Repairing a Contemporary Chair - Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration 

Thomas, I couldn't help thinking of you as an orthopedic surgeon treating broken and shattered bones. And after setting and strenthening the bones, you become a plastic surgeon making everything beautiful again. I stumbled upon your videos because I was looking for help with applying teak oil to my neglected outdoor teak bench. I've now binged many hours of your addictive videos. You are a treasure and I wouldn't doubt you have changed and will continue to change the life course of others. Thanks for documenting your work for posterity.

Wow. You can't even tell it was damaged unless you're actively looking. Flawless work!

That badly-broken chair lives again with an unbelievable restoration. It is amazing to watch your patience and skill in making it happen.

Us people that love furniture might call you a "master".....I think you have gone beyond that and become a magician...That was better than GREAT!....Thomas please keep it UP!

That chair should have a nameplate ---- Lazarus! Well done Thomas, you certainly resurrected a pile of firewood. Outstanding colour matching, as usual. Thank you for showing us.

That was OUTSTANDING! That is a job to be extra proud of, I think.

Not just pretty good.... miraculous. Also hats off to the owners for having you do the work in this throw-away world!

You are a miracle worker! I’d have pitched that chair thinking it too far gone. Wow!

I'm always impressed at how good you are at color matching. I was in the piano business for many years and had a cabinet man who was nearly as good as you. :) He said the toughest was ebony; he had 27 shades of piano black. Maybe he was being dramatic - I'd never thought of it before, but when he said that I realized some black pianos are gray, some are blue, some are brown, there were even some old Mason and Hamilns that leaned toward green. It's an art and I really enjoy watching your executions of it. Thank you sir!

Your color matching skills are off the chart! Amazing 👍 Thank you 🙏

Would love to have seen the customer's reaction when you showed them this chair. I doubted you when I first saw it....never again!!

I can't believe you were able to repair that splintery mess. Great work.

Tom that was wonderful work! Thanks for showing us the step by step. Specifically, I want to thank you for the lesson on color matching, something that continues to daunt me. Great video. Great job and a great learning experience. Best regards.

Phenomenal craftsmanship Thomas. I would have thought that chair was for the bin when I first seen it.

I think to 99.9% of the people who sit on that chair would think it’s an original contemporary beautiful chair! Nice work.

While I've never tried to restore a piece of antique furniture, I have tried to repair a piece of modern furniture with splits very like what you showed us in this video. I failed miserably! lol At least that experience gives me a keener appreciation for the knowledge and skill you displayed here. Amazing.

It always amazes me how you take something that looks completely unrepairable and you make it look better than new. This was a prime example. Fantastic job.

I'm never happier than when you post a new video! Amazing work and excellent teaching skills. Thank you!

Thanks Mr J. I have watched you do some incredible work that often leaves me aghast however, this project has been so braw to witness. A truly skilled mannie ye are, yin o’ the best. Again, thanks. G

A work of art and a lesson every time. Even with modern day furniture. I look forward to whatever it is that you bring us next.

I am just amazed how you managed to repair and save this chair. Just think many years ago I threw out a chair that had a broken leg. I failed every now and again to tighten the bolts under the chair and a guest sat down and the leg was shattered. I felt bad for the guest and I quickly said it was my fault for not checking the dining room chairs. That was a lesson to learn about caring for the danish chairs that had bolts to support the legs.

I enjoy watching you so much! I've always felt that I was born in the wrong era and when u work on the vintage pieces, it makes me feel as though those are the things I should have in my home. Thank you for sharing.

Amazing job. I really envy your skills not only with the restoration of the structure, but your keen eye for toning and refinishing. Beautiful work!

Masterful Tom.. seriously the end product was exquisite. Personally I feel most wood workers would have looked at that chair and said it was a total loss

Wow! Repairs like this shows your knowledge and care for your woods. Always I am impressed with your love of what you do. Stay well. Peace.

You're amazing Tom! Can't wait to see the products presentation.

Hey Tom, Wow, I love the detail discription of the steps to doing ( although the camera work has to take a lot of time, and editing) , a quality job ! Thanks for shareing, I always learn something watching your videos.

What a fabulous job. I'm just awe struck at how well you matched the tones there. As always, a joy to watch. Thank you Tom.

Your videos are great. I live in Finland and finding good resources for furniture restoration can be hard. But you make it so clear and easy to understand what you are doing. I have shown your videos to my friends who study restoration. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. :)

Thank you for the in-dept look at repairing a damaged chair. I have a couple of pieces of furniture which suffered childhood damages, now I feel up to the challenge of repairing them. I will take me a whole longer to do than you are showing.

I like watching how you put together the two splintered pieces. In the past I made quite a mess on several occasions trying to do repairs. Hopefully next time I can do better. Thanks

Tom, I am amazed at the finished work, you can hardly even see the breaks or where you put in a new piece of wood. I agree with one of the other posters here, it looks better than "pretty good"!

