Thursday, February 2, 2017

Antique Victorian Sideboard Restoration

Apologies for the long hiatus since the last updates. There is a backlog of over a dozen projects to post, but it takes a long time to prepare the photos and posts.

This was a sideboard that we restored a while back (end of 2015). It had a lot of veneer problems, shrinkage cracks, loose sections, damage to the finish, and all the drawer bottoms were broken. There were also issues with worn drawer runners.

I don't have any proper before and after photos, because the piece came into the shop in pieces. This type of sideboard is called a "pedestal sideboard". Originally it had a back-splash, probably with carved accents. The centre drawer has the original retailer's label from Hewetson & Milner London (at Totterham road, indicating a date after 1882). In addition to this, the brass hinges were stamped with the maker's name William Tonks & Sons (active between 1851 - 1891).

Here are some in-progress photos of the repairs.

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The shellac has bloomed due to poor storage conditions from moisture.

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Some of the MANY veneer repairs.

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A few of the small mouldings were missing, and had to be replicated.

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A crack caused from the sub-frame assembly.

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This was the worst section.

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All of the thin wood drawer bottom needed repairs. Some had previous repairs, and some had thick masking tape applied to them. The bottoms are barely 1/4" thick, and they are quite fragile.

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You can see the label on this half of the centre drawer.

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The top has several worn and damaged areas in the finish. This side also had some damage to both front corners, so we replaced a full thin sprip and re-cut the cove profile.

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The base with all the veneer repairs, AFTER repairs and refinishing.

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Finished sideboard.

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The top is a solid wood board of mahogany. It's about 5/8" thick, and 2 feet wide. The length was around 6 feet.

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In the client's home:

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