Puffin Up the Chest?

Here's a little bit of history carried through Wood Talkin's shop door. This mid-1940's era cedar chest (upper) belongs to a neighbor of the Fairmount area near Golden, CO. Oh boy does it ever have some stories to tell.

Aside from the fun details our customer is able to provide us, we'll be doing some researching on our own. We'll fill-in some of the details in one of our future posts. But one of the questions we want to answer: "Is this one of the chests made by (click there-->) John Lane and his son Ed? (At that time this father-son team may have still been calling their manufacturing venture The Standard Red Cedar Chest Company of Altavista, Virginia).

My initial careful inspection of this chest leads me suspect it's Lane. Its hinges, joints, and overall quality look Lane, but the serial numbers don't. Of the two chests pictured, the chest pictured (bottom, bright sunlight) is a genuine Lane from that same period; the other chest (top, in shop light) is our chest in question. I know Lane changed its serial number configuration various times over the years...so we'll see. I will contact Lane and keep you updated.

In the meantime we're going to address some of its minor structural issues--some water damage contributing to minor warping of the skirt, some mold and discoloration, and the general fading and deterioration of its finish over time.

OK. That's today's Wood Talkin...till next time.

Dick

It's About Friendships

When a piece comes into the shop there's always something of a sense of anticipation. A friendship is about to be established. These three pieces are gladly heading home. But with the pictures we take "before" and "after," and the adventure of discovery we often share in the refinishing process getting to know every piece, we forge a "friendship" that lasts for years to come.

This solid red oak beauty (above, left) and the two straight backed chairs that accompanied her to the shop (lower right) will probably journey back to their cabin hideaway above Bailey, CO. For sure, they're going to "glow" in the living room. (Here's some fun. Compare the lower picture to the one you can see in the December 31st blog. You'll find it in the Archive, below on the right...wow!)

That's Wood Talkin for today.

Dick
(Leave a comment or email the shop at woodtalkin@gmail.com)

It's An Anticipatory Hummmm

Do you remember what it felt like at the end of the school day when you were in elementary school? I do. All of us were watching the clock and counting down the minutes. There was a perceptible humm in the room anticipating the bell. "Reeeeeng," and we were on our way home!

That's what it feels like here at the shop right now. The various pieces are in readiness. I can "hear" the hummm, a low decibel (whisper) repetition of the words, "We're goin' home...?!"

The really cold weather was responsible for slowing some shop processes down a little bit and bunching up the delivery effort. It's nearly caught up now. The pieces seem to sense it, a walnut coffee table, two mahogany hutches, a little music box, an antique rocker, and two antique dining chairs. I'm sure they're commiserating!

The pictures you see: (top) two "exploded" hutches in the spray booth and the walnut coffee table (below, right) awaiting a buff before its finish coat . Breathless anticipation.

That's it for now, more Wood Talkin.

Remember "the brothers Adam?"

When I spoke of "the brothers Adam" style in yesterday's blog it was in reference to a hybrid. We've got the real McCoy here! This little gem is a great example of the style, ornate and elegant and infused with the strength of an empire--the 18th Century British Empire.

As you can see from the picture this piece is not big; it's a little mahogany music box. The heavily lacquered three-sided lid lifts on a small piano hinge permitting the top to open and access any contents hidden inside. There's a little "trip" wire that extends up from the mechanism to protrude through the edge of the case. It gets compressed when the lid is lowered and that action turns the music off. The winder for the musical mechanism is located on the underside of the box--easily accessible to the fingers of adults or children.

This little item stole the shop's attention. It demanded repair before a picture could be taken. Suffice it to say that its top arrived disconnected from the box, several laminate pieces needed to be glued and reattached inside the box, and it's legs were loose and wobbly. (Ugh. We all get that way sooner or later.)

My initial suspicion upon seeing this little jewel in the customer's home had me suspecting it was Pakistani or East Indian in origin. I believe I was correct since the British Empire was in India throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. Whether it was actually made in India or in Great Britain,...Hmmm. That is probably the real question. (I'm guessing India.) Whatever the situation, it will soon be happily home again...yup, I can hear the Wood Talkin.

