Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Best Job in the World

Not too long ago my Sister Lisa commented on one of my posts saying "you have the best job in the world", that phrase pops into my head a lot lately, especially when I am doing something that does not fit the phrase in any way, shape or form.

In 1975 my Father pulled me aside and told me that while he respected my desire to pursue music as a career, if I didn't back it up with a viable trade I would end up "digging ditches".

He suggested apprenticing in the violin shop as an option.

A wise man.

Yet there are still many times when I feel I am "digging ditches" none the less.

When this 1950's sideboard came into the shop it was painted black, a spot check of the finish showed that it had also been white...

The customer was hoping for neither. 


Gratefully who ever had painted the piece had done so directly over the original transparent finish - meaning that little of the paint was actually embedded in the pores of the wood.

Even with this unforeseen blessing,  the task of stripping any painted surface is time consuming, mind numbing, and generally a chemical nightmare.

No amount of ventilation or rubber gloves can make up for the assault on your senses and skin.

Wholly immersed in the "digging of ditches" and perpetually reminding myself that this really was "the best job in the world", I plodded ahead.

Once cleaned and neutralized, the re-staining and building up of the finish was a joyful and quick task.


The final result, which seemed so far in the future the day before, was a fair reminder that despite the tasks that one would prefer to avoid...

Standing in front of the restored piece...

I can honestly say...

that there are days when the digging of ditches leads you to feel that you do have the best job in the world.

Thank you Jim
for the patience of hand
the love of beauty
and the appreciation of a job well done.









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Friday, May 20, 2011

In Plain Sight

If I screw up this repair I may need a witness protection program...


I'm often worried when doing a large patch in an obvious place - like right in the middle of a Pembroke table top -  that the final result could be as disfiguring as the original damage.

The image here is of a previous failed patch. The restorer inlaid the patch and then proceeded to sand through the surrounding veneer in an attempt to level his patch.

If you look closely you can see diagonal cross grain scratches that are actually the toothing marks on the back of the veneer from the original construction. In traditional veneering the groundwork and the back of the veneer are "toothed" with a toothing plane to level the surfaces and increase adhesion.

After picking out the appropriate veneer patch, I made a sketch of the patch by laying tracing paper over the damage. The odd shape allows for as many long parallel lines as possible. When it comes time to touch up the repair it will be easier to hide the inlay if there are no lines perpendicular to the grain.



After cutting out the shape in the new veneer I laid the piece over the damaged area and lined up the grain. Then carefully scoring through the original veneer with a scalpel,  using the patch as a template, I transferred the pattern to the top.

The waste material was then removed with scalpels, chisels and a Stanley #271 hand router.



 

In addition to sanding through the surrounding veneer, the original restorer also tried to blend in the damage by adding faux worm holes. In order to level out the ground work, I filled the losses with a consolidant and then leveled the surface with scrapers.

At this point I had a massive boat/ghost shaped hole in the middle of a beautiful 18th Century English Mahogany Pembroke table. Feeling more than a bit apprehensive, I moved forward mubbling a pray for redemption under my breathe.

When all of edges were cleanly cut and the waste removed the patch was glued in place using traditional hide glue. After drying 24 hours the new veneer was hand scraped to the level of the old veneer. I finished up "lightly" by sanding with 220 sandpaper to blend in the edges.

No reason to duplicate the efforts of my predecessor.

Having spent the time upfront to dig through my veneer stock for just the right piece. The finishing process and blending of the color was remarkable easy.

Adding a small amount of distressing helped to blend in the overall final appearance. And while the finished patch is surely visible, It no longer jumps out at you on first viewing.




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Monday, May 16, 2011

Less is More

Every once in  a while I get a request to repair or restore a piece only part of the way. The owner only wants to "clean it up a bit". Quite often minor touch-up and paste wax can go a long way towards improving the appearance of any object.

With that in mind I went to look at this small scale partners desk. Unfortunately the finish was so degraded and alligatored, that paste wax alone would have only made it worse.

