Why wont my antique repairs stay stuck?

The arrival of two very different chairs this week, both with loose joints, highlighted this sticky problem and prompted me to write about it in greater depth. It was previously covered in part by another article; however it is such a common occurrence I thought it deserved to be dealt with more thoroughly.

All the joints of one of these two chairs had failed and were loose; they had been in this condition for some time and remained untouched, which was good. Because this made it a relatively easy job to dismantle, clean the joints, re-glue and smarten up with a little shellac and wax. Result, a happy client with a modest repair bill.

The other chair, owned by a very nice chap with a tube of glue, was quite a different matter. This also had failed joints, but in this case my well meaning client had squirted glue into and around every one of them. The back splat, had also received some of his attention after what looked like a nasty break, trouble was it had been glued-up with some small bits missing. If you have read my article on chair repair, you may think I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Well sorry about that, but this is the single most frustrating thing that I come up against on a regular basis, making tedious work for me and a large bill for my clients; and it’s just not necessary.

Most people do not understand what makes a bond; this is due to all kinds of wrong information that has been passed down through the ages. It started off as good advice, but like ‘Chinese whispers’ it gets changed a bit each time it’s repeated until it just ends up as nonsense. I can give you an instance of this, when much younger I remember being told that you should rough the wood of a joint to make sure the glue got a good hold. This little gem probably grew out of the fact that craftsmen laying traditional veneer would use a toothing plane (plane with a serrated blade) to score the surfaces of the timber being stuck. The real reason they did this was to flatten the two surfaces without the risk of tearout, always possible with a conventional plane especially when working on difficult timber. Although antique veneer is usually much thicker than the modern equivalent, faults like tearout if uncorrected would telegraph through to the surface. The tiny serrated teeth of the toothing plane are able to take multiple minuscule cuts much in the same way as sandpaper, but at a rapid rate of work. Today’s craftsmen mostly use a power sander, or if like me with one foot in the past, use either as the situation demands.

The people I really blame for most of this confusion are the glue manufacturers with their ‘’Bonds stronger than the wood itself’’ type of advertisements. This leads to the belief that there is some sort of integral strength in the glue itself, wrong. Things stick together when they are perfectly matched and have a surface that is perfectly smooth. Place two sheets of clean glass together and you will prove this for yourself. Theoretically if we could make perfect joints we wouldn’t need glue at all, but as we can’t we need the glue to take-up all the little imperfections and make the glued pieces feel like they are a perfect match and can’t bear to be apart.

You are probably at this point beginning to realise why so many repairs end up failing. As in the case of my glue toting client, whose chair joints hadn’t been dismantled and cleaned by washing the dirt, wax and dust of decades out of them. All this had been allowed to remain and get between the new glue and the timber, not to mention the old glue which would not be compatible with anything out of a tube.
The new glue just can’t work because it doesn’t get near the timber to iron out all those little imperfections. What it does do however, is cover the old hide glue that would easily wash off, with an impervious coat that later takes any amount of work to remove without doing damage to the timber.
Final note; There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t tackle your own repairs providing you abide by the golden rules. Never make a repair on a piece of antique furniture that can not at some later date be reversed. Hide glue is known to last centuries and can with the application of heat and humidity be reversed easily. If you do not have the equipment to use traditional hide glue you can find Franklins liquid hide glue in most good woodworker’s supplies.

How do I Determine Table Size?

Trying to determine what size table you need is not always easy, especially as needs change over time. One way of solving this problem is to have an extending table or alternatively, two or more smaller tables that can be pushed together when needed; or kept against the wall as a serving table etc when not. If you have the room it’s always better to acquire a larger capacity table than you will need for everyday use, because no matter what size you eventually choose it will always be too small on occasion.

So how much room does each person need around a table? As a minimum each person will need 24’’ however, this will feel cramped, 30’’ is a much better ideal to go for. In addition each person will need about 12’’ in front of him or her; this means an extra 24’’ on the length if you wish to have someone sitting at each end of the table. It is also desirable to have a section of 12’’ running the length of the table for serving dishes, drinks, glasses etc. Therefore a table for eight people, sitting two at each end and tree each side, would ideally be. 3 x 30’’ = 90’’ + 24’’ 114’’ or 9’6’’ long. Width would then be 2 x 12’’ = central 12’’ = 36’’ or 3’ So eight people will require a table of 9’6 x 3’ as a comfortable minimum or 8’ x 3’ if using the more chummy 24’’ formula. If you are going to choose a round table you must stick to 30’’ around the circumference.

