Restoration of a Mahogany Victorian Gents Chair

[Enfield Guy]

Thanks so much for posting. You are a highly skilled individual Rob.

Cheers
Bevan

[ian]

[auscab]

Thanks so much for posting. You are a highly skilled individual Rob.

Cheers
Bevan

Thanks Bevan .
All I know is I'm still learning, It doesn't stop.
Rob

[Xanthorrhoeas]

We were lucky in that we have this. The Victorian Ladies and Gents Chair Clamp . It just does a perfect job of what it was designed for every time . With a huge amount of power if its needed, more than you need. You have to be careful not to implode the piece . We cut a shaped rail to suit the job. This is the clamp in use on another chair .

Rob

Wow, thanks for that Rob, I have never seen one of those clamps, and it is worth knowing about them in case I ever get a similar chair. The simpler kitchen chairs and the cedar rail-backs that I have restored have been fussy enough, though most have had mortise and tenon joints, thankfully.
I like your work, though I prefer hide glue for old furniture repairs.

[auscab]

Wow, thanks for that Rob, I have never seen one of those clamps, and it is worth knowing about them in case I ever get a similar chair.

Yeah , using flat sheet steel is very good in quite a few clamping situations. Very strong ! And easy to knock up with a welder and heat for bending .

The simpler kitchen chairs and the cedar rail-backs that I have restored have been fussy enough, though most have had mortise and tenon joints, thankfully.
I like your work, though I prefer hide glue for old furniture repairs.

M&T if its all firm is ok with hide glue repairs. Clean firm Dowel joints last if looked after . Once a dowel joint loosens though and people keep sitting on the chair for years compressing and wearing at the joints surfaces , and you can twist the chair an inch or more left and right and back and forth , Hide glue is not a good idea. You would be doing the job over again as soon as it dries thoroughly and crumbles away to dust.
If someone is paying me to do the job and I ask "would you like to come back and pay me to do all this again if I use the traditional glue" or "not come back" if I use a glue more likely to last because it can gap fill . I can tell you what they say because Ive asked the question . Not that I needed to ask . I knew the answer.

I'm not bagging Hide glue , I love using it . Specially doing veneer repairs. Where I get a job with hundreds of lifted and loose parts . I like working with hot and cold blocks on things like the cross banded edges of desk tops. where I put some glue under a loose part and then a single sheet of paper then place a hot block of wood or steel with a clamp . Leave it a minute then swap it for a cold block.

Rob

[Enfield Guy]

I've always thought that you stop learning when your dead.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Life-long learning is certainly my aim.