Exotic Beauty

These two side tables came to the shop from a previous customer.  I had refinished a companion coffee table for him a year ago.  He wanted to get these two beauties similarly redone now, too. It was time. 

I know you can't enlarge this pic to pull them in close.  The insets you see are marvelously intricate, hand carved exotic wood.  Yes, it's culturally Japanese.  My customer was with his parents in the store as they chose and purchased the ensemble, a trio of pieces, while they lived in Japan in the 1970's. So, they are special to him several times over---his memories of Japan; being there with mom and dad when they selected them; and then growing up with them in his home, initially there in Japan and then back here upon the family's return to the United States.  

The refinishing effort proceeded without difficulty or surprises. The goal was to match these two to the color and patina of the coffee table.  They were finished, similarly with a coat of sealer, and then two costs of Mohawk Duracoat Hard Lacquer. Pretty pretty.  The insets were carefully covered throughout the refinishing process.  At home the insets are covered with a glass plate cut to drop into place for each of the carved insets, respectively. Wonderful exotic pieces with stories to tell. 

That's WoodTalkin for today. Keep listening.

Oh, and by the way...

I'm gonna be out of the shop following a knee replacement surgery Dec 5th. I really don't know what I should expect for a timetable getting back to work. I think I'll target four weeks.  So, you can start checking in with me to begin your own WoodTalkin projects late December and early January. 

Godspeed,

Dick

 

A Wonderful Art Noveau styled Dresser

My customer brought this elegant chest of drawers to the shop for a complete refinish. It has a matching bedside cabinet, so both items, parts of a larger bedroom ensemble, came together.  

Most likely manufactured in the mid-1950's, these two are made from solid African Mahogany, and in the Art Noveau style reminiscent of the late 1880's. My customer wanted to lighten the dark tone of the entire ensemble, so these two begin that process. 

Check out these wonderful hand carved insets. These adorn the right and left corners on the bottom portion of the cabinets.  They're also on the legs for both the dresser and the bedside cabinet. I've also seen this same carved theme appearing as a filagree on the bed's headboard and footboard posts. It's so elegant.  (Sorry about the pic perspective.)

The hand stripping and cleaning effort went well and without any surprises. The carvings on the  a cabinet's corners and feet were a challenge to clean. And, given the weight of these items, the tops of the two pieces were removed. The back was similarly removed from the bedside cabinet to allow easier access to its interior cavity.  

With older pieces like these, I frequently encounter contaminants hiding below the freshly cleaned and newly prepared wood surfaces. It shows up after the stain has been applied and cured, and at the moment  the finish seal coat is applied. Ugh (see pic).  It's never fun and it was the classic the situation with these two pieces. The surface is covered with "fish eyes"--the liquid sealer's reaction to contaminants hiding in and throughout the wood's surface. 

In this case the contamination's influence was overwhelmingly strong. So, we had to change our finishing plan. We opted to finish the pieces with  a beautiful high quality hard oil. 

Hard oils are beautiful and warm and highly resistant. But they do tend to take longer to cure between coats. Not infrequently they're applied by hand. In this situation the application was done by hand. It was then nib sanded and buffed between cured coats. Beautiful!

The last steps in the process included re-placing the tops and back. Then the hardware was reattached to the drawers. All good! Check it out! Wow. What do you think?

That's WoodTalkin for today. Please keep listening. Your pieces have their own story to tell.

Dick