Chair leg repair is tricky. Can you tell which leg was broken completely in half? Neither can I unless I get about an inch away.
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Month: December 2015
Custom made pantry shelving
Converting Empty Wall into Pantry Shelving
In a previous post I showed pictures of pantry shelving we were building to enhance the client’s use of an empty wall. Here is the finished product just prior to the client loading it up which demonstrates that even a pantry cabinet can be attractive when done properly. Prior to this being installed, it was simply an empty wall serving as a mud room between the garage and kitchen. In filling this wall with pantry shelving the client created significantly more kitchen storage space with a minimum impact on the overall footprint of the room. The shelves only protrude 12 inches outward from the wall.
Al of the shelving was made such that it can be adjusted to accommodate a variety of size items. Additionally, we added a little flair by breaking the piece into a top and bottom and trimming out the middle with some nice molding. This breaks up the large piece nicely and takes it from the ordinary to an attractive addition.
Cedar Chest Restoration
Here is the cedar chest restoration job we recently completed. We’re quite pleased with the results.
How we approached the Cedar Chest Restoration…
We started by stripping off all the old finish. This chest had been “loved” on for many years and what little of the original finish that was remaining was in rough shape – so we had no choice but to take it down to the bear wood. Since we’re a professional shop, we have an overflow system that allows stripper to be pumped through a fluid hose with a brush on the end. The piece sits in a shallow tub while we gently scrub and rinse it down with stripper. This “washing” off of the finish is very efficient and not harmful to the piece.
After we had all of the old finish stripped off we wiped it clean with lacquer thinner and left to dry for a day. Once dried there were a few areas of veneer that were damaged so we repaired these areas prior to staining. In this case we used one our own stain colors which is similar to the color Minwax’s English Chestnut. After staining with our own stain, we air brushed some black stain around some of the edges and crevices. This enhances the details and assist in bringing back some of the patina that was removed when stripping.
Notice in the picture below we saved the advertisement that was attached to the inside of the chest and reapplied once done with the restoration. Lane must have had a collaboration with an insurance company that offered insurance. How cool is that?? But given inflation you’d probably need a bit more than $100.00.
Finally we applied several coats of lacquer, rubbing out in between coats. The final result is a nice soft luster on a piece that will last another couple generations.
