Thread: A restoration job and a what wood is this question.

Hi Rob, what a shame it looks like it was beautiful table but I'm sure it will be again. Are you sure all the number fives are the same? The one you've focussed on looks like some sort of Quercus? maybe white oak? ... or quartersawn sweet chestnut? But the one clockwise around from that looks more like quartersawn maple - may just be the photo. number 6 looks like a shorea sp.

Cheers
M

Glad it's you & not me, Rob!

One thing that might (& might not!) help would be to ask where grandad lived - chances are he used woods that were locally available to him, so that could help with a list of possibilities. But if he lived somewhere like the north-east of NSW or Qld, in a rainforest area, it would be a long list! It looks like there is enough variation in the existing bits that a 'close match' will go unnoticed once the top is refinished - the biggest danger I foresee is if your patches that match when fresh, age differently. But given the story, I reckon the owner can make a virtue of any visible repairs - it'll enhance the appeal to the child what caused it all when they eventually inherit the table....

Cheers,

What a job! It looks to me that it might have been made with european veneers. The dark one in the middle could be walnut then the next highly figured one looks like english oak cut just off the quarter. Then coming out the larger dark triangles could be walnut again and the lighter contrasting (5) could be beech. The thin striping could be boxwood and the outer pieces look like a mahogany. A mystery.

Hey Rob

Could #5 be a tone-wood? It reminds me of a pale cedar like Himalayan or even a dense native pine cut a certain way. Can you get any sense of the density?

#6 looks like pale Blackwood which is often avoided but may have worked in the grain colours selected.

Good luck with the job!

Cheers

Julian

I've got some Tamarisk (Athel pine) in the shed that looks just like #5

Thanks for the replies.

Ian. I think the owner did say he was from NSW or QLD. Somewhere around there . Ill ask her again. The top has Aussie timbers, maybe not all of them? And the base is imported Mahogany.

Len. They are mostly Aussie timbers I think on top possibly. No imported Oak or Beech. I have been working with Oak and Beech almost every day for a long time. Number 5 almost looks like Beech though. If I had to use the closest thing I have to number 5 it may be Beech That I have . Ive included a Beech veneer next to number 5 below.

Hi Julian. I see what you mean by it looking like a softwood top of a guitar / tone wood . It reminded me of that but its not a softwood . Its got an open grain/ pores, though its tight. 6 a Blackwood? The most washed out plain types may look close to that. As you have probably seen, Blackwood comes in so many shades and grain types that it sometimes is hard to pick from Walnut and sometimes its hard to pick from some of the Mahogany's.

TTIT "I've got some Tamarisk (Athel pine) in the shed that looks just like #5"
lets see it if you have the time . I don't think 5 is a softwood but I don't know what it is do I

Here's some more enlarged pics of it to see how well I can show it.
Top is up against some Beech veneer I have with the Medullary rays looking like the same direction.
This Beech is probably the closest I have to match and use. With a bit of stain it'll come in a bit closer.

IMG_4231ab.jpg

Taken from the South end.

IMG_4232a.jpg

Taken from the North end .

IMG_4234a.jpg

And a close in shot.

IMG_4236a.jpg

Rob .

I see what you mean with those new close-ups.

The medullary rays look like a super tight qtr sawn oak (US or Euro?)

Anyway, I’m sure you’re all over it.

Hope you can solve the mystery.

Cheers

Julian

Originally Posted by auscab

..... TTIT "I've got some Tamarisk (Athel pine) in the shed that looks just like #5"
lets see it if you have the time . I don't think 5 is a softwood but I don't know what it is do I ....

Ah Rob, silly common names again! "Athel pine" is not a pine & not even a conifer; it's a flowering plant, adapted to arid climates by reducing its leaves to scales (like she-oaks). So it's technically a hardwood.

My suggestion of knowing where the maker was living when he made it is a long shot, of course. It could provide a clue but stuff gets around - I've got bits of wood in my 'special' stash from all over the globe (I feel sorry for anyone trying to work out what's been used on a few of my productions if they survive for another generation or two!). ID'ing a wood from its superficial appearance can be a very frustrating exercise as I so often say - so many quite different species can look similar, especially in small pieces (& carry the same common names!). I have some "Orange box" (Maytenus sp.) which has a very similar quartered grain to #5, except for the colour (have a squiz at TTIT's page on it).

As long as you can get a good textural match, I'm sure your restoration skills can fix any colour problems so that the average viewer (& even most woodies) would not spot the ring-in without a very careful examination. As I'm sure you are well aware, there is a school of thought (that I don't necessarily subscribe to), that says any repair of an antique should be apparent, so that it forms part of the history of the piece and no-one can pass it off as "original & pristine". While I can see a certain rationale in that, I think it could too easily be used as an excuse for poor workmanship....

Cheers,

Here is the progression pictures of this restoration job. Starting with the damaged top.
g.jpg
The blue tape borders all that needed removing before the plywood base lifted splits under the veneer were re glued flat and scraped.
aa.jpg

Three Silky oak diamonds with the pale wood bits went down first pressing.
a.jpg
The next four pieces were US Walnut with boxwood stringing. Walnut was the closest I had for the match. I don't know what the original is.
b.jpg
Then I used the Beech with Boxwood stringing.
c.jpg

d.jpg
And the final four outer triangles was Mahogany. The same as what was originally used. But it was a lighter version.
The Mahogany needed bleaching to match and the Beech needed a reaction colour or a stain or both. Same with the Walnut.
e.jpg
Below left is half way through the colour and finishing with shellac to get it matching closer. A slight patination near the end will help with the disguise as well and have it matching the look of the base better probably.
A bit of an improvement.
f.jpg g.jpg

The veneer pieces were small enough to hold by hand and plane the edges with a block plane most of the time . I did have a shooting board set up as well to use. It roughly took six pressings to fit them. One each day. Then the overhang was trimmed back flush and the original cross banded edge to the top was spoke shaved off around the repaired section and new mahogany was pressed on for about 300 mm. The edge veneer overlays the end grain of the top replaced pieces as it does around the whole top.

This is masterful restoration Rob!.

Have you got a closer photo of the piece Rob, its just spectacular how you managed to restore it and I'd love to see it up close.

Maybe I msised it in the post but how thick are the veneers?.

Really really great job Rob! Now I see the restored original parts the one you replaced with walnut looks a lot like Sapele veneers I have here. But your colour matching is amazing.

Agreed, colour matching to this degree is incredible.