Love the understatement..."I think it looks pretty good"...….it was brilliant!

Truly amazing rescue. Fascinating to watch the process...

Tom as always perfection! Great job. Great video.

Always something to learn. Great tip for comparing color match. The owners' really must have loved those chairs, I thought the chair was kindling for sure. Very nice work. Always look forward to seeing what you're up to.

Beautiful work. I really enjoy your videos. Thank you.

It's a pretty great!!! It just like a miracle what u have done with that chair!!!! Love ur videos!

Thank you for sharing your Masters instincts ...a beautiful repair !

Your color matching is amazing, Tom!

One more excellent job! Always a learning experience!

Not just pretty good, it is an excellent work of craftsmanship.

Amazing job TOM!

Amazing! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 bravo, bravo, bravo. Saluti dalla Sardegna, Italia.

A mesmerizing master craftsman!!

Tom you are a very talented restorer. Good job.

I'm amazed by the result you achieved. It came a long way!

What a beautiful little bird in the opening.

Thank you Tom...eternally...

Fantastic work! Keep it up!

Great job, Tom. Don't know how I missed this video, I believe I've seen them all. Sometimes two of three times if you're covering something I'm doing or have done previously. And yes.....it looks pretty good! Lol, looks great!

Hi Tom. I think you made that chair better before it was even broken! Amazing repair and color matching, incredible!

You are an artist, a master, thank you.

What an amazing job you did on this broken/splintered chair! I believe you could fix any broken wooden item, and if to damaged I believe you would still give it on heck of a try.

Amazing work.

Wow. I thought to myself “just chuck it in the dumpster”. But you saved it as good as new.

Really brilliant job. Looking at the state of the chair, I know a lot of people that would have just thrown it out. This is a really good demonstration of why wooden furniture is so environmentally friendly. Antique or contemporary pieces can be fixed and look "pretty good" again

Well done again!

Wow! What a difference. You are a magician.

Amazing job !

I think it look's pretty good also. In fact, I think it looks better than pretty good. I think it looks great. Very nice work indeed. Love watching all of your videos.

“Looks pretty good”. I say it looks superb. You are a modest craftsman.

Well done job. Congratulations. Marc

Great work Tom 👏👏👍

Wow you are so talented, what a great job you do, I love watching your videos wish you lived near me, I am in England. Thank you for sharing .

Thank you- very informative, as usual.

Never know to look at it that it was so badly damaged. Great work!

You are a complete wizard!

Amazing job.

Just found your vids, and am enjoying watching you work. I'm in the same game, (albeit on the other side of the Atlantic)and find I have come to the same methods and solutions as you... Great minds really do think alike.

Un trabajo fantástico, exquisito. Felicidades maestro!! (gracias por compartir)

Excellent job!

Love watching your videos. Always

man you never cease amaze me happy New Year

Again...brilliant. Again....my thanks.

Another great restoration.

this is wonderful. thank you.

Tom, I know I am only repeating what others have already said - thank you for sharing these videos; for sharing your decades earned expertise and the value of your attention to detail. Although you have worked on more valuable pieces in your videos, perhaps more worthy of your skill, this repair is strikingly unnoticeable. How long would you anticipate such a repair, right at the point of tension in the rear legs, might last?

An amazing fix

Very nice as always.

Great router lesson/explanation.

Those modern spray on factory finishes are the devil's work when it comes to matching them. Very well done.

Magic. Very thanks.

Good Grief. Clumsy Oaf Movers must have franchises everywhere. My Mother got moved by them several times over the last 20 years of her life. When she died all the furniture qualified as firewood.

A magic repair Tom.

One of your best.

Very interesting your repair on the "Tenon Joint' !!! You have no fear of 'Murky Waters!!!!

Looks REALLY good to me!

It looks better than the original. Great job.

What a huge job for one chair, but nicely done. (I also liked the blue bird in the opening shot).

Great stuff!

What an amazing job! You can't even see the breaks.

Hi Tom, inspired by your repairs to this chair I am repairing a chair of my own that had a similar issue and so far it’s going great. The question I have is why and when you use the Gold sandpaper, I see that across your videos sometimes you switch to gold sandpaper for some specific sanding and then you go back to normal sandpaper. Thank you and keep up the great content!

You did amazing! That was a tough restoration!

That looked like a pretty tough restoration. You can be proud of the result I think.

Great Job! great explanation. Probably something most people would have considered a total loss.

Nice repair job.

Hey Tom . . . you are too humble . . . at the end you say, "I think it looks pretty good." It looks great! Your color matching is amazing . . . A request: Could you do a video some time talking about the products you use? The suppliers I currently use have very limited selection of spray toners here in the South . . .

Amazing skill.

That was a difficult job. Very nice result.