Thread: Advice needed for some new projects

As previously noted, I figured it really was time to get on with this next project. So I dragged it out of the bathroom where it had been hiding for the past year or more and down to the 'shed". In doing so I took the time to see how I might be able to repair it properly. First off the slender backing board, was held on with 6 large screws, which was perfect as given it is split quite badly on the right hand side, by taking it off I can properly re-glue this before repolishing it. It looks like someone else had tried previously to glue it but most likely with a glue that simply wasn't up for the job, like aquadere.

Secondly, apart from that the whole table needs some repolishing/rejuvenation, the top will need to be completely stripped back and then re-polished but before I do that given it has a largish crack running the majority of the length of the top, I think it probably would be best to take the table top off, and using sash clamps and strong glue, fix it first. Must track down some sash clamps !!

After these two repairs, the repolishing process is pretty standard affair. I will post pics taken next week when at work. If you want to see which table I am talking about, go to the first postings in this thread, as there is at least one photo of the table. Stay tuned.

Dave, you're putting some of us to shame by actually getting on with the projects and posting!!!! I didn't even manage to get to he Brisbane timber show this weekend...so much in the way!! (and so little completed/ achieved!!)

Anyway, your post on the chair pricked my conscience ..I have a (comtemporary) spindle back chair that needs minor repair. The whole back/ frame/ spindles have come off the seat, so I figure a bit of glue and some wedges to sort out. (What glue are you using for this sort of thing?)

Cheers,
lawry

Hi Lawry great to hear from you mate, had wondered where you had scarpered off to. What no time to get to the timber show, what a bugger. I am sure it could have been interesting.

Well you know what they say idle time, idle hands and so as not to fall into that camp, and well given I kind of previously had been pretty slack myself, thought I should get on with some more projects, given I have plenty to keep me more than occupied. Also some of them had been sitting on the back burner for a while, like the little cottage chair, so time definitely to get them finished.

Re your chair project, from my take on what you are saying this sounds about the right approach. Thumbthumper in his cedar bar back chair restoration is apparently using a hide glue, given that is what traditionally it would have been glued with and as a glue it can be quite strong. Also reasonably easy to work with should it break. On the drop leaf table I previously had to repair the leg I used a pretty impressive glue. I am pretty sure I gave details of the brand and type of glue. But I had borrowed the tube from a mate at work.

For this table, I am working on now, I was planning on going to the hardware shops soon to find out what they may have, as the back board and the top (with its splits needs repairing). I will let you know what I find out. In looking at the table last night, I tried to undo the screws that hold the top to the table base, but I had no luck in budging the screws. This leaves me I think with two options to somehow try to squeeze the split together using glue and sash clamps in situ, or alternatively to try to soak some sort of penetrating oil onto the screw to loosen it up. I am not sure if that would work. Any other ideas anyone ???

The table top is starting to look really nice now, as I have built up quite a number of coats, including cutting back and re-coating. The legs and side rails of the table, all I am planning on doing is to re-freshen the shellac by keying back and re-coating before cutting back with steel wool and wax polishing. I have already completed one of the legs by this approach.

I will post a series of photos of progress on the table. The other thing I would be interested in terms of feedback, if anyone wishes to do so, is do you think that the lowest section of the legs have been cut off, if so as I think they have, I assume this was to even it up most likely to wear and secondly does anyone think I should try to re-instate the bottom of the legs or perhaps just live with it as it is.

In showing the pictures of the table top, you will see how discoloured it was, how ruined the original shellac finish was and yes that it has plenty of patina (aging). What I have had to do therefore was paint strip off all the old finish, but I used a fine steel wool to help clean this up, as I had no coarse wool. Possibly a good thing. I thereafter neutralised the table top, washed in warm water, allowed it to dry and thereafter gave it a light sanding with 220 and 340-400 grade paper. I did this being careful, as I am aiming to give the top the best polished finish possible.

In shellacing the top, I first off used a fairly strong brew of shellac (more viscous) and with a paint brush, and thereafter thinned it back a little and worked it in with a pad, and a figure of 8 pattern to start off with. It was then cut back using steel wool (0000) and then re-coated by padding following the grain. The pictures show the progress and how well this approach works.

Will probably do a little more on it tonight after dinner.

Just a really quick update, but not on the table as it was too cold to allow for any shellac application. I thought I would show some progress on the house restoration project that I am also working on. The photo shows the baltic fanlight, with original float glass, and the 6 panel cedar door, which I am working on. The cedar/blackwood skirtings that I have tidied up are a mix of parts that I had available to make the one section, to the immediate right of the door.

The next time I head out, I will need to plug a few holes, as there are some modern hex screws that were used to put the skirting on, and of course one doesn't want to see this. As I continue to work on the hall, given the plaster work is just about completed (finally), it is time to finish up all the polishing of cedar/huon pine joinery and repairs to the joinery that needs to be made to the archway in this part of the hall. I will leave the wide baltic flooring to the last, as this will require some careful treatment to even out the colouring/discolouration. Some of the discolouration is due to the use of caustic soda solution applied in an attempt to kill borer, of which there is some evidence of damage. Hopefully it will have worked as I don't want to either have to cut out sections of the floor boards and especially don't want the floor to collapse due to ongoing borer damage.

When I get to work on the floor, I will first off have to completely re-sand to even things out, then clean out all the joints, to remove dirt/dust/plaster etc, then will shellac finish before giving it a couple of coats of tung oil. Depending on how this looks I will leave it at that or at most give it a third coat.

I have to admit this is starting very much to feel like a personal wood workers blog rather than just a thread asking for some help/advice or guidance, let alone perhaps feedback that I doing ok . But anyway, to continue this journey, over the week, since I last posted comment on the latest table restoration project, I have managed to re-polish all the legs and side rails but I am yet to cut them back and/or wax them up.

