Unbelievable that someone could put that seat on backwards and make those terrible repairs to such beautiful chairs. I really love your chair videos. It’s like a furniture anatomy class.
Yes, it's a shame they were repaired poorly. That's part of my reason for sharing videos like this - to show the right way to repair things. Thanks for being a subscriber Jill! Scott
Scott you're a walking repair encyclopedia galactic edition! I learn as much about what to do as what NOT to do watching your presentations. You should write a book! Wish I lived closer! I would work for you free for a year just to get the hands on experience. You will go down as a guru in the wood working repair history books! I refer everyone I know to your instruction when they insist on a DIY repair.
Scott in my years in working with teak, it is a very oily wood like you mentioned. Before I glue teak together the last step before gluing I wipe the joint with acetone to remove the oils then immediately glue the joint. If you wait for just a couple of hours before gluing you will have to repeat. You might be able to use Lacquer thinner also
This video proves that wood furniture repair is an art. Scott, you are a wonderful teacher and artist...a VERY PATIENT artist! I learn something new with each video. Thanks for sharing!
great stuff. I've been a carpenter and cabinet maker for 20+ years and I still learn new things from your videos. Teak is a beautiful wood and I'm glad to watch those chairs get a second life.
The chairs you have there are beautiful and typical good teak from mid last century. I’m homebased in Thailand where we have several old teak houses in Chiang Mai, a heartland of the old teak industry. Much of the inventory is also old teak. Old teak behaves differently than new teak. It has to do with how the tree has grown and been harvested. Old teak is more resistant to termites, which is crucial, to avoid the house and furniture being eaten up from the inside. We have had some bad experiences and now we’re only using old teak from old teak houses taken down, available in secondhand woodshops to maintain and develop. It’s not cheap, but worth it in the long run. It’s a challenging wood to work with. Brittle but strong at the same time. I still haven’t found the best tools to work with. In modern teak furniture there’s often sapwood, bearing the sign of modern forestry, where there’s no time for the right, but slow processes to take place. Natural old teak is beautiful in its natural colour. When exposed to weather and sunshine oiling it will be nedeed. It would be very interesting if you could do more examples of this kind of teak furniture repairs. Thank you for your very good and instructive videos.
Just restored 4 of the very same chairs, also with the seats attached the wrong way round! The bottom stretchers needed clamping because there were gaps; the top was rock solid and did not need taking apart. Apart from that they needed a good clean and oiling and are now beautiful chairs again. Many thanks for your brilliant video.
They are FABULOUS LOOKING. You’re a PRO RESTORER for sure. Your clients will be thrilled. What fantastic repairs. The before and after pix are STUNNING. Well done Sir, well done.
Как жаль, что я не понимаю ваш язык...но, даже без звука очень поучительно! Каждый раз так захватывающе интересно, что забываю сделать подписку. Не забыть бы сейчас...
Great repair. I appreciate your little pun about being picky. I enjoy all your videos and will share more. Hope you reach your goal. Thanks for the great video.
¡GRANDE MAESTRO! Gracias por compartir sus conocimientos y experiencias en la restauración de muebles. Espero que se cumplan sus metas y proyectos en este año. Felicitaciones y saludos desde Lima-Perú.
Scott, thank you for your perfect inspirational channel. I am looking forward to each and every new video you make. It is really an art you do. I wish you all the best in 2022. Greetings from Slovakia.
I know someone with 6 Modern Chairs that you recently met who wants to bring them to Ontario from Chicago for you to refurbish. This can be the only choice!
One of your comments was in reference to polyurethane finishes. I build furniture as a hobby, and your comment about adding a polyurethane finish surprised me and made me think long and hard. What is the finish that I should be using on my furniture? A lacquer? Most of my work is in oak, but I do a little cherry and a bit of walnut. And of course I do work in pine and even some plywood for garage shelving and the like. Thanks, I learn from you with each video!
I've seen what you mean about avoiding using a mallet for the demo part. RU-vid algorithms sent me another furniture repair shop, to where they've used a mallet. The mallet does make quicker work of the demo part, but as you stated you also risk unnecessary damages that seem like they can be avoided. Not knocking them for the final product is in that wow faze, and I know it comes to an each their own style of demo.
Nice repair. I however would just pattern shape a new frame. Having studied and apprenticed in Denmark working extensively with teak I would remake the parts rather than attempt to repair a repair. Teak micro fractures in hundreds of little areas around the main fracture. Just a setup for a sudden failure and liability. When any of us repairs chairs it’s important to be aware that any mid century modern chair made in Denmark has a threshold of 250 lbs. Anyone weighing in excess of that will be in danger of breaking the chair. As to finishing Teak the Danish furniture Manufactures Assoc. specified a sealer followed by a Danish oil. Continued success!
