Red Oak Staight-back Dining Room Chairs

Here's a twin straight-back combination (two chairs--just one shown here). There's nothing really remarkable about these two, but they can hardly be bettered for their service ability. What these "twins" may lack in beauty they provide in practical service. Originally they were a step more expensive than the traditional solid wooden seat. Alternatively they offered a leather insert seat incorporating a thin layer of cotton batting and an early generation of "Masonite"-type material (there's some fun history there!) that served as a foundation.

These 1930's vintage chairs were finished with a traditional lacquer over a brown walnut stain. The oak has dried and become brittle and the lacquer finish has long since "died." As you can see, the seats have dried out and torn too; their foundations have failed. (One shouldn't use a chair like this as a step stool--but hey, life happens.) Nevertheless, there's a lot of promise here; not a thing that a little Wood Talkin won't fix when it's followed by some "goin home" TLC.

We'll hand-strip the chairs and carefully re-stain them. In the stripping process any loose joints will be separated and re-glued. The new leather seats' design will be reconfigured to allow introduction of dense foam rubber centers supported with contemporary Masonite. (They'll be a lot more comfortable to the human posterior than their 1st generation prototype!) And if it happens that there are other members to this obvious duo...they're gonna be really jealous of their handsome brothers.

So, until next time, "Happy New Year!"...and...that's Wood Talkin.

Genetic Anomalies

This old rocking chair really does have some stories to tell. Whether the tale is completely told, and whether it's complete and coherent at this point...well, you be the judge. The pictures probably say it all.

In the creation of a Grande Damme like this, especially when one can move back beyond the era of super duper mass production as we know it today, you find telltale little details. Really, these are about the craftsman or the processes he used to produce the finished product.

This elegant Old Lady displays some fun distinguishing anomalies. In the pictures at the top, for example, you see two decorative spindles. The bottom spindle, found on one side of the rocker frame, shows itself as fully rounded, "plump." The other spindle, found on the opposite side of the rocker frame, shows a a flat spot where the craftsman's turning effort ran out of material before the spindle was fully formed on the lathe. He probably had the stock "chucked" into the lathe in somewhat of an eccentric manner. Certainly, the piece was used anyway! The outcome: a fun and identifying feature in the creation of this Grande Damme. She's "herself" and there's probably not another Lady quite like her.

Another fun example can be seen, too. It's found in the crevasse where the decorative top of the chair fits snugly into the turned (left) "rail" to support the upright back of the chair. It hides there, but once you see it it's obvious forevermore. The craftsman's ban saw took very hungry little "nibble" before he had it perfectly aligned for his cut. Oopsie...a fun identifying characteristic.

"What did you say?" (She's talking to me, quite bashfully.) "Oh, but they're my beauty marks...(she says, and she agrees)...and...does the whole world have to know?!" We love her; she feels it. Distinguishing characteristics that make this Grande Damme herself...special!

So until next time it's...Wood Talkin.

Back to Glory

Here's a solid oak rocking chair with some traditional old world styling. It's simple and at the same time complex; unpretentious, but elegant. How do we NOT fall in love?...I don't know a way.

My customer reports that it's an heirloom kept in the family cabin, a private hideaway up in the mountains above Bailey, CO. Of course it is also an antique. Nothing is broken, it's completely intact, albeit there are loose joints here and there. (But we all get "loose joints" as the years go bye!) Alas, a leather seat deteriorated some time ago--the initial reason it came to the shop.

It appears to have been varnished, at least once, over what was probably a fine oiled and waxed surface...perhaps Linseed? The varnish unevenly cured and darkened, probably applied with an efficient brush that was over-sized for the chair's delicate spindles and lines.

The goal with this beauty: respect it's maturity and show off it off! Return it to that private mountain hideaway? We'll see if that happens. "She" deserves a place "on stage" where passers bye can ogle and say, "Now there's a beautiful rocking chair!"

There will be more to say as we follow this wonderful old rocker through its brief transition back to glory. So stay tuned for some fun updates and of course that conversation we know affectionately as, Wood Talkin!