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Furniture Repairs and Restoratio
Restoration is not only a craft. It is an attitude. It is an attempt to restore pieces to their original state with an allowance for the effects of time. I do not confine this approach to the repair of antique furniture. My rules of restoration apply to any piece of furniture whether it dates from 1660 or 1960.
As a skilled cabinet maker, I allow my personality to show in the making of a new furniture piece. As a restorer I am not afforded such luxuries. As a cabinet maker I would quite rightly shudder at the sight of butt and nailed drawers in an antique chest. As a restorer I accept them as part of the nature of the piece.
Nearly all commercial refinishers utilize a tank of chemicals in a vat to submerge furniture, or a flow table where a steady stream of finish stripper is used to douse furniture and remove old finish. These techniques do irreparable damage to glued joints and veneered surfaces.
There are very few companies that will put time over profits to insure that the furniture being refinished does not get structurally damaged. Since loosening of damaged joinery is not evident immediately, the client rarely holds the refinisher responsible when joints eventually fail.
My first rule of restoration is to do as little as possible in the way of repair and replacement of parts. A step-by-step process is used--starting with moderate techniques and working up the scale to more severe techniques as needed.
