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Thread: Restoring an old writing slope
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26th September 2021, 11:15 AM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Restoring an old writing slope
Hello fellow woodworkers,
It's been some time since i last had the luxury of spending some time in the garage so to get back into the swing of things I decided to restore an old writing slope I picked up a few months ago at the local market. My workbench was a bit of a mess though so I gave it a clean, a few fresh coats of BLO finished off with some wax. Its been a few years since I made it so its slowly starting to show some character.
IMG_20210926_105706.jpgIMG_20210926_105720.jpg
This writing slope is fully veneered and the structure are failing in places resulting in the veneer cracking all over, especially around the bends on the lid. After playing with some ideas I decided I need some veneering practise so decided to remove all of the existing veneer and damaged inlay banding. I will replace it with new ones.
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Here's the box after I stripped off all the old veneer for those who wants to see how it was done in the early days. Pretty rough joinery in my view .
IMG_20210926_130938.jpgIMG_20210926_130932.jpg
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26th September 2021 11:15 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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26th September 2021, 11:58 AM #2
OMG . Antique destruction may have been a better name for the thread.
How subtle of you. LOL .
Its a Tunbridge Box .
Antique Tunbridge box - Google Search
Tunbridge ware - Wikipedia
Oh well . I hope to see you impress us with something that looks as good as that did . Not necessarily as complex .
You could have just as easily knocked up a box to veneer and place the original on a shelf to study ??
Your Bench is looking good BTW.
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26th September 2021, 12:13 PM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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LOL, you are right. But to my defence, it wasn't in a good way
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26th September 2021, 03:01 PM #4SENIOR MEMBER
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Well done botesmj1.
I did similar thing to a 19C Tea Caddy. I plunged the whole caddy into boiling water. It was a real eye opener how the box was constructed.
I hope you'll update this post with your WIP photos.
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27th September 2021, 10:13 AM #5
Good to see you getting a bit of spare time at last to do something you like. Your bench looks fantastic and very solid. I look forward to the updates on your restoration and as you say, it's good to see the construction under the fine veneer.
Dallas
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27th September 2021, 10:40 AM #6
Oh no! I can't un-see what has been done.
boy-hiding-eyes.jpg
I hope you get some good insights and learning being able to see beneath the surface so to speak.
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27th September 2021, 11:46 AM #7Senior Member
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Yes the bench looks great! And a nice little stash of timber behind it.
Good luck with the box.
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9th October 2021, 08:42 AM #8SENIOR MEMBER
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Solid as a rock. I glued an additional piece of ply on the bottom, keeping the old one in place. This made the bottom nice and stable. Also managed to reglue all the failing joints and fill in all the missing pieces on the ebony edging. Next steps to color them back to be the same and onto starting the veneer work.
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9th October 2021, 09:19 AM #9SENIOR MEMBER
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This might work
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9th October 2021, 11:14 AM #10GOLD MEMBER
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Hi Jacques,
Interesting project!
How are you planning to veneer the curves? Will you use hide glue or PVA or something else? If you’re making shaped cauls I’ve found that facing them with cork tile (Bunnings) helps distribute the pressue evenly.
May I ask where you sourced those rather exotic bandings?
Looking forward to seeing how this develops. Thanks for sharing.
Best regards,
Brian
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9th October 2021, 11:31 AM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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Hi Brian, I have no idea to be honest. I will have to watch a few YouTube videos first [emoji848]. I was thinking of rigging up a vacuum bag or something.
I bought the banding from this guy on Etsy. I think he is in Spain.
10 Units. You can choose the models you want from those that | Etsy
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9th October 2021, 12:44 PM #12
Two old ways they veneered the curves were.
1. Sand stitched up in a bag and heated to press around the corners .
Or 2. The most likely way that was done originally was they got an appropriate piece of canvas and glued / tacked a stick each end . Do a test run to set it up . Apply hide glue . Run over it with a hot iron & moisture . Clamp it down with a board on top then by the sticks each side . To pull it around the corners . Or clamp it down to a flat board upside down then pull the sticks up with clamps for the corners . The canvas and sticks is how they veneered round columns with hide glue .
Edit . Actually the most likely first fastest way that would have been done is with a veneer hammer and hide glue . Quick and easy . Canvas is the second way when it’s a little more complex but would be great if your not using hide glue .
Rob
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9th October 2021, 11:44 PM #13GOLD MEMBER
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Rob,
Thanks so much for that info. Always so much more to learn! I hadn’t come across either of those techniques so another hole in my education plugged!
Regards,
Brian
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10th October 2021, 08:31 AM #14SENIOR MEMBER
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With the inlay to mirror the old look or without? I'm leaning towards with the inlay bands.
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10th October 2021, 08:48 AM #15
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