When a repair to a damaged piece has been done well, a casual observer would never know, even a more studious person should be challenged to discern that work has been done. In many cases the extent of the damage that has been repaired would shock even that more studious person. All that is easy to say, but on this page we offer evidence!
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This beautiful Jenny Lind style bed gave clear evidence of its advanced age when it arrived. Shrinkage, glue failure, some bending in the turned sections, all contributed to one spindle in the footboard being lost and several others loose enough to suggest more could be lost soon.
We turned a new spindle to replace the one missing. You can see it midway to completion below. Once that was done, we reglued all the spindles and joints to give the structure of the bed another hundred plus years of life. After all of that work was done, we refurbished the surfaces to render a a bed with a truly appealing appearance.
This is the top of a baluster approximately 4' tall. The cap has been removed and is sitting in the upper right. The notch in the cap is where the rail would mount. The customer had a new use for this item and wanted the notch filled in, Additionally, the section just below the cap came in missing some sections as can be seen upper left.
In order to create a round form, at some point we would need to mount the repaired sections on the lathe. We decided it would be simpler to work with a smaller section and so we started out by cutting the baluster at a natural seam. The photo shows the baluster clamped steady for us to cut with a hand saw, which has been done.
To the left you see a new piece of mahogany being glued onto the cap. The photo below left shows the result after it had been rounded on the lathe.
The photo immediately below shows the resulting repairs to the missing section below the cap.The lighter color of mahogany is the new wood in that photo.
Ready for a new life!
Should be obvious what needed to be done for this chair. It was a simple re-gluing job. The main reason for including it here is that it is such a pretty chair! The color difference is entirely lighting: indoor before, outdoor after. We think it looks good wherever it is.
Living with our best friends, dogs that is, proves that forgiveness is possible. Not only forgiveness but substitutionary atonement! That is a technical religious term meaning: one person is entirely at fault but powerless to do anything to undo the damage they have done. Another person who is entirely faultless bears the entire responsibility and cost for repairing that damage and forgives the fault. Wow! I need it and I will take it!
It is hard to see the poor condition this porch rail was in from the before picture, above left. After removing the paint and enduring the rigors of stripping, it is much easier to see. The picture above right is after repairs were completed. The most significant repair is pictured below. To bind the connecting segments of hand rail we routed a deep trough and glued into it a substantial wooden spline.
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Now that you have seen what we have done for others, what can we do for you? CONTACTING AND FINDING US
This toddler rocker illustrates both a regluing job and a parenting technique. The chair is well over a century old. The glue holding it together was weak. However, there is never an excuse for rough handling by children! When some rough handling exposed the weaknesses of this chair, the children were held responsible. We received a call from a very young customer wondering whether something like this could be repaired. Cost was not an object (mom had lots, we guess). When the young man brought the chair in he presented the result of his exuberance and the careful labeling he had done showing how it all should bo back together. Good job young man (and mom)! We hope that our repair work contributed to a strong and lasting rocker but even more to a strong and enduring character.
The photos below illustrate what we are good at, but also what we are not good at: photography! Clearly the corner of this chair back had been broken off. We glued it back in place, sanded the repaired area smooth, then recolored the area to blend with the rest of the chair. We hope the variation in photographic effects does not suggest that the improved appearance is due to anything other than our mastery of our craft..
One final illustration of what is possible in repairs is this night stand. Many of these have soft wooden guides mounted to the case. Mounted to the drawer bottom is usually a metal part that wears at the wooden guide and eventually the guide must be replaced. CAN DO! Not an inexpensive repair for one, but we can usually do several for just a bit more that it would cost to do one. Get some spares made, you will need them eventually.
This is a repair that seems unexpected to most. The common assumption is that a broken rocker must always be replaced–a difficult project! Matching the shape is not a significant problem. Attaching a new rocker to legs that angle away from each other makes inserting those legs into the holes in the rocker next to impossible without disassembling the chair. Matching the grain of the wood and the color, sheen and apparent age of the finish is also virtually impossible. The best approach is to repair the existing rocker. The puzzle is how to glue it so it holds when the break goes directly across the grain and at the weakest point possible, right where it joins to a leg. Those are the reasons most people assume this can't be done. Here we illustrate how it can be done. First, use a high strength epoxy adhesive to glue the break. Next, cut a slot through the bottom of the rocker and glue into that slot a thick section of a very durable and break resistant wood. Finally, smooth the bottom of the rocker and color the new wood to blend. Not simple, but strong!