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Results 1 to 15 of 16
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11th April 2011, 03:43 PM #1
wooden office chair- road side find. Help!
So I found this chair in our recent hard rubbish collection. Thought it looked interesting. And maybe could be cleaned up. So my questions to the brains trust are:
1 The seat frame has cracked around two of the turned posts and unbent slightly. How do I get it back in to its shape?
2 Do I need to get the timber colour back? It has obviously spent a bit of time in the weather. How do I get rid of the grey? Or will that come back with a bit of sanding?
3 sanding the turned bits. How do I do that? Careful tickling?
4 de-rusting the metal parts. Do I unscrew the wood parts from the metal mechanism and de-rust it? With an electolyt bath like de-rusting a plane?
5 What should I refinish it with? :shellac? Or danish oil?
Any other tips greatly appreciated.(I will re cane the seat as well.
)
anne-maria.
Tea Lady
(White with none)
Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.
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11th April 2011, 04:06 PM #2
Senior Member
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It looks very familiar. My parents had a chair with the same design as this (with springs under the seat to allow for leaning back) for years. Not sure where it is now. It was heavy and made of oak I think...but painted white.
Looks like a difficult repair around that break out in the seat. I am not sure it's worth the effort but if you want/need a project then it could be a real challenge.
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11th April 2011, 04:20 PM #3
It's called a captains chair. My mate's wife who restores bentwood recently did one. It'll be oak and beech. I think you will find electrolysis useful in derusting the iron. Looks like the seat bow will need to be remade - steam bending is another slippery slope so take care! It came up beautifully though, she uses FW floor seal and gets a very subtle sheen not unlike shellac, but much harder wearing. If you dismantle it couldn't you clean up the spindles on the lathe?
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11th April 2011, 04:26 PM #4
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I'd say it's a complete dismantle and remake the main seat body is needed.
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11th April 2011, 06:19 PM #5
The steam bend on the seat looks fairly extreme.
tight curve in the long ways direction.
anne-maria.
Tea Lady
(White with none)
Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.
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11th April 2011, 06:36 PM #6
Hi TL,
Are you sure it's not laminated? I can't make up my mind from the photos and I know nothing about the design.
RegardsHugh
Enough is enough, more than enough is too much.
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11th April 2011, 06:50 PM #7
I'd say its Edwardian. Its a big job and there is only so much of the chair you can save. I'd take it apart completely, number the parts. Probably remake the seat, looks like laminated steam bent to me and likely not fixable. Start out by washing the bits down with warm soapy water and see what its like, then steel wool and turps, depends on the finish. I'd probably use danish oil.
The metal bits, try a bath in dilute vinegar and clean up with steel wool.Michael
Wood Butcher
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11th April 2011, 06:55 PM #8
Typically they were just steam bent oak, not laminated. It just looks laminated because of the oak grain pattern.
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11th April 2011, 07:50 PM #9
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11th April 2011, 07:55 PM #10anne-maria.
Tea Lady
(White with none)
Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.
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11th April 2011, 08:01 PM #11
Yes save what you can and remake the rest. I would laminate the seat with epoxy and the rest is just clean and put back together. You can turn new spindles.
I am learning, slowley.
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12th April 2011, 09:07 AM #12anne-maria.
Tea Lady
(White with none)
Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.
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12th April 2011, 09:56 AM #13
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12th April 2011, 10:18 AM #14
TL
as others have advised you'll need to make a new seat frame -- steam bent or laminated -- I'm not sure from the photos, but the arms and crest rail also appears cracked. If it is repairing may involve making a new one -- again steam bent or laminated.
If you go ahead with the project I have a tip for you. If possible the seat fram should be bent from green wood. The holes to take the spindles should be drilled slightly undersized. The spindle tenons are carefully dried in hot sand and then inserted into the drilled mortices. What hapens then is that the seat frame dries making the holes smaller and the tenons swell making them bigger -- resulting in a tight joint that doesn't require gluingregards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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12th April 2011, 06:21 PM #15
I think the arms and crest are OK! Its just the joint that has come appart a little .
Green wood for the frame?
....... :idea: Maybe I could make a complete new seat out of solid wood instead?
Then I wouldn't have to learn how to cane the seat quite yet!
And no steam bending! :yay: Slightly mould the seat like a Windsor chair!
anne-maria.
Tea Lady
(White with none)
Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.
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