But will it fit in the room? Well the table and chairs might, what we really need to know is how much extra room do people take up. To move in and out of a sitting position with a chair behind the legs requires a minimum of 36’’ to move freely requires about 45’’ and 55’’ if you or someone else uses a wheelchair.

Therefore a table for eight 9’ 6’’ x 3’’ will ideally be in a room 17’ x 10’6’’ don’t forget to add on any additional furniture in the room and allow for doorways, especially if the doors open in.
These are ideal sizes and probably it will prove difficult to accommodate all of them, I’m sure we have all enjoyed any number of good meals in less than idea situations, even in restaurants. However now that you have the formulas you will at least be able to make informed compromises.
Bon appétit

What Wood is That?

Right use of timber and correct wood identification is an important aspect of furniture making and restoration. It is also an important part of enjoying furniture whether old or new. Initially the maker will consider the suitability of any timber based on appearance and mechanical properties. For instance drawer sides and runners are better made from Oak, than say pine, when considering the longevity of a fine piece of furniture. Or the flexibility of Ash or Yew for a chair back, the non splitting quality of Elm in a Windsor seat and so on. Although, these considerations will be of interest to a prospective owner their primary interest after function and design, will probably be one of colour or the beauty of the surface timber.

It is worth remembering that colour will change over time and may affect the perceived beauty. Age will lighten dark woods and darken light woods, whether or not this enhances the beauty, is of course subjective; although I think most people would agree, that age does add a mellow quality that can not be imitated. Atmospheric conditions and proximity to sunlight will either hasten or slow this effect; however nothing will stop it altogether. The net affect is that most woods end-up looking the same, especially if you are not sure what to look for. It can be very difficult for instance, to tell the difference between Walnut and Mahogany, in an antique. The figure of the wood can be very helpful in identifying the species; especially if you can reinforce your suspicion by finding a piece of timber that has been relatively unexposed, say in a drawer opening. Over time one does learn to tell the difference with some authority, , although, the unexpected is always waiting to trip one up, so it really isn’t a good idea to get over confident and show off.
www.thewoodexplorer.com/ is the largest database of timber species I know and is a good place to start researching or just familiarising yourself with different timbers. Naturally the colour plates are of new timber.

Banking On Furniture

The recent crisis in the Banking world reminds me of a very similar crisis that started almost exactly twenty years ago, just before Christmas 1989. Personally for me, it was the best thing that ever happened, although I didn’t know it at the time. You see I was running a fairly successful interior refurbishment company. Specialising in the refurbishment of luxury properties in the west end of London; with shared offices just off Bond Street, we also managed to provide a living for thirty people.

As we approached Christmas we were aware of some rumblings in the stock market, but we were happy and confident. We had a full order book with five contracts worth several hundred thousand each, this in addition to some smaller jobs. Life felt good and that Christmas we bought all the staff large hampers. Returning to work directly after the holidays, the phone kept ringing as usual, not with more orders, this time it was cancellations. By mid January the order book was down to a few shelves in Hampstead. So began my law career, or this is what it felt like after five years of endless court cases. Some said we were foolish, spending more money to chase debts and not just declaring bankruptcy, it certainly would have been the easier option, but who then would have paid all the smaller subcontractors whose familys depended on these payments? Sleeping soundly for me is more important than easy.

It was clear, well to me at least that the this recession was deep rooted and would take at least 10 years of recovery I got, phoo-hood for this. Subsequently I was proven right and this was achieved by innovative business and not the Government as they would have you believe.

Anyway, it was 1990 and I was taking a good look at myself and what I wanted to do, I had been given a clean slate and a chance to start over. I realised that I didn’t really like what I had been doing. Contracting at this level was so confrontational and it required one to compromise on principals. I decided to go back where I’d started, to making furniture again and the way of life before I was seduced away from my bench. I thought I was going to miss the lifestyle, but as it turned out I didn’t miss it that much and I have gained so much more in the process. Now I invest my money in timber, as a matter of fact, yesterday I went to negotiate on a large Walnut tree. You know what, it feels a lot safer.

