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A view of the finished cabinet

A technique developed by Charles André Boulle as a method of cutting multiple layers of brass sheet and 'tortoiseshell' (actually;;y turtleshell) and making up marquetry panels using all pieces, where one panel would have the main pattern in brass and the other would have the main section in tortoiseshell. Waste not, want not!

This photo is off a Victorian commode that I did.

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for lots of stuff about furniture repair Macclesfield, french polishing Wilmslow, furniture restoration Prestbury etc. etc.

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All new rubber webbing sourced and fitted.

The webs are bought at specific different lengths. In this model the webs have a loop at each end and are held in place by inserting a dowel peg through the loops when they are stretched and the ends fed down the slot at each end. Ridiculously difficult to stretch them between slots enough to feed in the dowels.

Looking a little (!) tired. All the rubberised webbing perished.

Next post is the finished item.

So, all joints now secure, finish as light as possible, reupholstered.

An item from my client's childhood brought back to life, and finished to fit into her current home.

A photo of the 'before'. 

All (!) loose joints knocked apart.

Client wanted it as light in colour as possible, and reupholstered in the fabric she supplied.

The finished new section I made to fit in the gap between the original two sections of panelling and the wall.

The 'extra' bit the antique dealer gave to my client, before modification

The client had bought some later seventeenth century oak panelling (2 sections) from an antique dealer and wanted it fitted to a wall in his bedroom of his C18th farmhouse.

Had to knock it apart (pegged joints) to get it into the farmhouse, then re-peg it back together. I was able to use almost all the original pegs and only had to make three replacements.

Fortuitously the panelling was virtually the same height as the room (!), only needing a little shave in two places to account for the uneven floor and ceiling.

The two sections weren't long enough to fully fit the width of the room but the dealer had thrown in a narrow section of shorter panelling of the same mouldings and another piece of similar panelling, so I was able to make up a 22" section to fit the gap using the spare parts and only having to make a 36" section of upright from new oak. I scratched to mouldings in to the new section with my home-made scratch stock using a blade I had filed to the shape of the original moulding. That's how they would have done it originally.

Put everything up, then cleaned it all, stained the new piece to match and sealed it, then oiled it all with boiled linseed oil, let it oxidise for a few days then built a wax finish. This preserved the patina and brought out the rich colouring and beauty of the old oak.

This is a duet music stand I designed and made for a client, from American black walnut.

Finished by French polishing with shellac button polish.

Great fun!

Hi.

Just wanted to say to you all that I haven't forgotten you!

In these strange times I have been a little preoccupied (!), as have we all.

My business has ground to a halt as I cannot return any commissions (and get paid), nor can I collect any new commissions either.

So I'm getting on with working on the commissions that I have already got in my workshop.

I'll try to be a little more assiduous in posting in this blog from now on. Don't want you to think I am ignoring you all ;-)

Don't forget, you all can post comments, questions, problems in this blog as well. If you have any questions I'll try to get back to you and answer then quickly.

Keep watching this and my FaceBook page [ J D Worrall (Conservation) ].

This was painted black when it came in.

Stripped of paint, french polished with shellac.

Various small repairs to damage to wood, stripped screw holes for the bezel screws etc.

Coffee table after polishing.

Finished with acid-catalysed lacquer, 90% sheen.

This fulfilled the client's requirements as A/C lacquer is a cross-linking polymer that cures chemically when the catalyst is mixed in to create a non-reversible bond. This means that it isn't affected by moisture, alcohols and most chemical solvents or heat (to a reasonable level e.g. hot coffee cups at 90C) - very practical in a household environment - and as I chose a 90% sheen lacquer it produced a high gloss finish.

Multiple coats, rubbed down between with 320 grit abrasive paper and a cork block, has left a flat surface that gives a true, clear reflection.

Veneered coffee table after preparation, and before polishing.

Client wants a high-build, high gloss finish that won't be marked by carelessly placed hot coffee cups or spillages.

