Patio Furniture

Patio Furniture

Patio furniture is an important addition to your deck, veranda, or garden. The right patio furniture will determine both how good your outside environment looks, and how much you'll use it. Good looking comfortable patio furniture will draw you out, and you'll love spending time outside when you add the right patio furniture to your home's exterior.
Discount patio furniture sales mean that you need not pay a fortune on patio furniture and the range of patio furniture cushions available mean that you can decorate in any color scheme that strikes your fancy.
Metal Patio Furniture
There are many different attractive metallic patio furniture options available. Aluminum patio furniture is lightweight and extremely weather resistant, and wrought iron patio furniture brings a substantial elegance to your back yard. Iron patio furniture always reminds of a European park, and will add that kind of elegance to anyone's home.
Whatever metal you chose, you can decorate within the color scheme of your choice with the wide variety of patio furniture covers available, and the wholesale patio furniture available at outlet stores means that you can redecorate your entire exterior for very little money.
Cast aluminum patio furniture is cheap patio furniture ¦but it doesn't look cheap! It looks great, and it features highly in the latest Martha Stewart patio furniture catalogue. Martha Stewart also features resin patio furniture, which I think adds a great Eastern feel to any home. You'll love the feel and lustrous look of resin, and think that its natural construction looks great in the natural environment.
Patio Sets
Take a look at the home crest patio furniture and their striking patio furniture sets. These sets provide a coordinated look, and are really affordable too. Too may of us spend a lot of time and money decorating the interiors, only to completely neglect the exteriors of our homes? A great and affordable way to an attractive exterior look is through the purchase of patio furniture set.
Winston patio furniture or Hampton bay patio furniture bring an eastern seaboard feel to anyone's home. Choose either of these for furniture set and your exterior will look Cape Cod chic. This look works great, especially if you decorate your interior in the country farmhouse or colonial style.
Plastic patio furniture can also be a great solution. Plastic is inexpensive and durable, and today's plastic furniture looks a lot better than it used too.
Whatever you decide; get the right patio furniture for you, and get outside and enjoy it!

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Bar Furniture

Bar Furniture

Bar building has become very popular nowadays and more and more people of all classes that are homeowners are choosing to build bars. Not only do they allow you to entertain well, but they also increase the value of your house; especially when you choose the right bar furniture for the job. Whether you are looking for bar furniture for the home or alternatively are looking for bar furniture for sale for an office you have just rented or purchased, there are definitely some things you need to keep in mind.
Location
Location is the first one and it more or less determines what you need to purchase. Outdoor bar furniture is going to be more expensive than indoor home bar furniture of the same type. Outdoor furniture bar stools for example have to be weather proofed, hence the need for the increased price. Outdoor patio bar furniture is getting very popular nowadays and if you are interested in purchasing some patio furniture (bar stools, cabinets etc.) you definitely have a lot of bar furniture to choose from.
Type
After location, the type of bar needs to be decided on (albeit location will go a long way towards also determining the type). Antique bar furniture is going to cost you a pretty penny but will also be much nicer to look at than other types of bar furniture (and much more impressive for friends to see). Wine bar furniture does not need to contain as many different pieces of furniture as other types and therefore will end up costing less overall. Finally, cocktail bars home furniture is going to be somewhere in the middle but since cocktail bars are the most popular kind of bar this is likely the option you’re going to end up going with when all is said and done.
Materials
The materials will also go a long way towards deciding exactly what your final product will be. Contemporary bar furniture tends to be what most people go for and the end product of that is going to be a bar counter and stools very similar to what you would expect to see in any random pub you walked into. There are other styles available however and things such as bamboo bar furniture (for stools and counter tops) are starting to become more popular.
Availability And Cost
There are many places where you can get home bar furniture. UK residents will have an easier time because bar building is most popular in that country. Bar furniture is available all around the world however and because of that nobody should have any difficulty finding commercial bar furniture where they live. Bar furniture is cost effective not only because of the use you will get out of it, but also because of the resale value it will add to your property.

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Cat Furniture

Cat Furniture

Cat furniture is what really makes your cat happy in your home, and it protects all of your furniture from your cat. Instead of sleeping on your bed, cat furniture and a few little toys will keep your cat in their own bed. If you don’t want your cat on leather furniture, you can get a cat furniture condo instead. These are just a few examples of how cat furniture can really help you protect your own furniture and keep your cat happy.

Whisker City cat furniture, as well as many other pet supply stores, offers everything from luxury cat beds furniture, as well as discount cat furniture. Cozy cat furniture doesn’t have to cost you a lot, so it makes sense to shop around and find the cat furniture that works best for you. Aside from just cat beds, you can also find cat litter box furniture covers to make your cat’s litter box appear as if it is something else. Cat litter box furniture is designed to hide the litter box and give your cat a comfy place to go. Plus, you can get outdoor cat furniture for those cats that enjoy being outside. This way, if it starts to rain or snow, your cat will have a nice place to hide.

Another alternative to purchasing cat furniture is to build your own cat furniture. You can create your own cat condo furniture, or you can get ideas from other furniture that’s already out there. This may be the least expensive way to get your cat furniture. As far as bed cat furniture, pet stores tend to charge huge amounts of money for nice plush beds, but really you can make your own cat beds with some nice blankets or pillows and your cat will never know the difference.

There is a ton of cat furniture out there, and you can even make your own. Depending on what kind of furniture you want for your cat, and what you think your cat will like, there are all kinds of things to be found. Try searching for discounted furniture first, or finding out how much it will cost to build your own in comparison to already assembled furniture. This will give you an idea of what you can get with your money. If you want a cats and leather furniture recommendation this is it. Buy something that your cat can sit on and play on, so you won’t be worried about holes in your new leather sofas.

Garden Furniture

Garden Furniture

A garden is a very big part of a person’s house because not only is it the first look that a passerby gets but it is also a place where they might entertain. Having the proper lawn and garden furniture is critical in the case of the latter and whether you are looking for cheap garden furniture or else some really high quality home and garden furniture, you need to be able to buy garden furniture that is suitable for you. The rest of this article is dedicated to bringing you a lot of very good information about garden furniture in general and by the end of it you should definitely know a lot more than when you started.
Knowing What You Want
When you are thinking about garden furniture, it is important to understand that it is a very broad category of furniture items. Depending on what you want it for, you might want different furniture. Garden, home, living room and dining room items are all synonymous in terms of the way they are created, so it is very important that you understand what you want the garden furniture for. If you are after garden furniture covers, garden treasures patio furniture or even garden oasis patio furniture, it pays you to know well in advance so that you can plan your purchases accordingly.
Materials
Once you have decided on the specific furniture that you want, it is time to decide on the materials you want it to be made with. Aluminium garden furniture tends to be cheaper and it does very well outside because it doesn’t rust as easily as other types like cast iron garden furniture. Metal garden furniture in general is a good investment because it tends to be durable and long lasting, although if you want something that is a bit more showy, you might want to look into antique garden furniture instead. All of these types of materials can be used to craft furniture and if you visit a store and view something like TER home and patio garden furniture, you will see wood variants as well. Oak garden furniture tends to be quite popular, but maple, ash and mahogany are all viable alternatives as well.
Cutting Costs
When you are dealing with garden furniture, the cost is sometimes easier to subvert. The reason for this is that almost every single store in every single country has regular sales of garden furniture. UK, the United States, Canada and all other countries have big clearance sales for outdoor furniture once the weather starts getting warmer so if you are patient enough, you can potentially score some really great deals.

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Victorian Furniture

Victorian Furniture

Some of the most spectacular furniture in the world is of the Victorian genre. There really no mystery here; the Victorian era gave us some of the biggest artistic advances in the history of the world, so naturally one would expect that a lot of stunning designs would be of the Victorian furniture type. Whether you are interested in Victorian bedroom furniture or any other type of Victorian style furniture, there is definitely a lot to go around. The good news is that the designers have not forgotten the roots of Victorian furniture and even today are able to create stunning masterpieces in the style of the greatest pieces of antique Victorian furniture.
The Good Points
Victorian reproduction furniture is created in the style of original Victorian furniture but tends to be more cost effective. The reason for this is that in reproduction, Victorian furniture pieces are not subject to the same use of expensive materials. Kimball Victorian furniture, for example, can either be genuine or reproductive and the price will vary accordingly. This makes it very easy on the pocketbook to purchase Victorian reproductions. Furniture pieces are available for all over the house, including Victorian built-in furniture that can be assembled as is once you get it into your house; this serves to make things more convenient for both the consumer and the deliverer.
Unfinished Victorian living room furniture is perhaps the most popular type of Victorian furniture purchased today not only because of the beautiful and dignified Victorian look, but also because the unfinished element gives it a more rustic appearance and this tends to appeal more to consumers than normal Victorian living room furniture. Victorian garden furniture is another example of popular Victorian furniture as it can be used with an actual flower planting scheme to give the whole garden itself a look of sheer royalty; something that is appealing to a vast number of people.
The Cost
Depending on the type of furniture you are after, the Victorian stuff can either be very cheap or very expensive. If you buy from a private dealer that does custom work then you might be able to get the normal stuff at a cheaper price than other Victorian furniture. Woodworking plans for custom designs however, are going to cost more money. Cheap Victorian furniture tends to be of the reproduction variety and while it looks the same it is not authentic Victorian material that is being used. This doesn’t bother most people looking for living room furniture, Victorian designs being very popular. If you don’t mind getting a reproduction rather than an authentic, then Victorian furniture can definitely be purchased cheaply.



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Types of Furniture

Types of Furniture

There are many different types of furniture in the world today. From the one of kind baby furniture that you find in custom dealerships to the mass-produced sunroom or wicker type furniture you can find in every major furniture store there are a great number of furniture types. It is important to be able to differentiate between the different types of furniture so that you know exactly what you need to buy when the time comes for you to update your furniture repertoire.
Kitchen
The kitchen is one place where you will find different styles and types of furniture; just like you would in any other room in the house. Different types of furniture such as cabinets and tiling tend to be the major decisions made in the kitchen and based on those decisions then the different appliances (fridge, stove etc.) are purchased. A table is also usually a big part of the kitchen design and different types of furniture wood should be looked at before a final decision is made.
Living Room
The living room tends to be the major decorative part of the house as it is the room that people use most often to entertain. This also makes it the most varied in terms of types of furniture used. Different types of leather furniture can be popular in the living room depending on the mood the person wants to set. Leather furniture can be difficult to maintain however so look into the different types of furniture stripper in order to help properly maintain and strip down leather furniture when necessary. Many types of leather furniture can be used in the living room or in other areas and this versatility tends to make them quite popular.
Bedroom
A lot of one of a kind furniture is available for the bedroom and people tend to show their softer and more artistic side with bedroom design. One of a kind children furniture is a place where this artistic outlet can quite often manifest itself as parents go all out to design the room of their child before that child is born. Many different types of furniture can be utilized in the bedroom and if you are interested in redecorating there is definitely a lot out there for you to look at.
Den
Depending on what the den is used for, many major furniture types can be used here including a lot of leather types. Furniture stores tend to sell a wide variety of items for the den because different families will use it in different ways. People that want to use it in a contemporary way will look for the old type of furniture whilst others might look for super comfort in different types of hotel furniture that are now on sale at many stores.



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Kitchen Furniture

Kitchen Furniture

Many people that purchase kitchen furniture nowadays seem to be in a bit of a conundrum. They are looking for discount kitchen furniture prices in order to save money on the furniture they buy but at the same time are looking for some cozy kitchen and dining room furniture in order to really make their kitchen look nice. Many people think that it is impossible for find cheap kitchen furniture that is at the same time high quality along the lines of nice contemporary kitchen furniture. It is not impossible and those are not mutually exclusive ideas. You just need to understand where to look and how to look. The idea is to find furniture kitchen renovators would like at prices you can afford.
Knowing Where To Look
The search for good kitchen furniture at decent prices starts at specialty stores. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, the average kitchen pantry furniture item at a specialty store will be of a higher quality than a similar piece of kitchen storage furniture at a big retailer and this in turn allows you to get better quality. Secondly, you are more likely to get wholesale kitchen furniture prices if you purchase whole sets at a specialty store than at a mainstream store. So always start your search at a specialty retailer and then work your way out from there.
Knowing What To Look For
Part of getting good deals knows what you want. Whether you are looking for some cozy country kitchen furniture or are looking for something with more of a foreign influence like Amish kitchen furniture, you need to understand exactly what it is you are looking for. There is nothing wrong with browsing, but browsing with no idea whatsoever is a waste of time at best and might force you into an impulse buy at worst. Browsing might result in you making the wrong choice between modern kitchen furniture and retro 50’s kitchen furniture or might force you into buying wrought iron kitchen furniture on impulse that you don’t really want. There is nothing wrong with antique kitchen furniture, but if that is what you want, you need to know so beforehand so that you can save yourself a lot of time and money.
Knowing What To Pay
Market research is the only way to know for sure. When you purchase kitchen island furniture (for the island counters many kitchens have), the price should fall in a certain range depending on the style and the quality of construction. Knowing that price will allow you to know whether you are getting a bargain or not. Kitchen furniture is made by different companies and those different companies have different standards and prices. Knowing the standards and prices of different kitchen furniture companies will quickly turn you from a rookie into a savvy consumer.

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Office Furniture

Office Furniture

Whether you have an office at work or an office at home, it is important that the office furniture that you purchase for your office serve two functions. First and foremost, you want the office furniture to be functional in a way that allows you to accomplish your work with ease. This means that you should not have any distracting commercial office furniture, but rather styles like modular office furniture that offer a high level of functionality. In addition to functionality, you also want your executive office furniture to be comfortable. You are going to be working in your office for eight hours a day on average and whether you choose OFS office furniture or any other kind, you want it to be comfortable for you.
Units
There are many different things you need in an office; this is true whether you are after medical office furniture or else New York office furniture that would go well in an executive broker’s office. Furniture layout plans usually call for a desk, three or four chairs to go around that desk and a number of accessories like trash cans and storage spaces. There are companies that do office furniture installations that can actually build the desk right into the office, and you can also search office furniture online to find the styles and types that are good for you.
Types
Office furniture companies tend to be similar in the prices and quality they offer, but there are a few that are worth checking out specifically. Hon office furniture is known for being very cost effective, as well as very functional. Functionality is very important in office furniture, and Hon definitely delivers. ABCO office furniture also has a good reputation in providing good service for a long time and also offers frequent discount office furniture prices. These are not the only companies, but they are definitely two to check out.
When making your purchases, consider the types of office furniture you want and then go out to buy it as cheaply as possible. There is a big market for used office furniture. Houston, Texas, to Detroit, Michigan and everywhere else around the country has a number of stores that sell used office furniture. If you do your due diligence and make sure you shop around a number of office furniture outlets, you will be able to find cheap office furniture that at the same time is also good quality office furniture.

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Salon Furniture

Salon Furniture

You can either open a salon giving eight-dollar haircuts, or you can open a salon and charge a hundred dollars or more per cut. The difference may be a little bit about the products that you use, and you need to have the skills to make people look great, but the rest is all image, and the right salon furniture is what you need to start selling your salon profitably.
How Much?
Saloon furniture or beauty salon furniture can be very expensive. You can easily spend 50 000 dollars or more just outfitting a small salon. But the money you spend now is an investment in the future of your business, and it doesn’t make sense to limit your profit potential by buying substandard hair salon furniture.
When people walk into a salon, they notice things like the nail salon furniture and the salon furniture and equipment. Visiting the beauty salon is more than just about getting your hair cut or your nails done; at its best it's a relaxing experience that can transport your clients away from the cares of their busy lives for a few hours each month. If you can offer them that, they'll pay a high price to continue using your services.
It Needs To Feel As Good As It Looks
Salon equipment and furniture need to more than look good, it should also be very comfortable, salon spa furniture should leave your clients reluctant to leave the comfortable sanctuary of your salon. You need to achieve a delicate balance. Your salon furniture should be beautiful, and it should also offer unparalleled comfort. Get those two things right and you're well on your way to a successful salon business venture
If you’re opening on a budget, be on the lookout for salon furniture discount opportunities or used salon furniture. Get the help of a decorator to help you mange the disparate look of used salon furniture.
Pink salon furniture's and furniture and equipment for salons in other feminine colors can look great, but be careful as you don't want the cheap look of a bubble gum cute salon.
Used nail salon furniture is really French parlor transformed into home salon furniture. This is a classic look and can be quite elegant and stylish if put together well. If you don't have a strong design sense it is well worth the investment to seek the advice of a professional, after all, your look will make or break you in this competitive business.

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CRAMPING OF RISEN TABLE TOP VENEER

CRAMPING OF RISEN TABLE TOP VENEER
By Michael Barrington

We were asked to deal with very large 30ft dining table on five four-legged platform pedestals with a top of seven leaves 6ft wide, the centre leaf measured 6ft square, two were 5ft, two 4ft and two 3ft. The leaves were veneered in rosewood on 1 inch ply and the rosewood had patinated to an attractive pale colour. A wide crossbanded kingwood, ebony, box border surrounded the table top and a vertically banded frieze with gilt 2 dee moulding hind below the leaves. The table surface had suffered considerable light damage in that the so far unidentified finish had crazed along the grain over its entire surface area and there were something like 60 places where the veneer had risen in small areas of not more than 1inch in diameter.
The table appeared to have been made in the 1930s and bore the maker's brass name plates under the leaves and on the pedestals. We had between 4 and 5 weeks to complete the project.
I needed to know what adhesive had been used to put down the veneers so phoned the maker who said they did not hold records of their furniture over three years old but that if I was right about the date, and there was no way that I could be certain, the veneer would have been put down with hide glue. I went ahead on that basis which turned out to be right or at least compatible.
Putting down the bubbles was the first job and had to be done without altering the consistently pale colour of the rosewood. The first thing we did was a trial run on bubbles close enough to the edge to enable us to use standard bar cramps. MDF 22mm cauls of various sizes, faced with melamine were made. These will not stick to the surface and MDF and melamine are good heat sinks. Some of the bubbles went straight down after a cramping time of about three hours, while others were obstinate and took two ‘goes'. More obstinate ones had to have the bubbles split with a very sharp craft knife, hot glue was puddled on and a hot caul cramped to drive in the glue. We also encouraged the molten glue to penetrate by bouncing a plastic car window squeegee on the surface like a drain plunger. The squeegees can be bought in motor accessory shops in packets of four; they were popular at the time of England's disastrous efforts in the World football for supporting St George flags on vehicles. The whole operation of putting down the bubbled veneers lasted two weeks with cutting back and re-polishing being done in tandem as each leaf was finished.
Because of the hard use this table experiences, table-top polish and its solvent, applied conventionally with a rubber was used and this was compatible with the former/original layers. The owners were warned of this in advance but had no concerns and were enthusiastic that a hard and more ring resistant type of finish was to be used. The centre areas of the five inner leaves showed signs about 2ft wide of having carried heavy silver centre pieces and candelabra, in that they bore a multitude of score marks and indentations. But such is the quality of the plywood substrate, this damage, except for one small area was veneer deep only and was easily concealed during polishing.
The majority of the bubbled areas were outside the reach of even the deepest throated cramps, so we had to make special bridges. In any case whatever cramping method we used had to cater for multiple areas of simultaneous cramping because time was not on our side. I bought a mixture of a dozen single and double cramp heads and made up two steel bridges of 6ft and 8ft. These could be cramped to the edges of the leaves at almost any angle to carry cramp heads. The cramps themselves were almost certainly of Far Eastern origin, strong but badly made in that their slots were not machined but cast with rounded throats, which prevented the cramps from standing vertically under the bridge bars. All the cramp slots had to be machined accurately in a milling machine which took some hours but was successful.

The steel bridge bars were of 40mm x 10mm black mild steel with double angle-iron "T" stands bolted to each end. One stand on each bar could be repositioned wherever it was needed. The stands were riveted together and the undersides were faced with cork and goat skin to protect the table. They were cramped to the table edges with a pair of G cramps with the bars at angles convenient to position cramps over the damaged areas. We used up to four cramps on a bridge bar at a time.

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CRAMPING OF RISEN TABLE TOP VENEER

CRAMPING OF RISEN TABLE TOP VENEER
By Michael Barrington

We were asked to deal with very large 30ft dining table on five four-legged platform pedestals with a top of seven leaves 6ft wide, the centre leaf measured 6ft square, two were 5ft, two 4ft and two 3ft. The leaves were veneered in rosewood on 1 inch ply and the rosewood had patinated to an attractive pale colour. A wide crossbanded kingwood, ebony, box border surrounded the table top and a vertically banded frieze with gilt 2 dee moulding hind below the leaves. The table surface had suffered considerable light damage in that the so far unidentified finish had crazed along the grain over its entire surface area and there were something like 60 places where the veneer had risen in small areas of not more than 1inch in diameter.
The table appeared to have been made in the 1930s and bore the maker's brass name plates under the leaves and on the pedestals. We had between 4 and 5 weeks to complete the project.
I needed to know what adhesive had been used to put down the veneers so phoned the maker who said they did not hold records of their furniture over three years old but that if I was right about the date, and there was no way that I could be certain, the veneer would have been put down with hide glue. I went ahead on that basis which turned out to be right or at least compatible.
Putting down the bubbles was the first job and had to be done without altering the consistently pale colour of the rosewood. The first thing we did was a trial run on bubbles close enough to the edge to enable us to use standard bar cramps. MDF 22mm cauls of various sizes, faced with melamine were made. These will not stick to the surface and MDF and melamine are good heat sinks. Some of the bubbles went straight down after a cramping time of about three hours, while others were obstinate and took two ‘goes'. More obstinate ones had to have the bubbles split with a very sharp craft knife, hot glue was puddled on and a hot caul cramped to drive in the glue. We also encouraged the molten glue to penetrate by bouncing a plastic car window squeegee on the surface like a drain plunger. The squeegees can be bought in motor accessory shops in packets of four; they were popular at the time of England's disastrous efforts in the World football for supporting St George flags on vehicles. The whole operation of putting down the bubbled veneers lasted two weeks with cutting back and re-polishing being done in tandem as each leaf was finished.
Because of the hard use this table experiences, table-top polish and its solvent, applied conventionally with a rubber was used and this was compatible with the former/original layers. The owners were warned of this in advance but had no concerns and were enthusiastic that a hard and more ring resistant type of finish was to be used. The centre areas of the five inner leaves showed signs about 2ft wide of having carried heavy silver centre pieces and candelabra, in that they bore a multitude of score marks and indentations. But such is the quality of the plywood substrate, this damage, except for one small area was veneer deep only and was easily concealed during polishing.
The majority of the bubbled areas were outside the reach of even the deepest throated cramps, so we had to make special bridges. In any case whatever cramping method we used had to cater for multiple areas of simultaneous cramping because time was not on our side. I bought a mixture of a dozen single and double cramp heads and made up two steel bridges of 6ft and 8ft. These could be cramped to the edges of the leaves at almost any angle to carry cramp heads. The cramps themselves were almost certainly of Far Eastern origin, strong but badly made in that their slots were not machined but cast with rounded throats, which prevented the cramps from standing vertically under the bridge bars. All the cramp slots had to be machined accurately in a milling machine which took some hours but was successful.

The steel bridge bars were of 40mm x 10mm black mild steel with double angle-iron "T" stands bolted to each end. One stand on each bar could be repositioned wherever it was needed. The stands were riveted together and the undersides were faced with cork and goat skin to protect the table. They were cramped to the table edges with a pair of G cramps with the bars at angles convenient to position cramps over the damaged areas. We used up to four cramps on a bridge bar at a time.

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http://www.bafra.org.uk/html_pages/articles_casters.html

RESTORING LEATHER CASTORS
By Michael Barrington

The origin of the castor goes back to certainly the early 16th Century when, 'baby cages' and invalid chairs are known to have been equipped with wheels. They were used in England certainly towards the end of 17th Century and by 1690 there was an established castor-making trade in London. Castors, to begin with, were simple hardwood wheels mounted on horizontal axles but by 1700 vertical spindles mounting jaws in which horizontal axles and wheels were carried were in use. The wheels were of wood, probably boxwood which, by the 1730s, tended to be replaced by leather wheels and then brass wheels.1
Leather wheels are quieter than both wood and metal and are kinder to wooden flooring. They are generally fitted between brass jaws either in the hidden plate form or the more usually seen vertical spindle cup castor. As frequently happens, the spindles, rust or the holes in which they are mounted, wear and the wheels seize. Consequently the castor wheel will not follow the direction of push of the piece of furniture and it suffers serious wear against the floor. This happens with brass wheels as well as leather ones and if not remedied in time, flats wear on the wheels when they cannot rotate anyway. The wheels have to be replaced, probably as well as their spindles.
The leather castor is made up of a number of hard leather washers. I say 'hard' in that the leather is 'bridle leather' which is taken from areas either side of and close to the animal's spine and is indeed the leather from which most saddlery is made. Leather from the flanks and belly, used more in upholstery, is too soft.
The image left shows a set of six socket castors from a mahogany framed settee in which the top three are in an acceptable state while the lower three have all been seized and consequently flattened.
The image on the right shows three spindles, the two left-hand having square bodies.
The photograph below shows the original washers after they have been disassembled.

The photograph below right shows some replacement leather washers which have been stamped concentrically with two sizes of hole punch one 7/8" for the OD and one 1/4" for the axle.
The new spindle (shown below left) is either turned or, and probably better, is of square section and is drilled to accept its axle. At one end a fixed and rounded shoulder is turned. A complimentary end washer with the same profile is turned ready for closure of the wheel.
Enough leather washers are mounted on the spindle to achieve the correct wheel width. When the required length of washers has been assembled on the spindle, the brass closing end washer of the same profile as the fixed shoulder is either screwed or riveted in place. It is necessary to make a jig to compress the washers in a vice before fitting the brass end-washer. As the washers are assembled on the spindle, they can be glued which will make for a more solid construction. I would favour a PVA adhesive for this, largely because it will stick to the metal rather better than animal glue which would undoubtedly be more correct although reversibility is not really an issue in this case. Longevity of the wheel is however a serious consideration.
The three assembled wheels ready to mount in the forks. These have been skimmed lightly in the lathe with each wheel mounted on a tapered arbour. Skimming brought the wheel diameter down to 3/4". The finished wheels are oval in shape which makes the castor more efficient. Straight cylindrical wheels are similar to running on flat tyres. The skimming tool has to be extremely sharp with good front rake or slope under the cutting edge and skimming should be done at not less than 1000 rpm. The wheels pictured have yet to be oil stained before finally being spun in the lathe and wax-burnished with carnauba ready for mounting on steel axles riveted into the original brass forks, some of which had to be bushed, silver-soldered and re-drilled because of the excessive wear by former seized axles and also split or fractured fork arms.
You may find that the original castor bobbin can be re-used; in which case you should do so. In the example used here however, the end washers had been flatted along the chords of the worn leather. You do need to have the full metal end washers to make a reliable wheel.

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THE RE-UPHOLSTERY OF A PAIR OF BERGERES

THE RE-UPHOLSTERY OF A PAIR OF BERGERES
By Bert Chapman MBE and Michael Barrington

This pair of English made bergère chairs, made in the late 18th Century or possibly early 19th, had been substantially altered, the gilded frames damaged and the upholstery poorly executed. The standard of the frame construction is good but they had been re-gilded without interlagio over the frame joints and there was much consequent cracking in those areas with deterioration of the gilded surfaces which were fairly knocked about overall, down to the bare wood and, in places, beyond . Unlike the right-hand picture these chairs were built to show the two vertical members and horizontal rail of the back which were gilded on their rear surfaces and sides. This was not apparent until the upholstery was removed. The previous gilder had taken the vertical members through the gesso stage followed by the upholsterer who covered them up. Research found pictures of the correctly exposed and gilded back frames and this is the route we suggested and which was approved. The frame pictured below has been re-gilded, this time with interlagio support and the two vertical members and one horizontal member are gilded on the rear and sides. This is plainly to be seen in the first sketch below.
Interlagio is a thin fabric covering applied to sound joints during the application of gesso. Traditionally silk is used but a fine lawn or sea-island cotton is just as good. Beware of using a material past its best which will be weak and liable to part as the joint flexes. The interlagio is pasted over the joints with a first coat of thin gesso and subsequently covered with thicker gesso as work proceeds.
The interlagio material must not be too heavy, or it will be difficult to cover in the gesso coatings. Above all the interlagio must not be so near to the surface that when the gesso is cut back or carved (also known as cutting) that it suddenly appears—so go for a really fine material. The chairs were water gilded and the highlights burnished.
A surprise was the discovery that the cushion covers are of hand-stitched kid leather and presumably original. Bert, had come across five or six examples of white kid being used for cushion cases and quoted that King George II had a travelling bed with a ticking of kid leather. Next comes the upholstery which, in view of the restoration of the back panels, required a new approach. and I asked Bert to write a piece on the proper way to do this which now follows :
Upholstery of Bergère Chairs
Below are two sketches showing how the outside back panel, framed between the two gilded vertical members, is placed and the method of fixing a length of cane 10mm above the seat platform to allow the various stuffing covers to pass underneath before tacking to the top of the seat rail.
The top sketch shows how the back of the chairs will look with the seat cover coming through under the horizontal rail. The centre panel upholstery meets the seat upholstery snugly showing no light.
Many thanks to Bert for these two very clear sketches which should be useful references to any reader faced with the same problem.

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THE CARE AND CONSERVATION OF LONG CASE CLOCKS
By Michael Barrington

With the exception of the very finest and rarest, the longcase clock is, in comparison with other types of furniture, grossly undervalued. This seems especially relevant when one considers how advanced the design and making of clock movements was in an era which began some 200 and more years before the invention of the steam engine, electricity, steelmaking and, particularly, reliable means of accurate measurement and standardization in such areas as screw threads. Add to this phenomenon the fact that clocks made 200 years ago are still going and keeping time at standards acceptable for most domestic purposes and the undervaluation of old clocks becomes more obvious. It seems reasonable therefore to say that at least we should treat the clock with respect, maintaining its working through care and maintaining its integrity of design.
The Victorians were notable for their desecration of both clock movements and cases, sometimes in pursuit of "improved" design and performance, sometimes to meet changes in fashion but also through sheer ignorance and poor craftsmanship. Unfortunately these problems persist and a great deal of damage is still done to both cases and movements. It was in the latter part of the 19th century when "antique collecting" became a serious hobby and business, that the trade of "antique furniture restorer" was born. The trade has burgeoned ever since, particularly in times of inflated valuations of antiques, with an accompanying proliferation of unsympathetic and downright bad restoration work and little or no regard for conservation which is a comparatively modern post World War 2 development. Clockcases, and particularly country clockcases, seem to have borne the brunt of bad workmanship and it is principally in such clocks that we find the worst evidence. Finer quality clocks too have not been exempt from poor treatment but their usually obvious superior quality has perhaps afforded them some degree of protection.
Many clock repairers/restorers do not profess to cater for clockcase conservation and restoration, much in the same way as not every clockmaker made their own cases. Casework has always tended to be a separate trade and is nowadays definitely the preserve of the furniture conservator/restorer. It is imperative that the case restorer has a thorough working knowledge of how clocks work for it is he who is responsible for ensuring their correct environment for correct and long lived working.

Major Alterations to Clock Cases
Before embarking on examples of typical damage found in longcase locks, it is worth looking briefly at some history. The revolutionary pendulum clock pioneered in Britain by Ashasuerus Fromanteel in about 1650, with technology imported from Holland, was a breakthrough in time keeping which certainly in the lantern clocks of earlier years was more an approximation than a science! Only very wealthy people could afford to commission clocks and this was often clearly done as a statement of status. Consequently clocks were highly valued and the owners, or chosen henchmen, were the only ones allowed to wind or otherwise attend the clock. To make this a reality, great lengths were pursued to ensure security of the clock. Hoods were generally of the rising type, sliding vertically on the backboard engaging in grooves in the hood carcase sides (Fig 1).
A spoon catch (A) enabled the hood to be secured by shutting the trunk door, which was locked and presumably openable only by the keyholder.

The hinged opening hood door came later, probably as a result of generally lower house ceiling heights demanded by economics and perhaps fashion. In houses with lowered ceilings, hoods could not be lifted, since they required at least 2 feet of free air above the clock. The answer for these clocks was therefore to cut off the front of the hood, making an instant door which might be secured either by a separate door lock (a cut-cupboard or staple lock), no lock at all or a neat spring-loaded catch (Fig 1B) operated by a cord hanging down inside the trunk, thus maintaining the single point access of the rising hood clock. Often the saw marks of the hood cutting were left untrimmed and the grooves in the hood sides left unfilled and, hopefully the mechanism for holding the hood both up and open (Fig 1C) and lastly the spoon catch have not been removed. Few fully complete examples remain but certainly some evidence of the rising hood usually remains intact. Those interested in the history of such clocks can usually find the evidence, or parts of it, and may detect such desecrations as filling in or otherwise disguising the sliding grooves and covering up the saw marks of hood-cutting with veneer, since planing would probably render the door frame too thin.
The next and probably the most horrible alteration to longcases of all vintages and origins is that of shortening them to fit into a particular room. However, because of the status of the clock as a piece of family furniture which may have passed through several generations, it is easy to see why some people will go to such lengths to get their heirloom clock into a room with low ceilings. The advice that they might either sell the clock and buy a shorter one or even move house will generally not be appreciated! A tall city-made clock will stand between about 7ft and 8ft 6ins which can be some 12 to 18 inches more than cottage or modern ceiling heights of little over 6 to 7 feet respectively. This is a lot to lose and will certainly not be achieved by just removing the brass finials, balls etc from the hood top or even lopping off the bottom of the plinth. It is not uncommon to see holes cut in ceilings and floors to accomodate a particularly precious clock but it is an option which will not appeal to everyone, although it does preserve the clock's integrity and incidentally its monetary value.
Unfortunately, sinking a clock into the floor, which may be damp, can have serious effects on the welfare of the plinth. Lowering the plinth height will almost certainly destroy the proportions of the clock and make it look stunted, and if it is a marquetry case, much of the picture on the plinth will be lost. However, shortened plinths are relatively easy to restore to their proper height but will be expensive if new marquetry has to be designed and cut. It is essential that the restorer knows enough about clockcase design and does not embark on what may be a serious alteration quite unrelated to the original design of the clock and there are many such examples.
Another shortening option, in which the trunk length is altered, is worse still and usually signals the end of the clock case as a collectable item.
The result is that the proportions of the whole case are ruined, necessitating a complete re-build of the trunk which, however well executed, destroys the integrity of the clock. Examples of both trunk shortening and the ravages of damp and woodworm are shown in Figs 2 and 3. which depict the lower backboard and one plinth side respectively. This marquetry fronted clock had suffered numerous abuses through both alterations in height and attempts to repair wet rot and furniture beetle damage.
To continue, evidently the amputation of the trunk was not enough and the hood (4) was attacked. It is likely that the original hood was little if any higher than the ballustraded hat that has been attached, probably in the 19th Century, so one wonders whether this was done either out of ignorance of the most likely design of a normal moulded (cross grain) and perhaps missing original pediment or in an attempt to "improve" the look of the clock. Anyway the result is dreadful and would require a complete rebuild to restore the hood to anything like its original form and the ebonised pillars would need to be replaced with spiral twists (note the quarter section twists at the back which are original). Again this would be unlikely to a cost-effective exercise.
The last point about this poor clock is the shape and position of the lenticle. The lenticle (Fig 5) is filled with either plain or pot glass and the pendulum bob should be directly behind it, flashing through the glass as it swings. Since the pendulum is of set length, so must the lenticle be in a set position.
This one is in line with the pendulum bob but it is decidedly off-centre in the layout of the door's marquetry which suggests that either the door started its life without a lenticle or that the cutting of the trunk was done with little regard for the final position of the pendulum bob in relation to the trunk door.
Lastly, the quality of the lenticle frame is absurdly amateur, so perhaps the whole sequence of operations was done by an enthusiastic amateur or, possibly, the door came from another clock, because there is no evidence of either hinges or lock having been moved, but there is very little space between the top and bottom edges of the marquetry and the door moulding, so perhaps the door has been cut both ends.
Typical Damage to Clock Cases and Some Ideas on Conservation and Restoration
Backboards
The backboard is the clock case's spine and everything in the case is attached to it in some way. It is therefore important for the stability and longevity of the clock that the backboard does its job properly. Where the backboard bottom is rotten or worm-eaten, it needs to be treated by either consolidating the unsound timber or cutting it out and replacing it. Consolidation of degraded wood is generally practical either with the use of injected resin based or other consolident material or by steeping it in hot glue which means submerging it in thin glue size and letting it simmer until all air has been driven out of the flight holes. This latter method of glue consolidation is impractical because of the size of the backboard. However, backboards are thin, at the most say half an inch in thickness, consequently often much material is missing, either because rotten wood has fallen away or wood has disappeared as "frass" which is the wood dust or regurgitations of the woodworm larva. In such very common cases the best way forward generally is to replace the degraded areas of wood. This can be done crudely with a straight butt joint and a wood strap, usually on the inside, which is in danger of interfering with the drop of the weights.
A better method and certainly neater, is to half-lap the boards new with old, using old wood.
However, a better method in my view, is to use what is known as a coppersmith's or 'shark's tooth' joint (Fig 7). This has the advantage of a larger gluing area, albeit on slanting end-grain (which is better than pure end-grain) and because it is less noticeable than the horizontal lap joint. It is in fact very strong if well executed. There is no point in going overboard in concealing the joint which becomes very much a part of the clock's history and is a perfectly legitimate and sympathetic piece of restoration. The picture at Fig 8. illustrates the 'sharks Teeth' method of repair of backboards together with appropriate new side pieces behind the plinth.
Plinths and Feet
While many clocks stand on plinths of some kind, an equal number stand on feet and the 17th century cases are often on four bun feet. Clock design is as regional as that of country chairs and dressers. It behoves both owner and restorer to research what is correct for a particular clock. This work is both interesting and rewarding. Sadly far too much of "this will look nice" goes on in clock case restoration. This is one of many examples which demand that a restorer must know the history of the pieces he/she works on.
