When prompted for a spell, some spells I've tried do not seem to affect the tables. They include darkness, color spray, and Bestow Curse.
Also, damage spells will give the absorbed message, but will also still do damage, destroying the table usually.
The spells you mentioned (besides Bestow Curse) don't specifically target the table. That's what Johannes mentioned to me when I tried Sleep.
And put myself to sleep in the middle of the alchemy.
There is one Research hint that specifically mentions using such a non target spell, however.
This has already been fixed (by changing the spell which needs to be cast on the table). Just forgot to update the description. Thank you!