How can I strip a table down to bare wood?

You would be best served to use a stripper to remove paint or varnish. Sanding away a finish is a slow way to go. Many of the citris based strippers are safe and effective. Be sure to follow label directions. Then, you can sand to prepare for refinishing. You may want to consider renting or borrowing a random orbit sander which will make short work of the job. Start with 80 grit, and don't move to a finer grit until any surface blemishes are removed. Make sure you're not trying to refinish a veneer which is very thin. You can sand through a veneer to a base wood in short order and then you have a more serious problem. Good luck.

Go to Lowe's, Menard's, or just a regular hardware store and purchase a liquid stripper. Spread it on the paint or varnish. It will begin to break it up. You should be able to remove the coating with a rag or plastic scraper.

try using "Klean-Strip Stripper." it comes in a 1gal. can. it works very well and very fast.

good luck