Expandable Circular Table from the 1920s, designed by Josef Seiler.

Here's a modern version, the Fletcher capstan table. Mostly used on private boats where room is limited but the budget is not

I used to sell older homes in the SF Bay Area. The cabinet work and interior design were far more artistic than in houses built nowadays. Even in modest Craftsman style homes of the 1930s the stonework was very fine.

This is one of those things that look smart the first three times you use it. But by the fourth you're wondering wtf that thing is doing in your house.

That would make for a good tardis console

Fantastic. Magic.

This design is the historic Fletcher Capstan Table, patented in 1880 and modernized by UK makers Fletcher Burwell-Taylor, using a hand-cranked mechanism where pie-shaped leaves rotate outward while aligning wood grain perfectly. Full demonstration videos and commercial tables are at (starting ~£20,000); DIY plans with step-by-step instructions for a scaled version appear on Instructables, requiring basic woodworking tools and ~£500 in materials.

I’d love one! Functionality meets beauty! 😍

And we think we’re so advanced 🤦🏻‍♀️

@EmInYorkshire 10 more knights? No problem!

Huh, I think my great grandmother actually had one of those 😮

Why can’t I buy something like this now, instead of having to pick up and store an inconvenient and heavy table leaf????

@sabrafan76623 That is stunning!

Brilliant !!

Nice design!

@Virgili7 When did we lose this perfection?

Beautiful.

Incredible mastery!

People aren't capable of designing things like this anymore

Remarkable engineering 🥰

@castamere24 kodsu

Very cool. Bet it is super heavy, though.

@deidrejowen 🤩 ✨️✨️✨️

Very cool!

🤩

Another good thing from the 1920s, to go along with anti-Semitism, racism, and homophobia.

Wow 🤩

@sabrafan76623 Cool 😎

Fabulous

@Chrissy13308469 That’s awesome 👌

😎

Easier to make it the larger diameter to begin with.

Would