Master Woodworking and Furniture Repair

Unknown Sideboard Oak/Mahogany Construction with Birdseye Maple insets Hand carved pulls and detail (Late 19 th  Century?) I've said it before and I'll say it again, repeat customers are the best validation there is.  This particular customer has some beautiful and interesting furniture in her home.  This is a large and heavily built, apparently handcrafted sideboard.  The owner believes that it once had a marble top that is now replaced with two planks that are heavily aged.  The finish overall is heavily distressed with many stains, chips, screw holes and other markings.    We agreed to not refinish.  Instead, I am going to repair the numerous minor (and major) issues and resurface the existing finish by gently and carefully cleaning the existing finish, leaving the distressed portions intact.  Then piece will then be top-coated and hand-polished. The finish appears to have been redone at some point in the pie...

This time we start with a before and after picture.  This family heirloom had some water damage on the top that was going to require a complete removal and replacement of the veneer.  The cross braces were broken and the entire unit showed significant wear.  The owners wanted it restored to like new quality, so I started with a complete dissasembly.   Here's the broken cross brace  This angle gives a good view of the water damage to the top surface.  A close up of the surface damage Beginning disassembly Here's the top with the bad veneer removed, the rotted substrate dug out and the hole patched. The side pieces sanded and prepped Here's the base reassembled and with a few base coats of varnish and 12 coats of varnish, 2 layers of topcoat and much hand polishing later, the finished product. I love this veneer.  I'm going to do a posting about my recent...