Upcycle

When I first saw the piece it was February, the temperatures were close to 0, and it was in the garage.  Needless to say the examination was brief and the photography scant.

The clients had owned the bookcase since the late 1970's. It was a Drexel Heritage wall unit similar in style to the Accolade Series but without the campaign corner hardware. The original case had been designed to house older bulky televisions behind pocket doors and had glass doors behind which you could put your stereo equipment.

Having recently updated and remodeled their home entertainment center/bookcase was in the garage on its way to the curb and the waste haulers.Was there any way I could :reconfigure it to fit in with their newly updated home?

Not one to shy away from a challenge (perhaps foolishly), I set about redesigning an alternative. Taking into consideration that the home remodeling had an Arts and Crafts feel and the fact that the cabinet no longer needed to house a deep TV. I set about altering the case to fit its new purpose and space limitations.

I decided to cut the outside cabinets to half their width and reduce the depth to 12" to house books, The center section was reduced to 16" and an upper section was added to bring it to full height. With the addition of a plinth, cornice and decorative elements the final piece would blend in nicely with its new surroundings.

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Replacing the hardware proved to be one of the trickier portions of the remake. Since the original hardware was inlaid into the face. The old mortises needed to be filled in a way that would hide the original configuration.

Using a piece of paper I made a rubbing of the edges of the old mortises and then glued the template to the old panels from the doors I eliminated.

After band sawing out the shape, I trimmed and filed the blank untill it fit the opening as closely as possible.

While the patch was still fairly visible, the newly selected hardware would cover the majority of the repair. The final antiquing of the finish around the hardware would do away with all the remaining traces.

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In the shop ready for delivery

Back where it all began

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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