Furniture Save of the month.. Buy old stuff people

Howdy folks! It’s been a great month at the shop! Aside from the cold slowing things down a bit we are cursing along. Those chairs from my last blog sold fast, thanks to criaglist they now reside in Harlem NY.

So here is the new piece of the month! It’s an unbelievably large 54”round oak table with a massive base. It’s all solid oak & has eight 11” leaves.. Yep 8 leaves! So this baby opens to just about 12’ long. You could even fit a few people you don’t like around this one. They would be so far away you would have to talk to them. If you’re a do-it yourselfer its yours for 450.00 or I can restore it complete for 1500.00. So the question is do you have the vision? Look at the other Oak table on my blog to see its potential, if your vision is limited.

~chairman

Now this is Furniture baby..

So one of my last blogs I was pointing out how bad new furniture is. So today I thought I would pop a couple of examples of what a really nice antique piece can become with a little work.
So the picture on the left is a restored Victorian era Eastlake dresser.

On the lower right is how I found it. I picked this up at a house sale for something like 50 bucks. House sales are always a great way to pick old pieces up. Most people want or need to sell what they have so you can alway get something for cheap. I usually hit them on the last day to get a good price (or for free sometimes).

Anyway a couple of things to think about when looking at buying something like this. Make sure it has all the pieces, things like the molding, wooden drawer pulls etc. Metal pulls are easier to replace, but if your missing a wooden bit and you can't fabricate news one, you'll have to bring it to me then $$$.

This was a great score, because it had most of its pieces and its a good antique. The body is solid Walnut, not something you will find in anything new. Its an easy finish to remove so stripping is a brezze and the construction on these pieces is usually fantastic.

What I decided to do on this piece was a simple oil & wax finish, something you could do at home. Its a nice natural look and it only it takes minutes to do.

Instead of me rehashing the how to part, i suggest you go to one of my old blogs (the danish modren one) here is a link http://tinyurl.com/38ng69 it covers all the how to of an oil finish.

So I worked on this pieces for a total of 8 hrs over a couple of days. It cost 50-clams to buy and about 40 in supplies and now will sell in my shop for about 650.00. Its funny, so for about a 100 bucks and 8 to 12 hours of your timer you could have this. Or you could bring it to me and I will restore it for 850.00.

Or for 1800 bucks you could have this piece of pretty compressed paper! that will expand for you when you add a little water..

STOP don't buy that new furniture, get an antique !

Please stop buying new furniture. This will be a quick blog but i hope it makes you think.. I repair and restore furniture for a living right, so i see allot of things.

Here is quick look at a brand new "Lane" desk (1800.00 new). It was dropped off a moving truck landing on its leg. No the leg didn't break the side piece broke.

It cracked open like a pinyatta at a birthday, but instead of candy all that came out was paper.

Yes paper, its crazy but this brand new piece of "fine furniture" was nothing but mahogany veneer on Masonite or pressed paper.. Check out the picture, its sad.

So before you buy new consider buy a used piece of furniture and restoring it. Anything pre 1980 will be better then anything made today. Think about this; you will pay or can pay 2k and up for just a good quality dining room table. For 1000,00 you can buy a complete used dining room set you can restore it for less then a whole new dining room set and you will still have a better quality set for cheaper.

But If you do decide to buy new no worries the chairman can fix it..

tic toc here is the finished clock

It been so so long, I know you have been waiting to see what happened to that clock! Well here it is! Enjoy.. Goto my last blog to see the "before" pictures

At the end of the day we had a beautifully restored and perfectly working Victorian clock!

The Chairman Returns !

Howdy All !
I am still here & I do care.. I will have a blog update soon. Life has been crazy, getting married , work & life..


Please check my photo page on flickr (links on the right). You can see my next how-to with Rob & his butcher block top table on the right.




Today I am off to a chamber of commerce meeting (laughing) Yes, I am a chamber member someone has got to keep these people in check.

Please check out my updated website !
http://www.chairmanrestoration.com

Danish Modern, Mid century Modern Oh My ! Restored !

This weeks Piece !!Here is a nice & quick Job for the terminally hip, fatally cool crowd. I will delve into the wonderful world of Danish Modern furniture. No it’s not just about Chairs & Antiques with the chairman. Mid century modern stuff comes though the shop all the time ! I love the clean lines & working with teak.

Just a quick disclaimer: This job will require a good respirator & needs to be done in a well ventilated area. I will not be held responsible for the brain cells you will lose if you don't use a respirator & follow all the manufactures detail instructions on the finish you use.

Sweet now that, that's over.. here it is !

It's a very funky & unusual Danish modern Umbrella stand. I had never seen one before this. (It is for sale in my shop) Best of all I got it from the side of the road !

First, I like to clean the piece with denatured Alcohol & extra fine steel wool (0000) This will clean all the built up grime that's on your piece. Make sure your wearing your respirator while doing this.. After you've cleaned the piece, dry it with a paper towel.

After it has dried I take 320 grit wet/dry sand paper & sand the pieces down. You’re looking to do a little more then scuff the finish. This will help get rid of the rest of the grim & prep the old finish for re-oiling. Now wipe all that dust off with a paper towel dampened with denatured alcohol.

Now that its prepped, let’s get to oiling ! For this piece I went with teak oil, it’s easy to use & the finish builds up quickly. I did a karate kid style process, Rag on rag off grass hopper.. Soak your rag & apply your oil (wearing your mask) Covering all the wood lightly making sure everything is damp. Let the oil soak in for about thirty minutes , then wipe the excess off with a paper towel. Pop your next coat on in about an hour following the same process.

I went with just two coats of oil on the umbrella stand. I let it dry for about 10hrs or overnight. Then as a finishing touch I added a coat of butchers wax, that will give the finish a little extra protection.

So while I waited for the wood to dry I cleaned the metal holder & repainted the inside. So all said & done here is the finished product !
If you have any question just shoot me an email chairguy5@gmail.com !