Restoring an American Empire Footstool - Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration 

Very nice. Incredible to think the original maker had the luxury of using Rosewood as the base material. How times have changed. Well done sir.

Today has been a rough day at work dealing with a couple of traumatic cases. As usual I came straight to bed because of my own disabilities and being in too much pain and too fatigued to carry on. I went straight on to RU-vid and there’s a Thomas Johnson video I haven’t seen. Suddenly everything was at peace with the world, I am taken to a place occupied by one skilful true gentleman and beautiful furniture of a bygone age. As I watch Thomas the stresses of the day disappear and my only thoughts are my admiration of a true craftsman. I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds these videos a beautiful escape from the trials and tribulations of daily life. I’m not sure if Thomas is aware of the impact his videos have, but I’m truly appreciative thank you. The piece of furniture was especially beautiful, I love aged rosewood and your repairs were excellent as usual. I often find these small understated pieces of antiquity especially beautiful. I’ve started using hid glue over the last few months and I'm starting getting better at judging the right consistency. I use one of those waxing machine for warming up my glue and for the amounts I use it seems to be very efficient. It has a thermostat for me to alter the temperature. Another great video, thank you very much.

I love it when Mr. Johnson says "I think it looks pretty good." A master crafstman giving himself a very modest compliment. After each video I always think to myself what an amazing job he has done, and I mean 'amazing' in the literal sense of the word; it amazes me how he accomplishes such perfection and beauty in a few hours/days. Thank you so much for sharing your genius Mr. Johnson.

Tom, I joined your channel about 40 days ago and I am halfway through your videos. I am amazed! This is a treasure trove and a great privilege to see your work. Thank you very much for sharing your work and the love of your craft.

A BEAUTIFUL JOB, AS USUAL TOM. AMERICAN EMPIRE HAS NEVER CAUGHT ON, BUT THERE ARE MANY GOOD THINGS GOING FOR IT. THIS PIECE FOR EXAMPLE HAS A WONDERFUL LOOK TO IT, SOLID YET ELEGANT.

Tom, my biggest challenge is matching the stain and finish when I do repairs. You are an absolute master at that. I guess part of the art is the years of experience, which I will never have. Even so, I learn a lot from each of your videos. Thanks.

Mr. Johnson, you have such a great eye and such patience. It is truly a pleasure watching you work.

The area itself makes for a very peaceful and enjoyable place to work in. Stool is beautiful! Never even thought of furniture in such a way till now that I grew old! Late in the day- sadly!

Knowledge, experience, patience, Thomas Johnson has it all. Great job!

I want to sit in a corner of your workshop and want to see you restoring the wood work,i realy dont know why i feel satisfy and relax while watching your videos.You do your work with a lot of patience and dedication.Salute to your work

All the sanding and refinishing made the grain and color of the wood so much more beautiful. The question on whether to refinish antiques is, I suppose, up to the owner. But it seems letting it stay looking aged is more important to some people, than having the piece look as beautiful as possible.

Once again I find that watching your work to be peaceful and gratifying!!

Had a footstool very similar to yours in my Parent’s home. The top was hinged on narrow side and inside the box were kept his shoe polishing necessaries. Brought back a flood of memories, have never seen one like it.

YOU ARE A WIZARD,,,THAT WAS FABULOUS! Love the trick of "pulling a pattern" with sticky tape,,,,SWEET!

Been working wood for over fifty years still learning getting there after watching your videos from England

Beautiful finish. It has a nice, velvety sheen; not overly shiny.

This stool is so cute.. Your repair, is so amazing

I really wish that I had known someone who was into restoration when I was a teenager. I spent a lot of years trying to find what what I would like to do and having grown up in the 80's all we heard constantly was, "choose well, because you got to make money you know"! What a load of garbage. Had our teachers and guidance counselors been more about finding what you love and goes well with your talents. I would love to restore antiques. But I guess those were the times then. Thanks so much for this fantastic channel!

Thank you always a pleasure watching a master at work.