With this much distortion in the top layer of finish the beauty of the wood underneath is completely obscured. Light is scattered by the irregularities and bounces off the surface making it dark and matte. 

Since the object of this repair was to improve the appearance without completely re-doing the piece the first course of action was to let a little more light into the mix.

Sanding the surface with 200 paper and working up to 400. I managed to minimize the majority of the surface problems, without cutting into the ground layer of finish.

The area's on the carvings and close to the edges would have to remain.

Since the finish was reactive to alcohol I diluted a small amount of shellac and flooded the surface with a varnish brush.


Once applied the shellac bound together the more friable sections and the alcohol melted the remaining older finish just enough to further level the surface.

After applying a second coat I waited 24 hours for the new surface to re-harden.

A fine sanding followed by steel-wool and finally the paste-wax and the completed desk was ready to go home.

While I often hesitate to do "half-way" repairs, this piece reminded me that sometimes the old adage "less is more" is true.











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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Everything New is Old Again

The restoration of an early 2oth century chew toy. (Part Two)

In order to have the repairs I've made, to the gnawed and chewed wood, blend in with the older materials I now need to beat up my careful craftsmanship.

A bit unnerving...
one might even say distressing!

The tools are quite simple.
  •     A distressing tool
A file handle with a section of twisted wire, onto which I have threaded keys, washers, bent nails and nuts.  The more diverse the collection of objects on the distressing tool the more likely the pattern of dents will appear to be the result of time and use.
  •     My favorite rock. 
 It has a rough and a smooth side and works best on the bottoms of new leg repairs and flat surfaces. In this instance I used it to round over the top of the new stretcher to mimic the wear caused by feet resting on the edge. You could do this with a rasp - but the random surface of the rock leaves a more convincing surface.
  •     A faux worm hole tool
Made with sharpened nails of different diameters driven through a shop made handle.  The faux worm holes are only appropriate if the piece already shows signs of a previous infestation. Usually if the piece is walnut or cherry the damage is primarily to the lighter colored sap wood.

The secret is to make the distressing as random as possible. Looking at the original sections will often give you a clue as to how much and where your "age marks" should be added.

Often I'll leave the piece laying out and give it a whack when ever I walk by. If you spend too much time thinking about it - it will look contrived.
    



"Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of the natural. "
-Ralph Waldo Emerson 

The Finished Product 


 
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Sunday, May 1, 2011

Man's Best Friend

The restoration of an early 2oth century chew toy. (Part One)

Why in the world your cherished four legged companion decides to eat your cherished ottoman is a question for which I have no answer.

As I was removing the upholstery from the footstool I wondered if it might have something to do with the horse hair stuffing. But I've seen this same damage on newer pieces with foam and synthetic cotton. So I think its safe to assume that a stick is a stick whether it has bark on it or upholstery.


While this type of damage is relatively common,  it was odd that this is the second repair this week of chew toys, The other being a pair of contemporary black lacquered chairs that required only filling, sanding and re-laquering.

With the amount of damage here, it's a toss up on how much to save and how much to replace. The stretcher in this case was a loss. There is little of its original form left. The turnings retained enough structure that patching was an option.


 With the new stretcher in place I set about patching the remainder of the "nibbley bits"

After planing the damaged sections flat, I glued on new mahogany that will be carved and sanded to blend with the original surfaces.
Some of the more minor losses will be filled or simply sanded away prior to repairing the finish.

The clamps you see here holding the patch in place while the glue dries, are actually sections of old upholstery springs.







After being cut from the ends of the springs the steel is sharpened to a points on each end. They are extremely versatile and can be adjusted by simply bending them to adjust the amount and direction of the tension required to hold a repair in place until dry.

A cheap and useful tool.

Tomorrow... carving and finishing!



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The finished patch
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This portion of the turning was chewed on both outside faces. I trimmed the sections flat and veneered over the remaining damage.

A small amount of filler was needed to fill the gaps that were too deep to cut away.
Once the patches are in place and shaped I will need to distress them a bit so that they blend in with their surroundings.

All Done





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