G'day folks...help with old english oak desk please.
Hi folks. Just found this forum, and hope to get active here. New to woodworking but want to develop some reasonable skills in bringing old/ antique furniture back to its former glory! Wrapped to read about the show in a couple of weeks too!
However, my immediate issue is this.... I just purchased a beautifully carved old English Oak (we think) desk with leather inlay. (will try to post picture soon) The chap I bough it from recently attampted to varnish it, and frankly did an absolutely terrible job. Its very rough, still sticky and thick in parts (week later) and not the right colour (red jarrah, whilst the timber is a darker english Oak) Also, he did some sanding against the grain , leaving deep scratch marks . The leather inlay is in poor condition (the desk has 3 inlay sections..and the poor sanding is in the narrow strip between them..difficult area to sand, so he took the easy way out.. The desk is actually a beauitiful piece of furniture with wonderful carvings, but now looks like some cheap Indonesian mass produced and poorly finished item. I would appreciate ideas on how to return this piece to its former glory. My skills are 'basic' but open to leaning.We dont know its age, but minimum early 1900's, possibly late 1800's. It was brought to Australia from the UK by its rather eldely previous owner. Thanks for ideas in advance ! Lawry :2tsup: