Thursday, January 8, 2009

Carved door detail



This piece of mahogany detail from a victorian sideboard had carved losses. First a clean glue edge on the broken piece was prepared. Next a new piece of mahogany was glued on to the original in the shape of the missing area. Once the glue has set. the surface is carved to match the original, and stained to match. It was then sealed with shellac before refastening it to the door, and waxing. A good on line source for (hard to find) hardwood is http://www.gilmerwood.com/. They photograph and list individual pieces for purchase.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Walnut chair

This hand carved walnut chair restoration included the structural repair of a broken back, and complete refinishing. First the teal green paint (not pictured) was removed by hand using a paste paint remover. The chair back was then disassembled, and doweled with hardwood before re-gluing. All surfaces were then sanded by hand and stained dark brown. A hand mixed shellac finish was then brushed on, followed by a steel wool rub out and waxing. I like to use Liberon 0000 steel wool available from any Liberon supplier.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Walnut Mirror


This mirror restoration project involved loose, cupped, and missing walnut elements. First loose edge moulding was removed, steamed to relax cupping, and re glued. New walnut material was then glued in to fill any remaining gaps, and shaped to match the profile of the surrounding mouldings. Then the wood repairs were sanded by hand and coated with shellac. After any necessary touch ups were done, the mirror was hand rubbed with an application of furniture paste wax. One of my favorite waxes is American Custom tinted wax available from Floyd Rosini at http://www.kingdomrestorations.com/.