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Congratulations!! And what a buzz when you tell your visitors that you did it all yourself.

I'm afraid I can't suggest a book on restoration, although some other Woodworker may be able to help...

Have tanned a few skins in my time using bark from black wattle. Wonder if the wood is as tannin rich as the bark.

Can't really advise on the sandstone blocks - our house is double brick on rubble foundations (with a row of bricks beneath the damp course). We created access to the subfloor area by removing the...

Lifeart, the manufacturers of Enviroboard Coffins, do not appear to supply direct to the public so I suppose the funeral directors can charge whatever. They are located in Drummoyne.

The business...

http://www.asgs.com.au/asgs/asgsindex.html will give you sizes of glass sheets which might come in handy when drawing up your frame plan.

My son did a stained glass workshop and makes mirrors,...

If you're not itching to do some fancy woodwork (or using the window as an excuse to get some new tools) you might think about installing a single sheet of clear glass decorated with adhesive film. ...

Occasionally you come across Victorian era dining tables with matching cupboards for storage of extension leaves - a rather slim affair about the depth of a hall table.

My dining table, purchased...

Tape a piece of white paper under the table (presume that's where damage is) and leave for a few days and then check for dust. Borer eggs can apparently take several years to hatch so it's quite...

With a lift-up dome, these would make really neat kitchen tidy bins.

Spike Milligan's headstone on his grave at St Thomas's Church in Winchelsea, East Sussex bears the Gaelic inscription "Duirt me leat go raibh me breoite", or "I told you I was ill".

Humour is a...

To add to Harry's description, the wood used for the plugs was fairly soft so that it would split easily (and expand) as it was nailed into. And you are nailing into the end grain. I've used Western...

Also found this at
http://www.sia-web.org/chapters/knight/newsletters/Issue_11.htm#_Toc16758852
Barrel Making in Mendocino County

AND it explains "toasting" of barrels.

Coopering is the art of making wooden barrels (made by coopers). A Google search should turn up some info for you.

I guess the barrels were made by precisely fitting each stave to its neighbour...

I've used oven cleaner - removes paint but tends to darken the wood (more than caustic soda does).

The tabletop may not have been finished at all. It was quite common to clean the tabletop by scrubbing with sandsoap, particularly if used in a kitchen. I worked in a Brisbane hotel in the 70's. ...

Went to this site, looked inside, but he wasn't there!

Having spent some considerable time grazing on American kitchen design websites for ideas for the upcoming kitchen reno, I came to the conclusion that "traditional" referred to the method of cabinet...

Did my son and his mates visit for a weekend?

What you will need to buy is a "wood heater" or "slow combustion heater" then build a solid brick surround for it, leaving a recess to suit your chosen heater, as well as an opening at the top for...

Also http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/plans/index.cfm/plan_details/5/26/850

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/plans/index.cfm/plan_details/5/26/849

to buy the plans for a Lap Desk aka writing box.

Possibly not the right forum, but some of you box makers might like to look at the work of Peter Lloyd - http://www.finehardwoodboxes.com/

Have a look at the range of waxes at www.rydenor.co.uk and perhaps ask them what they recommend for oak panelling.

Liberon products, made in England, seem to be targeted at professional restorers and antique owners. The restorers can pass on the costs and the owners, having already paid a huge amount for their...

I was looking through Liberon Enterprises catalogue (www.liberon.com.au) and found -

Black Polish - Especially used in the ebonising process. Jet black and completely obscures the grain.

I...

We lived next door to the original neighbour from hell - she even managed to get the police around to a Saturday afternoon kid's birthday party (for six kids).

When her neighbours on the other...

I will soon be in the market for similar advice - recently acquired a Jarvie style Van Treight lounge suite with wooden backs and arms with cane infill, for restoration/recovering. Timber and cane...

Liberon Enterprises (www.liberon.com.au) sells Wood Bleach -

"For removing dark stains caused by rust, alcohol, damp, ring marks, fruit etc., and lightening naturally dark wood or natural wood...

Have you tried cutting through the varnish with a utility knife?

You might be interested in reading the very comprehensive tutorial on French Polishing at http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html

It explains, in considerable detail, the materials used...

Does anyone in the family know any would-be graffiti artists? You could offer them the wall to paint on, on the understanding that you have the final say on design.

Leave it a few months and then...

I thought "japanning" was the art of painting black gunk on floorboards - until I read this posting. So I spent a bit of time on Google to see what it was all about. And very interesting it was...

I can picture it, Mark, and it looks great.

Since you're not installing a door, you don't really need the door jamb profile. You could frame the opening with maple boards (trimmed to the...

Thanks for that Pianoman. I guess the piano tuner was wrong. Perhaps he wanted me to pay him to take it away??

Trav, I'm with you on the front door (but I think that generally the inside colour would also be on the bit that the latch thingy is in - highly technical here).

The square set doorway would solve...

I don't think it would look out of place to lacquer the complete frame and have the white paint finishing at the ends of the kitchen skirting boards.

The single finish on the frame will make it...

I'm curious - when the piano tuner said the piano was worth restoring, was he referring to the interior or the exterior?

Considering its age, I would guess that the least it would need is...

Oil (baby/vegetable/cooking) will remove paint and not the skin. Perhaps it might take off lacquer as well. It's the stuff that gets under and around the nails that is a bugger to remove. Soaking...

I've been thinking about all the oak beams, doors, etc. there must be in the UK which have never seen a finish of any sort - just sitting around developing patina. Lucky, lucky you.

Clean your...

My house has doors and frames painted with a faux woodgrain finish (probably dating from the 1920's) and were very tired and sad looking and felt very gritty.

I rubbed them down with (marketed...

You might also try putting two or three sheets of paper towel or blotting paper over the stain and applying heat with an iron (on dry, not steam). This method removes oil from fabric - but will it...

I've attached lattice to Colourbond fencing by drilling through my side of the capping, rather than drilling through to the neighbours side, and tying the lattice on with thin wire.

Can't see...

Have just applied a test patch on 100+ year old brick wall with umpteen layers of thick paint (probably lead based) and a top coat of acrylic which had already cracked and crazed when we bought the...

Can you run around it very quickly while holding the appropriate tool?

Someone might be interested in a listing on Ebay for a "Red Wood Gum Burl" slice, suitable for table top, Item No. 8220943075.

Finishes Sunday.

Being an extremely amateur gyprocker with absolutely no knowledge of tricks of the trade, I've cut the recess off the floor level sheets before fixing them to the wall. It's an old house with high...

Several years ago we acquired a piece of marble very cheaply from a monumental stone mason who was going out of business. The plan was to incorporate it into a kitchen bench. But, having looked...

Soak the hooks and screws overnight in vinegar and salt. Worstershire sauce also works, but vinegar is cheaper.

Scrub up with a brush and remove paint from screws with a wooden toothpick or...

A fabulous job - and somewhing that can be adapted as she gets older.

I made a pine dolls house for my daughter's 3rd birthday - basically a box with four rooms and an attic under the pitched...

DavidC, thanks for the tips, especially the advice re using a paint roller. I have found the feathering bit very fiddly.

And so timely. I am in the process of patching after having removed...