Period furnishing for our period homes

Part of the former WavyGlass.org site. Threads for member introductions and where members had threads devoted to their own houses for showing off their pride and joy!
Kansas.1911
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by Kansas.1911 »

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My pride and joy is my bookcase that houses dolls and tea sets. This piece is odd in that one can't refinish it because the graining is painted on. Of course, the top has seen abuse, but that is what a doily is for. The lamp is made from an actual victorian boot (done by my husband's grandma in hobby club). I found the lampshade to set it off. The Grandma Moses print was my mother-in-law's favorite, and now we have it.
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Al F. Furnituremaker
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by Al F. Furnituremaker »

Gothichome, good catch on the sliding dovetail on Oaktree's "new" table. What you describe is exactly what they are for. The top boards will slide on the dovetail as they expand and contract with the environment. I've used this type of construction on many pieces with wide solid wood tops. Sometimes they are fastened in the front so the boards slide to the back (such as a desk or chest of drawers). Sometimes in the middle (which is what I'd expect here) so they expand and contract from center. I've even run into situations where the repairer, refinisher, restorer, didn't know what they were for and put nails or screws through the dovetail into the top boards.

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oaktree
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by oaktree »

Alfort and Gothichome, thanks so much for this!

I need to take some better pictures for you. One corner is of the top is lifting away. I don't want to put any screws, of course. But should I use some natural glue? Leave it alone? I don't really mind the flaws, as long as leaving them unfixed won't make it more likely that I cause more damage when using it. It is going to be the center of my kitchen (whole house actually!).

I bought this on Etsy for not much. It was very badly photographed and the owner didn't know too much about it, so I wasn't really sure what I would end up with. I feel pretty lucky!
1862 Greek Revival Farmhouse, Michigan

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Al F. Furnituremaker
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by Al F. Furnituremaker »

Oaktree; check to see if the tail part of the dove tail on the lifting corner is broken. Some close ups of the lifting part will certainly help. Glue in the wrong place may cause more problems.

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Gothichome
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by Gothichome »

Kansas, funny you should post the map and mentioned the towns that were. Was out on a drive yesterday got me thinking as I went threw many little towns and villages. One they pull the tracks, that the end. No reason for any one to be there now. A slow painful death for many a small town.

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oaktree
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by oaktree »

Let me know if I should do a separate post.

Here are pictures of my old farm table. Any advice on how to fix it up is very much welcome.

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Also, I just bought this cabinet on craigslist to replace all the 70s builtins I took out. The people who sold it to me said it's from an 1800s Pennsylvania farmhouse, but I'm not sure since the glass looks new. It also looks like someone painted it green and then the paint was stripped so not all of the wood has the same finish. I guess it is Eastlake style because of the spoon carving on the bottom doors? Anyhow, I think it's going to work well. It's all one piece and solid pine.

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Al F. Furnituremaker
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by Al F. Furnituremaker »

Well oaktree, here's my summary:

Pictures 1,2,7,8; Splined joint of the top boards. Lower "tongues" of the groove broken off & cracked inside of the cross piece.

Pictures 3,12; Looks like the tail of the dovetail has split off and the pin has broken off.

Picture 4; Tight knot.

Picture 5; Good spline joint.

Pictures 6, 9; Good sliding dovetail

Picture 10; Board split along growth ring.

Picture 11; Leg and skirt, could be a haunched mortise and tenon.

Picture 13; Cross brace long because of shrinkage of top boards.

Pictures 14-19; nice cabinet.

So what to do? Most of the parts that need repair need to be done in a manner so that the integrity of the sliding dovetail remains intact (slides). How to do it all depends on how much you want to get into this project. My (and others may have different approaches) would be to restore the structure of the table. Without seeing it in person, I would guess that I would do a complete disassembly of the top. Replace and/or glue the missing/broken parts, being sure to maintain the sliding properties of the dovetail. This approach may break more pieces during dissassembly, but they will be easier to fix because you can put the pieces back together with the grain all in alignment. Replace what is missing, repair what is broken. Use hide glue where glue is needed, it is period appropriate and can be easily taken apart if necessary.

The broken parts of the sliding dovetail assembly, show the power of wood when it wants to move. I would venture a guess that the wood wasn't completely dry when this table was made. It should now be in a relatively stable condition, except for environmental changes.

Pictures 4,10,13; don't do anything.

Maybe Casey will have some additional thoughts on this.

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Casey
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by Casey »

That to me looks like woodworm. It could be powderpost beetle damage, only way to tell is to make a few passes with a plane or chisel on the underside. Powderpost will be eaten right to within 0,5mm of the surface. Either way, needs fumigation or heat treatment.
The joinery & stuff looks honesty more English than USA. Woodworm is a European pest, powderpost is American.
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oaktree
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by oaktree »

The table might be from France. Do you think it's still usable as a kitchen table with the woodworm holes? Or is that gross? I am reading now that there are DIY ways to make sure the table is bug free like a Boron solution.

Thanks so much, Casey!
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oaktree
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Re: Period furnishing for our period homes

Post by oaktree »

Also, many many thanks to Alfort. I am still absorbing everything you wrote and planning what to do. :)
1862 Greek Revival Farmhouse, Michigan

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