Thread: Help with mouldings on old cedar writing desk

Originally Posted by Doken

I inherited a beautiful old Australian cedar writing desk many years ago and I've finally got the time to work on it.
The problem is that there are several pieces of bolection mouldings missing from the lid and around the draw fronts which need replacing.
I've been to the usual places around Melbourne and there's nothing close to a match, the mouldings are cedar and 14mm x 7mm or thereabouts with a half round, a couple of small steps and a scallop near the front.
Does anyone know someone in Melbourne who could run some of this for me if I provide a sample, and yeah, I realise it won't be cheap.
Even interstate would do as the postage costs for the sample and the end product wouldn't be much, but I'd prefer if it was local.
Cheers.

If I am restoring something like that I usually visit some friendly, old fashioned antique shops that do their own restoration as they usually have lots of bits lying around that they will part with for some small compensation. I don't know Melbourne so I cannot recommend anywhere but it would be worth a look. If the shops don't have anything their restorers may well either have some pieces or have the moulding planes or router bits for similar sections. In my expereince some of the old fashioned restorers are quite friendly and helpful (though not the spray lacquer shops that call what they do French polishing - they just ruin good old furniture).

Thanks for the advice, that might be my next port of call.
There a place here in the southern suburbs that has almost every moulding imaginable and they've been in business for over 100 years, I rang them and they said that they no longer run odd shapes and sizes as of about 5 years ago, and every other place I've tried either doesn't have anything close or only stocks hardwood in such small a size.
I'm seeing my brother in law in a few days who is a fitter and turner and I'll ask him about making me a router bit, I figure something like a 3/4 radius HSS cove bit could be ground into shape but I'm not sure how much work it would involve.

Hi there. Would love to see pics of the desk. Maybe consider continuing this thread as a WIP for others to chip in ? Lawry

Hi Doken

I have done a bit of restoration over the last 40 or so years. The first rule of restoration is not to remove anything. Even if it is damaged at least it is original.

Also, I have found that quite complex mouldings can be achieved with multiple passes from standard router bits.

Years ago I needed a complex moulding and was lucky enough to find someone in Singleton NSW with old cutters for a spindle moulder. Recently I needed something similar, though not as large, and found some standard half inch bits for my Festool 2200 that allowed me, with a lot of fiddling and trials, to get the shape that I needed. Definitely not as capable as one of those big old spindle moilders but, for my smaller section needs OK in this instance.

So: a. Maybe the damaged mouling is ok because it is original; b. if you do have to make a new moulding you maybe able to get there with standard router bits in combination.

Good luck

As an aside, I have just "won" a job repairing/restoring a beautiful antique Aust Cedar cylinder top secretaire desk. Some $&@?$&@ painted it with white paint. Some bigger $&@?$@ sanded the paint off with a COARSE circular sander and sawed off anything that got in their way, icluding sawing into cross-banded veneering!

The complex moulded trims have been butchered but so far I have chosen to clean them up and keep them rather than replace them. I may have to make some new drawer pulls but would prefer not to. It 's not out of laziness - it is just that new cedar never looks like old cedar so never looks right.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk