On Site Furniture Repair and Touch-up in the Kennesaw, Marietta areas
“The repairs that separate the men from the boys are surface repairs.”Zeke Willard
Recently I had to repair a desk with deep cross-grain gouging caused by not being properly padded, and a loose screw. I had to fill the damage, and then had to match the color, and grain pattern. The customer was very happy, and was relieved. They thought it was not repairable, and were concerned they would have to trash it. Below are the results 🙂
Before
After
“A man who works with his hands is a laborer, a man who works with his hands and his mind is a craftsman, but a man who works with his hands, his mind and his heart is an artist.”
– Louis Nizer (1902-1994)
The other day a customer told me, “You are a true artist”. This was after I repaired the rails on an old mahogany bed. They were broken in half. I had to match the color after repairing the damage, and she thought that could not be done. At WillardZ Furniture Repair we put our heart into the work we do, and it is refreshing when customers are satisfied, and make comments like this.
I am going to start to regularly blog about the work I am doing. On the agenda in the shop, is turning a Mahogany leg, that was lost by movers I work for, fixing finish damage to 4 chairs, and several other small pieces. Most of my work is completed on location, but some things have bad damage, and have to come back with me. On location I have damage to repair by movers, and some newly installed furniture. What can I help you with?
Zeke Willard
I am a furniture repair man in Smyrna, GA. The name of my company is WillardZ Furniture Repair. I have a large family. The kids outnumber my wife and I 6 to 2.
That being said, our furniture can take a beating at times. Not just because of the kids, but because of a lot of use. We have lived in our current house for about 2 years, and everything is starting to fall apart!! I recently have had to repair 2 drawers in our kitchen, and 2 dining room chairs. These were not easy repairs.
As for the drawers; the maple faces broke right off the drawer frame. Although the faces are solid maple, the drawer frame is made of particle board. Why designers make these drawers with particle board (a structural weakness) is beyond me. Maybe because we are in a throw away society. I don’t know. I had to glue and clamp each drawer overnight, and tack brads on each side of the drawer frame where it meets the face. Where the particle board blew out I had to fill it with wood filler, and stain to match. They both turned out very well and are now in full use again
The 2 chairs were very loose and were getting very dangerous. Some of the kids loved to try to use them as rocking chairs. Lol. These were IKEA dining room chairs. I had to completely take them apart, and glue and clamp them. I also had to redowel them where they broke on the bottom. They are also now in full use and taking the normal abuse!
We also have a lot of furniture that is dinged up, and gouged. As long as it is not dangerous, and not too much of an eyesore, we are not going to repair it until the kids are older. They range from the ages of 1 year to 13 years old.
After a week everything is looking good. I now realize if I want to test a new repair method, I will try it with the family furniture. If it can take it here, it should be good for anyone 🙂
Zeke Willard
We made a new leg for this American Girl Victorian table. Had to cut out a new leg with my scroll saw, and stain/finish to match. Half of the original broken table leg was missing, and that is why another leg had to be made.
Before
After
On Saturday January 30th I went to the Atlanta woodworking show. Lots of great products to see, and seminars including the use of hand tools. What is interesting to note, is that a lot of woodworkers are choosing to use hand tools over power tools. Our ancestors never had or used power tools, and they made amazing things out of wood. I believe a lot of woodworkers are looking for an alternative to noisy machines, that produce a lot of harmful dust. In some applications in furniture repair, I have started to use hand planes. They have taken the place of sanders, and sandpaper. What is great is that I don’t have to use a mask, because no dust is being produced just shavings!! My hearing is also being saved, all I hear is the smooth sound of the hand plane…..Z
This Furniture repair was done on the Front leg of this upholstered chair. Matched color to hide any damage.
This Furniture Repair was on the broken back leg. The leg was damaged during a recent move in.
Shaded color to Dark Walnut to match a sample for a customer.Was able to do the refinishing on location.
This was a broken oak wood chair that was missing a spindle, and was damaged by the family dog. To do the repair we turned the spindle on the lathe, and stained to match. Did cosmetic repairs for the pet damage, and also stained to match.