Sofa back with it's owners

Finished

Rope twist edging braid applied where wanted, sofa finished. At last!

White cotton wadding fitted over seat and arms.

Top cover being applied.

Cotton wadding fitted over hessian, then Top cover cut and fitted to backrest.

Hessian tacked over the horsehair. Hair regulated.

Eges stitched up.

Stuffing the backrest with horsehair

4 rows of stitching all round the seat, then rolled edge stitched up.

Hessian on the backrest to receive horsehair.

Hessian applied over horsehair. 

Edge stitching underway.

There's a lot of stitching in one of these!

Hessian fixed over springs, and horsehair carded and fixed to hessian with a running stitch loops of twine

Seat webbing fixed on and coil springs lashed to the webbing, then the tops of the springs lashed together

All stripped out and ready for re-build

Stripping it out. Everything collapsed inside.

Bit of a mess!

Here's a rather tired Edwardian Sofa.

Broken leg, collapsed upholstery, just old and tired.

Ready to start.

Following posts will go through the stages.

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I can restore your dining table and make it a thing of beauty, ready to gather your family and friends around this Christmas.

If you want your dining table restored and/or French polished for Christmas you need to book it in before 7th December to make sure it can be guaranteed to be ready before 25th December I may be able to to fit it in if you book it in after the 7th. Call me on 01625-576007.

Little spindle back armchair and a pierced seat rocker.

Rocking chair had a broken rocker. Made a new one, fitted it and coloured and finished it to match.
Spindle back had all the joints on the left side broken. Repaired them with a metal dowel insert as they are so thin in section - around 12mm diameter. Seat had only a wooden board when it came to me so wove a freshwater rush seat as that was what it would have had originally.
Very nice little chairs.

There's still time to book your piece(s) in for restoration by Xmas.

The Dining table is the very focal spot for the family Christmas Dinner. 

Let me restore your table and bring new life to it. It can be re-finished in shellac, wax or lacquer. You can choose an acid-catalysed lacquer finish which pretty much impervious to water, alcohols and heat.

To guarantee it to be ready before Christmas, don't leave it too late to book it in.

Call me on 01625-576007 at any time.

Little rocking chair: Rocker broken. Made and fitted and coloured new rocker.

Small hoop-back Armchair: Left arm, rail, stretcher joints broken. Secured broken joints: built rush seat using freshwater rush, using traditional techniques.

Not a special piece (except to the owner!) but just a nice little stool.

Broken leg rebuilt and secured, cleaned and waxed.

All it needed - honest little stool.

Large stool from the collection of matching furniture from Pakistan

Prepared and spray painted with pre-catalysed lacquer paint. Gold highlights.

Upholstered and piped.

Inlaid with ivory and various woods.

Chair and stool after restoration

Broken wing repaired, new rubber mounts fitted, woodwork cleaned and finish revived, leather cleaned and colour and finish returned to it.

Before restoration.

Break on one supporting wing of backrest.

Eames Chair before restoration.

One backrest supporting wing is snapped off.

Whole chair in very poor condition.

A little table, finished with a shellac high gloss/build finish, to the customer's requirements.

Nice Victorian table. A tilt-top table on a pedestal base. Loo was a very popular card game amongst Victorian ladies.

Rebuilt shellac finish after being damage by spilling nail varnish remover, which had partially stripped the original finish off.

Another view

Bringing beauty back to a classic car interior

Re-rushed in Dutch fresh water rush, then sealed to leave it cleanable in the future.

We can create a new rush seat using traditional materials and techniques.

We also can 'rush' a seat with artificial 'paper' rush.

It is very time consuming, but I am always pleased to prolong the useful life of a good chair such as this one. Can expect another 70+ years of regular use from it now.

Restoration without the wait

Nice little table; just cleaned, joints tightened, finish rebuilt (shellac) where missing and blended in, waxed.

The 'after' photo.

Little project given to me.

Here's the mirror after restoration and gilding.

This pic is before restoration.

Dining suite ebonised and restored.

Table made to order