Restoring an Antique Italian Table - Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration 

Mister Johnson I think you are a wizard. You amaze me with your talent. My dad and grandfather taught me the basics of carpentry, but you take woodworking into the realm of art. I look forward to your videos very much.

Amazing work as always! Every time I watch one of these veneer restoration videos, I admire your patience in replacing each piece.

Pretty good? You are nothing short of a true master craftsman. I love watching the attention to details in your videos.

This video is especially meaningful to me because my father specialized in this kind of inlay work. I still have a beautiful jewel box (with short cabriole legs) that he made for my mother for their wedding in 1952. Thanks for putting this up.

I use that tapping method also to find loose veneer. Good tip and that table had a really nice glow afterwards.

Love watching a master at his craft. Thanks for sharing a piece of your world ! Years ago i worked at an art museum and got friendly with the conservators. They gave me a tip that came in handy in so many projects. Silicon paper that you can buy in baking section of most craft stores. NOTHING sticks to it ! This is what i use for gluing and let me tell you.... works like a charm !

Thomas, What you are doing, of course, is sharing your knowledge of antique restoration with others who are interested. Additionally, your videos are very well edited. I really enjoy learning from your projects

Thomas, I enjoy your prelude provided before each video. The repair and explanation during the video has taught me a great deal and given me the will to work on new things. Thank you.

I've watched this a gazillion times and while it's very hard to label just one video as your absolute best, this one comes very close 😊 We live in a disposable society and it's people like yourself who show us the value of a Dollar by restoring these pieces to their former glory, to let them shine again! Thank you and your daughter's work is also stupendous!

Hello (again) Thomas. In my opinion this console table looks to be about, as you said, very late 18th, or early 19th (I'd tend to opt for the former). The thick (2.5/3mm) veneers are a telltale sign; the thinner mechanically cut veneers first appeared in Europe after the second quarter of the 19th century. The stringing, boxwood I presume (the camera doesn't give enough clarity), was very often scribed in with scratch stock after overall veneering. This appears also to be the case for the central motif, which uses square sectioned stringing- this allows for following curves. Quite a rustic piece all round. Nice finishing job ont the top. The faded colouring was well preserved ; this adds to the charm and age of the piece.

I love Toms work, I am learning a lot from these videos.

What a gorgeous table! Perfect!

Love the frog just floating and lazing around. Lol that’s a nice table.

Bringing back memories of architecture lab, building little foam core models with exactly knives and glue.

Wonderful what Tung Oil and wax does to a tired table top. As well as the patience and skill of a master craftsman

Very good job of restoration of the Italian antique table, with using the wood to fill the gap as well, with exact measurements as well, with wood to fit on the table, as well, he explains very well the process to repair the table as well julien,

Like a great visual art restoration you do not make the restoration visible and only the quality of workmanship and look of the original shines through. You know that is the sign of a true artist craftsman, congratulations. It is also why you need to add your signature in a quiet location, unseen directly by the naked eye for years to come.

Hi Thomas. It's nice to see someone who can work skilfully with simple hand tools. I enjoyed watching this video. I saw the concert harp plinth in the background. Nice!

Hello Tom I live in good old England and after watching several of your videos it made me think about starting my own company to do this type of work so I will start with friends and family and then if all goes well I will get a website sorted. Thank you very much for helping me make this decision.

Ella Bean with the froggy -- so cuuuuute!!

Beautiful work, you kept the character of the piece but made it look so much better.

Great work. Nice bit of chisel work, got the wood and not the tip of your finger.

Beautiful work!

Now i love that. Thats stunning.

Catching up on your posts... thankyou, they are very informative and interesting. I hope the cute frog was rescued...

I am very excited by this video. I learned what veneers are and can now repair my table top. At first I did not think I had hope and was going to sand the top down. I did not want to because of the beautiful design but after watching this video I now know how to restore my top. The veneers on my top is very very think and it have flower designs but I am determine to figure it out and restore. It's a side antique round table. I thought it was Victorian but it could be Italian. I have to look out the design. No stamp on the table on when and where it was made.

