Back to work for one of my favorite customers. This time it isn't a refinishing job. Instead, I need to effect some structural repairs. The sliders are gummed up and the structure needs some reinforcement. Also, at one point some modern casters were put on the legs and center post. They don't really match, but they provide some necessary rise. I'll be replacing those with turned wood balls. There is also a decorative wooden ring on one of the legs, but not on the other three. I'll need to fabricate the other three. I looked but I couldn't find anything even close in the premade suppliers. Here's a look at the center column and casters. You can get a feel for how massive this piece is and if you look closely, you can see part of the decorative ring on the rightmost leg. Just some closeup views and detail shots. I stacked the leaves to get a sense of how bad the warping is. The 2nd from the bottom ...
This beautiful old sewing machine is in need of some serious TLC. There are lots of beautiful carvings and features, but there's equally as much damage. It's going to be a challenge to salvage as much as possible to preserve the character of the piece without being too heavy-handed. The top is pretty much ruined with water damage. There's no saving the veneer. Clenaing up the intricate details is going to be tedious, but the payoff is going to be worth it. Here's a look inside. The action is surprisingly sophisticated. Nice nickel plated hinges, too Here's the machine exposed. The cowl on the back will need to be rebuilt. The wood is pretty much gone. So now it's in pieces waiting to be stripped, fixed, finished and reassembled. This is going to a breathtaking piece when I finish it. UPDATE 11/30/15 Stripping went OK, What was left of the old finish came off pretty easily, but t...
So, this one is a little out of the ordinary for me, but that's why I am so excited about it. I've always wanted to do the paneling on a classic car interior with real wood. I didn't quite get that, but I got an inquiry from a fellow who was looking for someone to finish a wooden steering wheel to match the original imitation wood trim in his '69 Pontiac Firebird. I'm not posting pictures of the car to protect my customer's privacy, but if he consents when the project is finished I'll try to get a pic with the wheel in place. So I started off with the raw wheel. It had a factory milled finish on it and a lot of small imperfections. so the first step was to give all of the wood a light sanding to smooth the surface and clean things up. Also, it has been handled a lot, so I needed to get rid of dirt, skin oil, etc. The next step was to mask all of the metal pieces. The wheel has a metal core that is exposed along the perimeter both inne...
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