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.
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