Amazing as usual. You have a way of taking such a light hand to projects that it might be the most important thing to be learned from you. Even the most heavily damaged pieces you have a way of not making a job bigger than it has to be. Thank you for the time you put into these videos sir.

Such a beautiful Empire stool. Even it looked prouder after your repairs. You are a Master! I love the nature vignettes you present at the beginning and end of your video. Stay well, and thank you. Peace

Beautiful foot stool. I too could watch you do your magic on your restorations. I have a great appreciation of a few old furniture pieces that I have just from watching your videos and have learned to protect your furniture and provide the right environment for the wood. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your talents, as each piece of restoration requires a lot of planning and skill.

Tom you have yet again embraced your penchant for perfection. Excellent work!

Hi...I absolutely love your attention to detail....great work !!!!

Thank you, Thomas. Every veneer repair I see you do gives me more confidence to tackle my own restoration of an Empire highboy with bevel mirror. Past awkward repairs have made the project a bit more intimidating. Wish me luck!

Such a nice job. I always enjoy your color matching and the precise way you do the insertion of the pieces of veneer. The use of the tape as a re-locarion tool after applying glue is brilliant, as is your filling and leveling with various materials. Also you have such a good knack at sanding. I just always enjoy your shows.

Tom, I could watch you do veneer repairs all day. Very hypnotic. One small request - Before and afters of the most significant repairs would be awesome... How the piece will be seen for the next hundred years and such. Keep up these amazing work!

Is always a pleasure to see your videos and learn to work wood, regards from the other side of the Atlantic...

After watching most if not all of your videos I find that the gentle and precise way you explain things and the amazing results you achieve are almost therapeutic in nature. Keep up the excellent work it's a shear joy to watch.

I love watching you work. I work with wood and know very little about finishing it. So you have really helped me. Thank you.

Absolute beautiful work once more Mr. Johnson! I enjoy watching your videos so much again. I wait for time to pass and I watch them over again. I've watched other restorations but none can compare. I'm not putting them down, it just have different techniques. Thank you for sharing.

Such a beautiful job!!

Veneering over the same wood was very common in Victorian pianos. The lid of my piano has a book-matched mahogany veneer over a mahogany core. I’m not totally sure of the reason, but I remember hearing it was to make the piece more stable and prevent warping. But I’ve surely never seen it done on a footstool before, thanks for the video, Tom

I love it when I see a simple technique and wonder why I didn't think of that. Attaching the small repair piece with tape and then bending the tape back to apply the glue. Just did such a repair on a not quite detached piece yesterday and tried my best not to remove the piece completely for fear of not getting it re-attached properly. Thanks! As usual outstanding video.

I have to admit I like seeing the old woodworking machines used as much as the restoration.

Looks good, love the bird intros as well as your vlog

Once again, ‘Pretty good’!!!

Another amazing job and great video! You’re by far my favorite to watch.

Another great video, you are a true master! Can't get enough of your videos, you should have a television show!

Watching you work was a fine way to spend my lunch break Tom. Your colour matching is always impressive, and the use of the bee's wax and oil finish was spot on. Thanks for posting.

So meticulous. A pleasure to watch. I turn the sound off (I’m deaf), and turn the captions on, and watch your videos like that.

It looks beautiful!

Great work. I like that little piece you made for the missing profile. Your knowledge of the woods you work with does not end. 'East Indian rose wood' just one example. Thanks again for posting and showing the importance sharp tools.

Superb, as always.

Not a single video you've made that I haven't learned something from. This is such satisfying work and you obviously chose the right profession. I need to go sharpen my chisels too. Cheers.

Just gorgeous.

I’m amazed at your work! So precise! Enjoy watching your procedure. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! You have taught me so much. 👏🏼👏🏼👍🏻

Hi Tom man I love to see you work it is always with so much love that you work by the way I am from South Africa

Really lovely!!!

Tom, I discovered your channel only yesterday, much too late is an understatement. I really enjoy your craftmanship and the effort you put in making your video's, I am hooked, best regards Paul

It looks fantastic! Hope you had a wonderful summer!

