Here's where you come to follow the progress of your piece of furniture in the shop. No, wood doesn't talk--or does it? Sure it does! As we work on your piece we learn things about where it's been, how it's been used, maybe even who (or what) has used it, and often about where it came from originally. It's a lot of fun and typically quite interesting.

This space also gives us a chance to let you know about any special experiences or progress related challenges. We try to chronicle work completed on your furniture whenever anything significant occurs. So there may not be an entry every day, but when we document them, we hope you will find these journal entries are fun, informative, purposeful, and creative.

So, have fun "listening" to our dialogue with your piece, as it is, it's Wood Talkin.
Email: woodtalkin@gmail.com

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Yup, it's a 1940's vintage Cherry Duncan Pfyfe Pedestal Table. It was made by Drexel. With six accompanying chairs to compliment it, it offers a very attractive dining room presence. (As you see it here, it's just been stained with its three leafs.)
Note differences in color, top vs leafs!


Of course we often learn some fun things in the refinishing process. In this case the bases (below) are stamped "MAH" atop their pedestal bases, suggesting the table may originally have been issued with a Red Mahogany stain. You can see from the picture (right) that the three stripped leafs seem to contrast the table's top--a competition between cherry and red mahogany? God knows.

Naughty Kitty Cats!
Our goal is to blend them to the customer's preference as best we can...............CHERRY.  And whenever you've got an item as pretty as this with several years (72!) of family history behind it, we can expect to get the stories that come with that history. In this case one of those includes the presence of Kitty Cats....as you can see. If the top was of solid wood those signatures could be sanded out, but because this is a fine veneer, these kitties have permanently left their mark. Yes, those guys will be forever remembered.

The pedestals stood in line, the last to be cleaned up....so they are last but not less importantHere, (below) you see them with clamps variously placed. Those will soon be removed and the staining process will be completed before sealing and finishing begins for all the pieces. That event is just around the corner...it'll probably be all done by the end of the week.

Yup, the table is anticipating....going home soon...An-Tic-I-Pate-Ing. Its a fun word and one I hear thematically in this shop. 
The table's two Pfyfe pedestals await stain
And that's Wood Talkin  for today....so...Keep listening.