Arts and Crafts Mouvment

The Arts and Craft movement emerged towards the end of the 19th century as a reaction to the increasing industrialisation and over ornamentation of the Late Victorian period. Inspired by the socialist writings of John Ruskin and to some extent those of Carl Marx, the members of the movement who were led by William Morris, looked to the medieval period for their inspiration. The architect AN Pugin led the Gothic revival, while his contemporaries Charles Robert Ashbee, T. J. Cobden Sanderson, Walter Crane, Nelson Dawson, Phoebe Anna Traquair, Herbert Tudor Buckland, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Christopher Dresser, Edwin Lutyens, William De Morgan, Ernest Gimson, William Lethaby, Edward Schroeder Prior,Barnsley brothers Frank Lloyd Wright, Gustav Stickley, Greene & Greene, Charles Voysey, Christopher Whall and artists in the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Were responsible for furniture, buildings, fabrics and paintings.
Generally speaking (there were some contrasting views) all wanted to see an end to the dehumanising effect of the accelerating mechanisation of the industrial age and a return to the master craftsmen. They belived that a single craftsman should be responsible for the whole process of his trade. That machines should only be used for reliving the tedium of repetetif operations or the heaviest of tasks. Some did not even agree with this use of machines. Being a bit of a Luddite myself I do sympathise with this view, however it is taking the romantic vision too far if one is to survive in a competative environment.
Edward Barnsley the son of Sidney Barnsley was a keen proponent of this method of working as was his father and conitnued up to the end of the second world war. Financial difficulties came with the changing nature of work and he was finally forced to accept the need for small batch production and limited machinery.

Early Arts and Crafts furniture was almost exclusivly oak with peged mortise joints. Heavy solid and with wrought hardware. The movment evolved and had far reaching influence that still continues to this day.
Referances of this influence would include:

Europe
**Widely exhibited in Europe, the Arts and Crafts movement's qualities of simplicity and honest use of materials negating historicism inspired designers like Henry van de Velde and movements such as Art Nouveau, the Dutch De Stijl group, Vienna Secession, and eventually the Bauhaus. The movement can be assessed as a prelude to Modernism, where pure forms, stripped of historical associations, would be once again applied to industrial production.
In Russia, Viktor Hartmann, Viktor Vasnetsov and other artists associated with Abramtsevo Colony sought to revive the spirit and quality of medieval Russian decorative arts in the movement quite independent from that flourishing in Great Britain.
The Wiener Werkstätte, founded in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, played an independent role in the development of Modernism, with its Wiener Werkstätte Style.
The British Utility furniture of World War II was simple in design and based on Arts and Crafts ideas.
In Ireland, the Honan Chapel, located in Cork, Ireland, on the grounds of University College Cork, built in 1916 is internationally recognised as representative of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.
[edit] United States
In the United States, the Arts and Crafts Movement took on a distinctively more bourgeois flavor. While the European movement tried to recreate the virtuous world of craft labor that was being destroyed by industrialization, Americans tried to establish a new source of virtue to replace heroic craft production: the tasteful middle-class home. They thought that the simple but refined aesthetics of Arts and Crafts decorative arts would ennoble the new experience of industrial consumerism, making individuals more rational and society more harmonious. In short, the American Arts and Crafts Movement was the aesthetic counterpart of its contemporary political movement: Progressivism.
In the United States, the Arts and Crafts Movement spawned a wide variety of attempts to reinterpret European Arts and Crafts ideals for Americans. These included the "Craftsman"-style architecture, furniture, and other decorative arts such as the designs promoted by Gustav Stickley in his magazine, The Craftsman. A host of imitators of Stickley's furniture (the designs of which are often mislabeled the "Mission Style") included three companies formed by his brothers, the Roycroft community founded by Elbert Hubbard, the "Prairie School" of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Country Day School movement, the bungalow style of houses popularized by Greene and Greene, utopian communities like Byrdcliffe and Rose Valley, and the contemporary studio craft movement. Studio pottery — exemplified by Grueby, Newcomb, Teco, Overbeck and Rookwood pottery, Bernard Leach in Britain, and Mary Chase Perry Stratton's Pewabic Pottery in Detroit — as well as the art tiles by Ernest A. Batchelder in Pasadena, California, and idiosyncratic furniture of Charles Rohlfs also demonstrate the clear influence of Arts and Crafts Movement. Mission, Prairie, and the 'California bungalow' styles of homebuilding remain tremendously popular in the United States today.** (Source Wikipidia )