Doors
The shape of the trunk door varies hugely in clock design. The earlier clocks were somewhat austere and had oblong doors with square corners and often applied decoration either of veneer or marquetry or, of course, lacquer. Invariably the walnut cases had cross grained mouldings or banding to the door edges or surrounds. The cross-grain moulding warps delightfully with age and is, as on all walnut furniture of the 17th and early 18th Centuries, generally a tell-tale mark of authenticity. I say "generally" because walnut is one of the easiest woods to "fake" and much excellent "reproduction work" was done by skilled cabinetmakers in the 19th century and one can be easily fooled! In passing, this is a factor which deters many Antique Dealers from stocking walnut pieces.
What does not fool anyone is the replacement of cross grain with long grain and you can easily find examples of this. Few clock cases had handles on the doors, this was to come in the 20th Century. Most doors are opened by their keys and there will be either a flush brass escutcheon lining the keyhole or a brass plate escutcheon nailed (not screwed) on the surface. Doors usually have applied edge-mouldings or lip mouldings and have to have special cranked hinges to allow the moulding to 'clear' the carcase when the door is opened. Such hinges may be of iron or brass and the former is usual in 17th and early 18th Century and country cases. The iron hinges of the 17th century were nailed and later brass hinges were more usually secured with iron screws. It should be said here that this is about the only place in which screws would have been used in a clock case. Nails were of the forged flathead clout variety for securing hinges etc. Elsewhere iron 'cut' nails and sprigs would have been used, especially in securing the backboard.
Single board doors, which are common to country clocks, may be cleated top and bottom as in Fig 4. to counteract warping but it is as common to see uncleated doors which are often warped. The heart side of the one-piece door is generally to the outside so that the door warps towards the inside of the clock trunk (away from the heart). This fault is better than having the door sides warp outwards, known as "Smiling"). Veneered and marquetry doors and especially lacquered doors, were generally cleated and quite often this shows through the applied surface where the substrates have moved. Warping is a difficult fault to restore and indeed, because it has happened through the natural movement of the wood, there is a strong argument for doing nothing. Racking, that is warping accross the diagonal, is quite common and largely incurable, The repositioning of one hinge may compensate but is unattractive. Whilst on this subject, the principle of minimum intervention is a basic rule of conservation which all good conservator-restorers should observe quite religiously. Before we leave "Doors", the 20th century flat-head key looks inappropriate on all antique furniture and particularly in clock doors where it is very obvious. A flat-head key can easily be filed into a nice replica old fashioned key bow and I believe it worth doing; it certainly does not degrade the clockcase or its integrity. Alternatively a new key can be made or a traditional bow silver soldered to the existing shaft.
Hoods
Hood door frames are either half-lap jointed or, in the best work, are tenoned. Often veneer or marquetry covers the joints. The hingeing of the hood door is either on iron pins top and bottom, often located in the ends of a door pillar or, because a door with pillars attached must swing well clear of the hood carcase, special swan neck hinge plates are used to enable the door to move well out of the way of the hood sides and avoid a collision. The twists of the pillars, if fitted, may be handed (right and left) on some hoods and it is a nice feature which is surprisingly obvious to the viewer. More commonly the twists are both of one hand, usually right-handed. The pillars, of whatever design are usually repeated at the back of the hood with quarter-sections of the same design and hand as those at the front.
The glass in the door must not be modern float glass and certainly not the non-reflective picture glass! Old handmade cylinder glass is becoming more difficult to find and, to my mind, the replica material of today is not that convincing and neither is it thin enough. The restorer must go out and buy some old 19th or early 20th Century pictures in the local market to build up a stock of old glass. Modern float glass shouts at you and, I believe ruins the look of an old clock. The glass is almost always puttied into the rebates of the door-frame and given a coat of varnish or shellac. Lastly, the construction of hood sides is interesting but not obvious to everyone. In hoods with rectangular side windows, the sides are generally made of three pieces which quite neatly provides the window. In oak and mahogany clocks the grain of the three pieces of wood is usually vertical, whilst in walnut examples the centre section is turned on its side with the grain running horizontally, sandwiched between two vertical neighbours. This latter construction facilitates the making of the small integral mouldings round the window which will all be cut along the grain, which in turn defies the general practice in walnut furniture of producing mouldings across the grain! The best examples however, will probably have small cross-grain mouldings applied to each of the four sides of the windows.
Seat Board
This is the horizontal board which carries the movement and to which the movement is usually secured by two hooks with screwed shanks which either hook over the two bottom movement pillars or long screws. It is always very obvious when a seat board has been renewed - a practice which should be avoided where possible. The seat board usually rests on the tops of the two side members of the trunk which extend into the hood space above the collar. These side members are often of thin section and become damaged to an extent when the seat board and hence the movement are neither safe nor stable. It is important for the running of the clock that the seatboard should be firm and carry the weight of the movement with the weights and pendulum as well as supporting the extra stress caused during winding, however carefully done. The seat-board needs to be level and parallel with the ground.
The most sympathetic way to restore badly damaged side members is to make replacement extensions which are jointed in such a way that there is no interference with the clock lines and the fitting of the hood which slides horizontally above the collar. The seat-board normally rests on the side pieces and is held there by the weight of the whole movement or it may be screwed. Its positioning is entirely dependent on the correct, level and central presentation of the clock face/dial through the hood front. The side members of the case in Fig 9. have been extended upwards using half-lapped jointing from just above the inside of the collar. It is most important to try to retain the original seat-board and the only usual reason for not being able to is if the board is severely twisted or 'racked' and cannot be made to sit flat.
Finishes and Decoration
Cracked marquetry on an unstable substrate is common. Part of the joy of old marquetry is the roughness of surface which develops naturally as veneers move and begin to curl very slightly at the edges. Loose and missing marquetry must be restored, but beware of those who would try to resurface it and damage or even entirely remove that special "unflat patination" so typical of old marquetry work.
Damaged lacquerwork or japanning is not as easily ignored because it is often very unattractive, showing the white gesso coat underneath. Restoration and conservation of these finishes is achievable without seriously altering the object's integrity and it is arguable that a properly restored lacquer or japanned finish, albeit involving major work, achieves more in the preservation of integrity than leaving it merely stabilized but seriously degraded in its appearance. This is an area in which the conservation and restoration arguments are fiercest! Restoration of lacquerwork is a very specialist area and involves serious artistic skill. Urushi, the basic material of lacquer is 'unfriendly' to work with and requires much skill and experience. It should not be confused with western japanned work. Good lacquerwork is valuable and should be treated really carefully by a person who specializes in the skill - not many do! Finally, not all furniture conservator-restorers will necessarily have detailed knowledge of clock case design and history. It is as well to satisfy yourself that the person you choose to look after your clock case has the necessary experience. It is usual, anyway in BAFRA, for members with particular experience and skills, to advertise the fact.

