I get this question a lot.
I went out to a new customer’s home recently, and she said. “You look too young to repair antiques. I was expecting an old man in his sixties to show up!” After telling her how I would repair the broken furniture, she was at ease, and allowed me to work on her broken pieces. She wanted to make sure that real wood would be used, and not any putty filler.
I have worked on several antiques during my 15 years of doing furniture repair work. I had a job a couple of years ago, that required repair, touch up, and polishing to nearly 100 pieces of antique furniture for a company in downtown Atlanta. I since have gone back when they recently moved, and did minor touch ups to the same pieces.
The truth is, I enjoy working on the older pieces. Most of them respond to my repair finishes very well, and when a piece of wood needs to be inlaid, hand planes can be used. I don’t have to worry about cutting into the dreaded particle board either! A lot of times I am correcting amateur repairs. A nail put here, or gorilla glue put there, or even square head screws used to replace standard. The Horror!
I may not be sixty yet, but I have put a lot of time learning about antique furniture repair methods. I have attended classes, read books, and even watched videos. I have also had a lot of practice! So be assured that I can help you with your antique heirloom.
I do like what another customer said recently, when I arrived at her home. ” It is so nice to see a young man in this trade.” I thanked her, and took her chair to repair a spindle. As I was leaving she said, “Make sure to spin me a new spindle, I don’t want any wood putty on it”. Gotta love my job.
Below is an antique I recently worked on. I had to extend the feet on it. New hardwood flooring was installed, and the piece was dangerously leaning forward. When I put the new feet on, (which I made in my shop), it was level. I had to match the color, and blend in any lines so it looked good. The customer was satisfied!
