Restoration of bookcase doors.

[Woodwould]

Apparently the removers of this c. 1775 mahogany bookcase had both doors wide open while they unloaded the books into packing boxes. When the bookcase was almost empty of books the weight of the glazed doors caused the bookcase to topple forwards off the bureau and onto the floor with a predictable outcome.

It's quite a common occurrence which in every case can be avoided by internally screwing the bookcase down to the bureau or cabinet. At any rate, I undertook the task of restoring the damaged doors to their prior condition.



All traces of shattered glass were disposed of and the unbroken panes were removed carefully for reuse later. The badly damaged door frame was rebuilt and set aside.


The thirteen panes were also removed from the undamaged door which was then laid face up on a sheet of hardboard and the glazing bars carefully traced around.
Incidentally, all Georgian tracery doors have thirteen panes.

The tracery was tidied up and numerous small pine blocks were glued to the pattern on the outsides of the glazing bar outline using a 9/64" (3.6mm) spacer to ensure accurate positioning.



Eight of the glazing bars consisted of two individual arcs which were replicated in chipboard to make formers around which the curved glazing bars were glued up. The curved glazing bars were laminated from three strips of 5/8" x 3/64" (16mm x 1.2mm) mahogany/ash and held in place by dowels and wedges (in much the same way steamed hoops are bent for Windsor chairs). The straight glazing bar sections are of solid mahogany.



Where possible, the astragal mouldings were salvaged from the smashed door, but where they were absent, new sections were made. A scratchstock was precisely shaped to the extant astragals and the straight sections were scratched in one continuous length. The curved astragals were turned on the lathe and all of them received a 9/64" wide groove in their reverse side to locate them on their glazing bars, thus ensuring maximum rigidity and strength.

A wax candle was rubbed over the tracery board in the vicinity of the glazing bars to ensure the glued structure wouldn't become stuck. The glazing bars were trimmed and assembled on the tracery board and glued at their intersections. Short, narrow strips of calico were glued either side of each junction to strengthen the joints (the calico would subsequently be hidden beneath the glazing compo).

The finished glazing bar matrix was sufficiently strong to be held in one hand and shaken quite vigorously.



The glazing bars were secured into the door frame with one-sided dovetails and glued. The astragals were carefully mitred and glued in position on the glazing bars.



The salvaged panes were laid out in sequence and 'new' panes were cut from blown glass rescued from old picture frames etc. Glass is a semi-liquid but becomes more brittle with age and therefore reclaimed glass needs to be carefully cut underwater to avoid breakages. Each pane was then secured in place with compo and when dry, coloured appropriately.

[Groggy]

Sad to see old furniture beaten up like that but good to see it fixed up

I like the old barbers chair workbench, looks very handy.

[Woodwould]

In every workshop I've had, I've always used an old barber's or dentist's chair base. Some are simple hydraulic pump up and down and spin around jobs, but some also have a brake pedal which makes them more versatile.