Great video. You have much to share. Thanks again.

Beautiful job!

Hello sir! Amazed by your work, but sad to say your high quality woodwork is not getting the high quality camera it deserves :( is there a chance for at least 720p?

Waxes shine because they’re composed of long (C26-C30 for carnauba) hydrocarbon chains which fill imperfections and align with each other (perpendicular to the surface) when buffed. This produces a smooth, less porous surface which reflects light rather than scattering it. I’ve always used wax as a lubricant when using steel wool, but, as shown here, it’s not necessary. I use steel wool and shoe polish to remove scuffs and, on older leather shoes, barking. Works great!

No frogs were harmed in the making of this video!

wow like this kind of videos appreciate your patience for work wood and for make the videos to share..

Very nice, just love it

Best work.... Beautiful

Wonderfully sensitive. Larry from Glendale Az.

Amazing!

Beautiful job. Meticulous work.

I thought it looked "pretty good" too! Great job!

I’m always so mesmerized by your impeccable work that I realized I hadn’t wished you safety in these times of World change !! I imagine that your work will live long into the future ; a kind of George Stubbs perfect dreamy world .. stay safe and send you my deepest gratitude for these insights !! As always .

beautiful table

Very nice!

You are certainly a clamp master!

Almost done passing my tests at work, so as I said, I’m subscribing and will be binge watching again. 🤗

Maravilhoso! Amo😍😍😍

Nice restoration. Pretty dog near the pool!!!

Hi Tom. I have been watching your videos for a while now and I really enjoy them. Love to get different perspectives on how to approach the puzzles these pieces challenge us with. I am curious, what made you choose Tung Oil over wax or shellac?

We had to McGiver an exit ramp for the frogs to use exiting the pool. Mostly works fine, enough. Turtles, too. They get out and bask before jump to freedom.

Love the nature scenes! You certainly have a world of patience. What are some of the pieces you've done that are your favorites? Thank you.

Bravo de France ! C' est magnifique 😄😘

Bravo.

Hi Tom.. great work! I was wondering why the use of steel wool? what does it help achieve when restoring wooden furniture? thanks

I've Been watching every video of yours. Excellent. Can you tell me what type of glue your using please

bravo.

Such a beautiful table. Always so much better when you get done with it. When you have to replace banding do you need to have a similar wood type or is it pretty standard? Like pine ?

Dear Tom where can I purchased some of these pieces you have restored. Thank you -- Great job my out-most respect to you and your work.

Hi Thomas. Many thanks for your superb videos. im currently trying my hand at restoring an 1830s biedermaier console table. i have glued down lifted veneers but still have a few holes which i could fill. what is your preferred way to deal with very small 1/8" holes and blemishes. Very appreciative. Nigel

Hello Thomas, Could you please tell us what products you used - brand name also? You mentioned them in the video, but I'd like to know if I could find them for example, at Home Depot?

What kind of wax did you use? Paste, bees etc

Nice 👌

Great Job tom. That sanding really brought the beauty of the piece back. Looks like your busy.. I'm in the same boat. In our shop tools are starting to become benches to store client pieces. Keep the vidz coming. Thanks for sharing. What brand oil do you use ? Cheers, Michael Frey FREY WOODWORKING INC.

That top came out really nice. Is Hide glue your preferred Glue or do you use that to stay true with the age of the furniture?

Save the frog!

Hi Thomas Greetings from Ireland. I have an old table the inlay round the bottom is all broken and Seems to been repaired at some time, it is all patches and cracked and different colours is it possible to remove it all and replace the whole strip. Could I use a heat to soften the glue or a small knife like you have Done i Love all your videos and great advice. Thank you

We have a nice heavy wooden office desk. It has ornate design. Can we sand the table in the same manner ?

Regarding the tung oil - did you use pure tung oil or a blended tung oil finish product? Drying time suggests the later.