Very nice job Tom. Nice footstool too! Thank You Once Again. Rich

Another great one ... thank you Thomas !!!

always feel relaxed watching you doing your magic

Another brilliant job done Thomas, regards from the UK

What a great technique of fitting a veneer piece with tape. Excellent. I’ll file that in my mind for future work!

Great repair!

It's relaxing how you work That kind of furnitures have many details, forms and requires patience and skills You are a Master 👌

Another master piece Tom! Thanks for always sharing your videos with us.😎👍JP

That is a phenomenal piece of restoration work! You are very talented, Sir! I love this video!

Tom Johnson, furniture whisperer

Very good job :) Thank you :) It's always pleasure to watch your videos.

Looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing your talent and skill!!

Another great piece of work - it's a real pleasure to watch you - thanks for your videos :-)

Love your attention to details, looks great!

Tom, excellent video...as usual. Thanks for sharing.

I’m so glad you are uploading. I love your videos.

It looks great and it has a nice shape.

That's so beautiful, I could never put my feet up on it....Nice work!

Thanks for really great videos! Could you please do a video on different types of glue and when and why you chose to use them in different circumstances?

Lovely bit of work and very well-edited video

As always amazing!!

It really looks really good!

Great work as usual, thanks.

Nice to see u my teacher..u look very well...thanks for sharing.

Great job and video, as always - thanks for posting and best regards.

I would like to thank you ,my girlfriends parents are moving and we found in the garage a 6 leg low mid century bench unfortunately the plywood was unsavaable but the edging and legs and strechers were still solid, I was able to save the edging by using heat to break the Hyde glue joints using heat and so when I have time I can remake the bench Thank you for the knowledge

What a nice way to digest Friday Lunch...cheers...rr from Normandy

Looks pretty good!

He reminds me of an Emerson or Thoreau what with his love of nature -as well as his masterful woodworking.

love your channel!

People bring you the neatest things.

Amazing what can be achieved with a bit of knowledge.

The end result looks beautiful like always, it is a pleasure to see you share your work. Although it surprised me such an uneven patch at 9:54...crack was filled with putty...it amazed me because you always do such precise cuts..it seems like if the old veneer was not squared with the chisel?

I think it looks pretty good for 200 years old.

Thanks for the great video. How do you decide when to use oil stain v. dye stain v. toner? Your finishing techniques always amaze me.

Salam, always waiting for your videos, if you were in roman era,you would be declared as "GOD OF RESTORATION"

Good to see a Thomas Johnson video again. It's been a while. I guess the underlying rosewood just didn't look good enough?

Is it ok to get rid of "alligatoring" and have a vintage/antique piece retain it's value? I always thought a piece had to be untouched, except for drastic intervention..... Impressed by your skills and professionalism..... Question: Do you have a problem with restoring an antique to new like pristine finish?

Imagine the stories it has. 1830s

Well done, maestro !! I would love to be your apprentice

Excelente !!!!

Love your videos, have some experience in restoration, 6 or 7 pieces but want to learn so much more. Other than hide glue being more era correct to your restorations / repairs, is there any other reason you use it as opposed to modern wood glue? Have some veneer replacement and repair on the work table now. It's shelf life for a weekend warrior like myself may seen perhaps out of my league. Would love to know your opinion. Keep up the fantastic work!

Could it be putting on the varnish or shellac during times with high humidity cause the bumps in the finishes

good stuff

That was great! I am a little curious as to how you managed to match the rosewood using walnut stain and perfect brown - how does that match the red / brown colour of the rosewood? (because it surely does!).

With the top being removable I'm surprised it didn't have a base at the bottom so that it could be used for storage.

Great repair work. How difficult is it to find Rosewood in your neck of the woods. I hear Laburnum is a good Rosewood replacement. I would be interested to learn what you use. Regards

What do you do with the syringes following use. Do you clean the glue out, if so how, or throw them away?

What is that tool you're using at the 3:22 mark called? I've used something similar for keys but didn't know it also existed in the woodworking sphere.