Hope commenting boosts you toward 100K. Looks like you were using JB weld quick epoxy. I really like Lee Valley item 56Z7701, which is also a 1:1 and can be quite minutely doled out for small batches. I used to be a big proponent of West Systems, but often found myself with leftover resin or hardener despite being careful about using full strokes when pumping, etc. I’m always on the lookout for long open time alternatives. stay well, Len
Abracadabra. Just like magic. Well done again Scott. As a thought... Would you use something like acetone on the oily wood joint to help 'Dry' it out before applying the glue to give it the extra bond strength ??
Mid Century is all the rage now, especially Scandinavian design. I’m just wondering about these pieces. Are they solidly made? Were the chairs mostly made with design in mind, and less so durability? For example we have dressers and tables that have lasted for centuries. These pieces are from the fifties.
Is the design of the chair correct in that use would not slowly ruin the chair or are we seeing damage possibly caused by moving or such? I ask because I am making a dinning room set and the design of the chairs (not mine) concerns me.
The joints in the chair legs were finger jointed as well as doweled. From my perspecitve, that's a strong joint for a chair of this design. If you're looking for the strongest possible chair, this is not the design for that. Does that help? Scott
Is there a special kind of epoxy I should be using? I have a leg of a dresser that the dowel broke and split the trim piece it was attached to. The vainer just pealed away so I plan to fill the void with epoxy and set the leg in place and clamp the vainer back in place.
That would be a nice video to see how to test for the type of top coat used on the piece. Happen to have one of those or do you have to pay you for that info?
Really great tutorial Scott, lots of excellent information and tips in this one. I'm doing my part to help you get to your 100K. thanks for taking the time and for sharing your expertise. ECF
Thanks a lot! At 37:10, on another clip (the American Windsor Chair), you apply polyurethane as a finish, but here you advise to stay away from polyurethane finish. Could you please elaborate?
Yes. The window chair I repaired was not an antique and the original finish was polyurethane. MCM furniture generally has a lot of value so using polyurethane (the wrong finish for it's time period) destroys the value of the piece. Does that help? Scott
@@FixingFurniture, awesome. And thank you for the enlightenment, I just found your channel as I need to do some repairs, on a wood sculpture and a wobbling bedside table. Glad I found your clips
Thank you for this wonderful video. Can the epoxy used at the end also be used to fill voids? I am a little confused about the two epoxies you used. Again, thank you!
Hey Scott! I'm learning from you and appreciate all of your tips and videos! Quick question, at 29:07 when you applied the two part epoxy and let it sit to dry did you clamp it? Is there a reason not to clamp it? Thanks so much for all your help!
I know this is mostly a re-finishing channel, but I wonder about two things. Based on your experience, are there chair designs (of any age) that simply aren’t designed well and are likely to fail? Along with that, in designing modern chairs, are there “classic” or traditional techniques that should be avoided because they are destined to fail? Sometimes I look at chairs such as those in this video and think of ways they could have been constructed differently to avoid some of these problems.
Beautifully done! I have a strange question: could someone train as a furniture restorer without going through training as a wood worker or furniture maker? Something like an Art restorer, for example.
Yes, those joints are not coming apart. To repair it with hide glue would have required extensive replacement of wood, which would have been visually noticeable.
The seat being as far forward of the front leg joints probably caused the damage. Also probably the owner thought that the seat being as far forward was artistic, and added to the mid century aesthetic.
Hey Scott, you said that putting poly on furniture like that destroys the value. Is that because it's not period specific or is there something more damning about using polyurethane as a finish on fine furniture?
When furniture is restored, it should be restored with the finish of that time period. I have nothing against polyurethane as a finish, but it's not a finish for vintage furniture. Does that answer your question? Scott
I am surprised that is not a lacquer finish (unless refinished somewhere along the line). Almost all the furniture I've repaired (thousands of pieces) has had lacquer of some kind. It has lots of production advantages: sprayable, very quick drying, and easy to repair finish damage. I have had customers (presumably trying to impress me) talk about the "poly" on their factory furniture. I roll my eyes. While I do occasionally use it on my projects, it's not my go-to finish. A friend of mine calls it "polyoneverythane." Unfortunately non-poly varnish (alkyd) is getting harder to find. Good video!