Hi Tom, I would like to ask you when to use hide glue and when normal wood glue and what are the benefits of both. I've noticed that even for veneer you some times use wood glue and some times hide glue. I've been using wood glue for all wood related purposes but biggest disadvantage I've notice is that when some of it will dry on top (visible part) it is hard to cover it e.g. with oil as it is resistant to it and leave ugly stains. I've been using mineral spirits to locate such spots before finishing but still some times I need to sand this down. Does it happen for hide glue as well?

Tom ,thank you for getting back to me fast. Can you buy it or is it a mixture for Hide Glue.

Did you seal it with shellac at the beginning or some other lacquer?

Thanks for the video, I'm just trying to learn furniture restoration. Why do you add oil, sand it down, add another treatment then sand down again?

Mr. Johnson. I recently was given an old singer treadle table that is very dried out and some of the Veneer is lifting. I've glued down some of the Veneer... but my main concern is the dryness of the wood. It literally feels like cordaroy. I remember someone ages ago (we are talking the 70s era) using what I think was mineral oil to bring back the moisture to wood. Does that sound safe too you? I'm tempted to try it because as it is this old gal is pretty close to beyond repair. What do you think?

Thomas, you use shellac and ting oil as sealers. What is the reason for your choice for a particular finishing application ?

Wow.

What kind of glue just so I know for the future awesome work

Being married to an Italian, much of the furniture we have is old handed down from her family from Italy. We have a dinner table that is veneered and like the table you restored, the veneer is very thick which I think is typical of older Italian veneer work. Unfortunately it was badly treated and even used as an ironing table for years before we rescued it. The veneer is buckling in multiple places. I would like not to replace the entire veneer since it is otherwise beautiful. On the other hand, it does not have any inlay work like the one you show here. Could you point me in the right direction? As usual, love your tutorials.

Nice restorations on beautiful pieces of furniture. Just wondering if you use hide glue for all your restorations and if is it of own making or who is your suppliers. Thanks

You did a Louis XV repro piece in shellac, but you refinished this with tung oil & wax; what advantage is one over the other?

Would love to know what products you are using.

as a woodworker I really enjoy your videos What is your beeswax polish, I am a beekeeper also.

How did you clean the rest of the table after fixing the top? Did you wax the drawer and legs as well?

i had a qustion let say if you have a small hole on your table how can you best fix that? if you have some hints how to do that it would be very nice you ;)

When you say Tung Oil....Pure or a Tung Oil Varnish? The way you applied it it looked like a tung oil / varnish blend.

What is your favorite glue to use on venire?

Have you done the second half on how you fixed the leg?

Do you buy string inlay or do you make it? Where can I buy?

Just rewatching this video. How old would you say this lovely table is?

Wunderbar Arbeit 🙋‍♂️❤bravo

Mr. Johnson-- what brand of wax do you prefer? And where do you purchase those rolls of steel wool? Thank you.

It was a very nice 6 shirt restoration.

Hi, thanks for the video great work. I am using natural tung oil and I couldn't find a solution to its smell (pretty strong even after it dried). Any idea what to do?

What about the sides? No sanding, staining etc?

Wondering what type of glue was used?

Thomas I have a block of beeswax. Would it be alright to melt a little and use that on my Italian marquetry table refinishing?

Peaceful little floating froggie.

What's the point of steel wool? My dad did this to a table but I dont get why? Just a texture?

One inch equals 2.54 cm. One eight inch is about 3 mm. One foot is twelve inches equals about 30 cm. The master at work.

What type of oil is it that he keep mentioning?

I love your videos. I’m good to use your advice for a 1929 inlaid pool table I have. I’m thinking of doing a little RU-vid video on that too because it’s slightly different. But I like to give credit where credit is due. If I make the video would you like me to tag your video or show a link? I’m not sure how that works but it might not be bad as a footnote. You explain it all better than I will be able to. And if I can help get a little more viewers your way I’m happy to help.

Looks good what about the broken leg and the rest of the table?

What type of glue you use and where do you get it. Tasty frogs you have haha

do you thin tung oil varnish