Now regarding the top, and how to deal with the various cracks, I discussed this with my builder and fellow antiques restoring mate the other night over a cuppa, and his advice was given how difficult it seemed to be to undo the screws that perhaps an alternative option is to stabilise the cracking from below with say a strip of wood glued to the bottom and to fill in the cracks from on top with either a dark wood putty/filler or even wax stick, and thereafter continue to polish the top until I am happy with the level of shellac coating.

At this stage this is kind of making sense to me, unless anyone else has other thoughts on this ??? I also still need to strip back/revive and repair the back-board-trim and will get onto this shortly. I won't finish off the polishing of the table until all repairs are finished. No photos today but stay tuned for more progress.

I have repaired a few table tops and backboards that have had splits and cracks.
Because of dirt/dust etc. getting into the cracks, they don't joint very well.
What I have done in the past, is run a bandsaw through the crack. This gets rid of any muck in the crack and makes the joint almost invisible when you glue it back up.

While that makes reasonable sense, two inherant problems though spring to mind for me, firstly I havn't been able to get any of the screws holding the top in place to even remotely budge and secondly even if I could, I don't have or have access to a band saw, so cutting the top and re-gluing isn't really an option for me.

Hence the other ideas I had mooted seemed the only choices I had open to me. If I could get the top off, then cleaning out the cracking, regluing and using clamps makes complete sense is definitely practical for me. I will have another try and getting the screws to loosen up, but if I can't filling the cracks with some sort of filler seems the only option I can think of. Thanks though for the suggestion.

I managed to finish off the table over the weekend. I ended up choosing to simply fill the cracks with cedar coloured putty and apply many coats of shellac, cutting back in between. The overall finish of the table in my mind has come up really well. I am glad I didn't need to strip off the original polish from the side rails or legs and was able simply to revive by cutting back with 0000 steel wool and apply a few coats of shellac. Waxing off is always such a rewarding stage for all the effort that has gone into such projects.

Now for the back board repairs. Once this has been sorted it will be yet another project completed.

(Message to Neil our beloved benevolant moderator. I can't seem to add photos ?? and I am not trying to do anything different from how I have managed to upload them previously grrr. I would have liked to show the finished results.)

Originally Posted by Horsecroft88

Waxing off is always such a rewarding stage for all the effort that has gone into such projects.

)

Well done Dave...I've had pressure from a few people to get on with a project or two!!! I do miss the waxing off stage...sort of a celebration of effort!!
How did you go with the pics issue??

Hi Lawry, thanks for yes you are totally correct, the waxing off and buffing stage is where the project totally comes to life and you get to feel rewarded for all the effort that has gone into the project you have been working on. I suspect I am probably not going to get anything more done on completition of the table until next week as I am out tonight and tomorrow night and thereafter off to Sydney for 4 days.

Might be nice to give my arms and fingers a rest from all the recent work.

Re the photos, I was going to say no I have had absolutely no luck at all. I previously tried re-sizing down the photos from my Iphone, via email and upload via the manage attachments process. But it didn't work. In answering your comments, this time though it did. Go figure ??? Phew !

For sure mate, hope you too have some projects to get on with. Myself, I am wondering what next. I do have a fairly large kauri pine table which needs a total restoration (it is broken in pieces, painted etc.) but I might leave that one for the moment. Possibly more house renno/restoration work instead to keep me busy for a while.

Sorry all it has been a little too long since I last posted anything, I kind of got busy once again with other things, including playing heaps of Real Tennis (last weekend managed to get to the final of the Tas Open Doubles B grade but ended up loosing) and this week down here in Hobart we have had the Dark MOFO festival to which I have managed to get along to a variety of events. Its been brilliant.

Anyway now back to the large mahogany hall/side table. Given I had finished this apart from the back board, I figured it was time I finally got on and finished this off. First off, was cleaning it back to get rid of the old polish which was damaged and too far gone to re-juvenate. Having stripped this, today I first off glued the split sections and filled the residual cracks. After which I sanded back and thereafter applied the first 3-4 coats of shellac. The surprise I found when cleaning off the old polish was the evidence of a previous repair made to the back board. This having been done quite well.

It now needs to cure overnight and thereafter I can get on and cut it back using 400 grade paper, and from there many more coats of shellac. All going well I will finish this stage of the project, then re-attach to the table and yet another project will have been completed. Am looking forward to this.

I think my next project will be a large cedar box which I have been using as a coffee table for many years, which needs a new bottom to be put in it, as well as a plinth and repairs made to the lid, as well as glueing up the dove tail joints which are quite loose. It also will need a complete re-polish as I had only ever done a very quick cursory polish on it previously. More on this a bit later.

I will post some pics of the table finished off next week when back at work.

Dave, looking forward o he pics. I'm particularly keen to see the before/ after repair job, and the detail of the old repairs. Cheers, L

Hi Lawry, well I will do my best to load up photos of the repairs that have been done to the back board section, and especially the finished result as yes this table is now finished.

Well all barring one little minor issue, which at this point in time I have no idea how to sort out. The photo will be self explanatory, but what I need is somehow to either find or alternatively make a small piece of curved mahogany vaneer, as there is a small missing section from the RHS end of the table edge. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I will investigate my timber collection to see if I may have anything suitable, since affixing it to the table edge and polishing this would be simple. I just need a piece to fill in the section.

The good thing is that the other half liked very much my efforts in restoring her table. So at least I got that much right.

Shortly I think time to start my next project. Stay tuned.

OK time for pictures.

The pics show the repair section, first off in its raw stage and the second one, with some putty used to fill in the residual gaps and after the first coat of shellac.
Next lot of photos show the backboard repaired (and polished) and re-installed on the completed table.

A couple more of the finished table.