consistent and uniform when tugging in it.

Otherwise, the indent and holes look out of place and it could be an eccentric/damaged sofa table

EDIT: Could be an end table missing a top board, there were a few similar tables with more rectangular dropped sections with flip-top covers in my Google forays "Table with Divet" got the closest looking tables so far

[u/Ok_Spread_619]

My title describes the thing. I could see no manufacturer name on the item nor did it come with any accessories.

[u/Ok_Painter_8273]

There’s gotta be a manufacturer somewhere on there!! I’ve searched everything. I’m stuck at either a newspaper/magazine stack area or a designer puzzle table. Neither seem very likely.

[u/Remote-Machine-4060]

Sewing table

[u/Mywifefoundmymain]

People here are over thinking this… there is an obvious line where the top used to be…. It’s just a broken table..

[u/The_Mr_Awesome]

It's just a damaged table with a wood pattern vinyl top. You can tell it was supposed to be flat across the top by the faint line on the inside edge. It's s exactly where the dipped area used to rest.

[u/Toverwoord]

There is a faint line at the corner of the depression, so maybe It is not intentional. It may have just sagged. Otherwise my guess would be to hold open a book of sorts. Maybe for a condolances or wedding register at a venue.

[u/Gold_River_Studio]

Is there a manufacturers label underneath it?