Perhaps my most admired American architect, Louis Kahn, said that talent without tenacity is wasted. Both are evident in all your work, but very much so in this lovely, stubborn chair. It's what makes your videos enjoyable, Tom. ...Barry
I found myself imagining some of the aromas as you worked, particularly the mustiness of the old rush seat as you removed it, the sharpness of the vinegar, and the sweet oily smell of the polish.
He started using the vinegar and my nose wrinkled and eye began to water a little. . . strong suggestion, even through the screen and 3000 miles away. :)
I wish society still valued real quality wood furniture that lasts decades. My favorite part of my past job was repairing furniture , but the stuff I repaired would break in 1 to 3 years out of the factory.
I used to repair furniture like that too when I ran a clearance center for a large furniture retailer. The American made stuff, at the time, was actually pretty decent. The overseas stuff was horrible…., and often not cost effective to repair owing to grossly substandard materials and construction.
I really enjoy your videos. Watching them, I was able to restore my grandfather's mission style arm chair and my grandmother's cushioned rocking chair, both from the 1890s. I was able to reuse the horsehair from both seats. I did have to replace the springs on grandma's chair. Now my cousin, who says that she was promised the chairs, wants them for her daughters. I did that good a job. Thank you so much.
I’ll bet after that restored chair was delivered the customer looked at their other chairs and wondered if they should all get the scratch cover treatment! That chair really perked up and looked great!
My grandmother had a set of four chairs like that in her old house. I'm sure they were reproductions. I never had any idea how old that they might (or might not) be back in the day, but around the turn of the century seems about right. It's amazing how well that old finish responded to the scratch pad/oil, but the bees wax final finish really brought out the antique quality of the wood. As always, it's great to see another one of your videos, Tom. Can't wait until we get another one. :)
I thought the parts chair would get some new parts , patterned on the removed elements? Will it just be scrapped? Nice work on the complete chair though. There used to be a practice of making a complete set by copying all the elements of one chair and putting old with new to make extra chairs all of which had at least one old element
WOW...I missed the 100K celebration it appears! Congratulations to one of the finest restoration artists I have ever had the chance to see work. Bravo!
I so enjoy watching Tom restore antique furniture and realize that some day I will have my 19th Century parlor set restored. Was my great grandfather's who soldiered at Gettysburg (at age 15), was wounded, and lived to give his life serving as a physician during the Spanish Flu in 1919. I'm sure they would deserve a superior restoration but not sure where they fit after restoration, parlors being rare birds today.
I think you got very lucky with that scratch restorer, Tom, I was expecting a lot more restoring of the finish, but it came out great! Now looking forward to see how you restore the other wreck and see how you do rushwork! ;-)
I noticed you got a brand new scraper with what looks like a carbide insert, ( very nice) I bet that will take a very long time to dull especially with four edges. I sure do love working with high quality tools!
Hi Tom. I've been refurbishing an 1896 Singer sewing machine cover. All in all it's in pretty good shape, but the veneer has blistered over the years - not cracked but with no adhesion underneath. I've seen you release glue joints with heat many times so I tried giving the veneer a little heat, just enough to soften the glue underneath, and clamped it up. Lo and behold the veneer has grabbed onto the glue and it's holding really well. Thanks for the inspiration!
I was listening to the rush creak, and move, and had the exact same feelings. I'm sure he could repair it, if it failed, but as they say, "It's original only once"l
Amazing transformation of the finish--you did nothing harsh or invasive, no chemicals used, and the original finish came to the surface beautifully. I'm guessing you're doing the same finish restoration for all of the chairs in the set. Watching your careful, painstaking restorations, I'm thinking that it takes more than craftsmanship to do the work you do--you also have to have patience. I've never seen you "rush" a job or take the quick way out. The results speak for themselves.
Thank you! Yes, I lucked out with this one. I will always save a finish when possible, but it all depends on what the finish is (always unknown) and how badly it's damaged
How can anyone give this master craftsman a thumbs down? He is in the top 2 best of all time for me, and I know something about carpentry and restoration.
Another "pretty good" video. I am so glad that your vast knowledge and love of antique furniture is here for all to see. I get so excited when I see your notification and I get to watch good quality content! Love from California!
i love hide glue. was introduced to it 20 years ago when i was dabbling in player piano repair. i like the ready mix old brown or titebond liquid hide glue. there are places where a fresh batch of hot hide glue comes in handy over the liquid hide, but i use the liquid hide for many projects
Looks amazing Thomas can’t believe how nice and stable you got it , I’m always a bit dubious sitting on those old chairs as there so unstable but you certainly took out the ugly and made it beautiful again great job my friend 👏👏👍
Very nice video! Good call on the old chair. I had chairs from my antique set. my four hundred pound sister in law sat on one and broke it. I cried and cried. I wish I had saved it. After she broke it she said *what cheep furniture" I just wanted to just die. That has bothered me for a very long time. She never apologized for it never. It was very sad it hurt our relationship . Let's just say she never took responsibility for her huge size. If I only knew the chair could have been saved I would have payed anything to do so. Thanks to good people like you it's possible .
Great job as usual. As a youth I decided to clean the living room for my Mother to surprise her. I used scratch cover because I had seen her use it. Not knowing I needed to be sure to remove the excess I put her white doilies back on the sofa tables. Yep, stained everyone of them LOL. My dear Grandmother crocheted her new ones and all was well.
AWESOME!!! Love that style. Great early reproduction of a Hudson Valley chair. Seeing the set together must be stunning. Really enjoyed the video Mr. Johnson !!
Don't you just hate those nails used to pin the joints 😣. I have been 'Punching' them in to the tenon dowel, with the hope of them not going all the way through to the other side, and then being able to pull the tenon dowel out without tearing up the mortice and doing lots more damage. I was holding my breath near the end of the leg stretching, waiting for the reed seat to start tearing. Phew 😁. Nice job.
WASN'T SURE WAX COULD GO OVER SCRATCH COVER. NOW I KNOW! SURPRISED THE OWNER DIDN'T MIND SACRIFICING THE PARTS CHAIR, THOUGH. FINISHED PRODUCT LOOKS GREAT, TOM!
Reducing a set of 8 to 7 seems counter productive, I have heard of a set of 3 expanded to 4 by taking a bit here and there. I hope you recreate the 8th...I wait with bated breath...
WOW Tom, that came out great, of course ! I hope the 'parts' chair gets restored one day though - maybe a project for when you have nothing to do ! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Take care Tom and thanks for your videos :-)
Great Job in bringing this old chair back to life. I was wondering do you ever notice that chairs no longer sit flat after a reglue job? What method do you use to bring them them back to sitting square on all four feet. Do you sand them on a belt sander or saw off a sliver with your Japanese pull saw?
Thanks! It does happen. Typically I put a chair on the table saw, figure out which one (or 2) need shortening, and use the stationary belt sander. I have had some so far off I've needed the saw but that is unusaul
I was selfishly hoping you’d repair both chairs. I love watching you turn legs etc on your lathe. I bet they’ll be bring the others in for a quick ‘do up’. Hi to Ella. 👍👏