Dick

A Federali Oopsie!?

Here's a substantial piece.
It's a round, solid walnut coffee table which appears to be something of a hybrid in style. It's legs hint "of the Brothers Adam" style, i.e., of historically British origination (1760's). They speak of strength, grace, and durability not to mention sophistication. "(Across the pond" this style's impact became known as the "Federal Style" or motif for its influence on architectural designs here in the United States. The style was particularly known for the way it integrated interior decorating and exterior architectural designs.) But this muscular beauty appears to add some contemporary Western "salt" as well. (Someone correct me here if I have this wrong.)

In such heavy and rugged type of pieces the bumps and bruises generally add to "character," i.e., beauty marks. But this one's oopsie, a 1/4" X 1" nasty gouge in the top (see the picture), is probably over the top--no pun intended--and does require some helpful intervention. My customer had me evaluate this situation in the customer's home. There was clearly the option to clear-fill and cosmetically finish the surface at that time. However, given some other observations related to its surface our discussion led us both to conclude that a top surface refinish was probably the wisest option.

So, the goal: remove the top surface's finish, re-stain and refinish it to match the surrounds. It will be the same lovely piece with its strong and graceful lines. We'll preserve its character--including the distressing and surface irregularities that time and circumstances have brought to it--but the depth and abruptness of that nasty surface "insult" will be gone.

You'll want to take special note of the pentagonal (five-sided) leg and brace configuration below the table's surface (see the picture). It's just plain fun, albeit quite distinguishing and highly memorable!

OK. That's today's Wood Talkin...are you listenin?

Dick

A Music Teacher's Helper

For one of the Fairmount Community's music teachers two red mahogany hutches play a key role in her studio (just one is shown). They are her "go to place" when it comes to easily providing young pupils the readily available sheet music they will need for practice and skill development. The hutches have an abundance of attractive and convenient pull-out drawers to offer a variety of selections depending on the instrument and the skill level of the pupil. But as you can also see, these two pieces of furniture are a handsome compliment to her studio.

Of course there's an emotional connection represented here too. These "twins" are family heirlooms handed down from another family member who apparently used them similarly. They present no serious refinishing challenge in the sense that some much more intricately designed pieces might introduce.

They were designed to be functional and handsome. So, the assignment: refinish them; red mahogany inside and out. The door handles--for which only three are shown since one got lost through the years--will require some special attention. They appear to be custom designed and will require some time and attention to either duplicate or an exchange. We'll try to address that issue parallel to the refinishing process in the shop.

So, what will we discover on this little adventure? We'll see...and we'll be listening... if it's Wood Talkin.

Wonderful Inconsistency

Well into the machine age, and what people labeled as as mass production, one could find unmistakable signatures of the human hand. Here's another one of those fun little surprises that speak to the influence of the human factor in the manufacturing process. These kinds of observations are a lot more difficult to find now with the influence of computer directed machines.

Remember those two oak chairs? The pictures above show one of the chair's supporting rungs as it intersects with the chair leg. You'll note how the one in the top picture is clean and straight compared to the one in the lower picture. Yup, the craftsman, in this case, was distracted, maybe having a "bad" day? Clearly the rung was not discarded; it was nevertheless put in its place to do what it was made to do. However, it was not cut appropriately for the joint as you can clearly see in the lower picture.

Despite it's modest cosmetic departure from what would be an otherwise unremarkable joint it has served its purpose well. The joint remains secure 70 years later!

Hmmm. Is there a fun life lesson in this observation--something about the interesting differences that distinguish us, respectively, as people? Or, maybe it says something about the influence of our lives on our work? God knows what was going on for this craftsman, and it's sure fun to guess what the distraction may have been (...family stuff, a tummy ache, disappointment, or maybe he was cold? [Brrrr, it's just 9 degrees Fahrenheit outside my shop window this morning!]

That's Wood Talkin...till next time.