The Mystery Corner Cupboard – Chapter 5

January 10, 2015

Now that the right foot was structurally sound, it was time to restore the 2-part mahogany bracket foot face. The left half (front facing) was basically sound and intact. The right side, though, had lost the lower 1/5 to decay. The owner had, years ago, built up most of the missing part with window glazing compound and done a passable job shaping and coloring it. I elected to stabilize the rotted parts, and keep her repair (after all, it was part of its history) but to build it up or trim it as needed to refine its shape. The last step was to bring the color up and make that putty look like old mahogany.

No Longer a Pile of Loose Pieces

September 04, 2013

Today I took the last steps to make sure that all the repaired and prepared pieces fit together well.

Notes On Restoring The 1880s Gingerbread Rocking Chair

August 10, 2013

At first the chair seemed solid. But there was some flex…then I noticed the nail heads…then the splits/cracks in the seat at the joints. Okay, it had to come apart. The owner said yes, do it really right.