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MY BAFRA ASSESSMENT

MY BAFRA ASSESSMENT
By Michael Goater

I subjected myself to "The Assessment" for full BAFRA membership three years ago, so I have had time now to assess my “Assessment”. Inevitably this is, therefore a personal account, but everybody comes to it in a different way and I am especially envious of those who have completed one of the courses available in restoration and conservation. They have a positive advantage.
Why did I want to join BAFRA? Well at that time I had run my furniture restoration business for fifteen years full time. Before that I had been a schoolmaster, musical instrument maker and lecturer at the Welsh School of Musical Instrument Making and Repair and the London College of Furniture. I have always had a passion for furniture and furniture design, and I suspect that one of the attractions of marriage was the opportunity to design and make all my own pieces! Having established the business - a very steep learning curve and one in which we should help students far more – the inevitable question arose: “Ok, but how good am I?” I always made a point of trying to see other restorer’s work, always went to antiques fairs to have a close look at the furniture. Seeing that I was paying such enthusiastic attention was a great disappointment to a lot of dealers! Needless to say I brought every book I could find on furniture history or restoration, so I seemed to know a bit about the subject and was getting some nice pieces to work on. I particularly enjoyed talking to other restorers but they seemed few and far between, and the demands of business don’t make this easy. I looked around to find some association of like-minded people, and very soon made my first phone call to BAFRA.
Apologising to your bank manager for the slight overdraft was nothing to how I felt when making that first call, but I was soon reassured by the friendly response – more about work than BAFRA. The forms were quickly on their way from which I could judge if my business and me might be up to it. That was the first lesson. BAFRA was as concerned about the standard of service you give to your customer as it was about your personal skills as a restorer. The forms stated the aims of the association as well as the requirements for different levels of membership. Feeling slightly chastened I phoned my contact again and spent some time discussing the criteria. Again there was encouragement and I decided to go for a full membership assessment, knowing that if I wasn’t quite up to it I could get a student membership, benefiting from all that BAFRA offers. While I knew that BAFRA was exactly what I wanted to join I wasn’t over confidant of getting in. However I filled in the forms, arranged for references and was delighted when I learned that I was to be assessed for possible full membership.
Very quickly I looked again at the criteria for assessment and felt the nearest I have ever got to having withdrawal symptoms. However, my cheque had been sent off and I was committed. I looked around the workshop and ticked off what I had in the way of equipment, insurance and security etc., etc. It wasn’t too bad and I further realised that because I was trying to run the business reasonably professionally the demands of BAFRA were not a foreign language; because they are a professional body run for the benefit of me and my customers. That was quite reassuring because seeing all the criteria written out is pretty formidable at first. Strangely, having it all in black and white almost immediately had an impact on the way I did things in the workshop.
Notification eventually came with the promise of a mid-week visit from the assessor. There may have been a certain amount of sweeping up and dusting off, but I thought that seeing the workshop in something like its normal state would give a better idea of the way I work and make me feel more comfortable. From what BAFRA had sent, I knew that the day would be divided between looking at my business and assessing my skills as a restorer. I had collected finished pieces and work in progress and more or less put chisels and planes where they ought to be. The paperwork from my business seemed to cover an extraordinary amount of bench space and this gave the assessor some documentary evidence regarding the way I conduct my business. It consisted of insurance documents, security certificates, copy invoices and other bits of paper that hadn’t seen the light of day for some time.
The assessor arrived, and if I could ever imagine what an assessor should look like, he was it – he was friendly but certainly knew exactly what he was talking about. I knew roughly what questions I was going to be asked, and I suppose I had mentally prepared my replies, but meeting someone so experienced in the field put one on one’s metal because he seemed to sniff out any area where I might have a weakness. Admittedly, this was the first time that I had spoken at length and in depth to anyone at the very top of our profession. However, the fact that we were dealing with a mutual interest saved the day from being too uncomfortable. I won’t run through every detail of an assessment, because these are easily available to all, but there was an interesting moment while we were talking about various historic topics. You can imagine that I had spent the previous weeks with my head stuck even deeper in any book which even hinted at the history of English furniture. In doing so I realised that perhaps I had neglected certain continental influences when the assessor asked me what I knew of the work of Daniel Marot. Even the lifelines he was throwing me couldn’t quite get out what I knew I should know, in fact the only thing I could remember about this fabulous maker/designer was the excessive ornament which I didn’t find particularly appealing. This is the trouble with DIY self-education – you tend to concentrate on what you like instead of gaining a comprehensive background, which you can get at college.
The day was quite unique and one I shall never forget, and I knew from having met the assessor was that I certainly did want to be a member of BAFRA. After what seemed an age, the dreaded letter arrived and offered another lifeline. It appeared that in general things weren’t too bad, but that my knowledge and standard of wood finishing was not all that it should be. The committee felt that should I agree to attend a course on the topic with one of BAFRA’s accredited members, and my work found satisfactory, they would consider my suitability to become a full member. I have not named those that I met in my first encounters with BAFRA, but can’t resist saying that the course most suitable for me was one of those run by Gerald Langley. I would hardly dare to suggest it, but I think anyone entering BAFRA would benefit enormously by spending some working time with one of the accredited members. The way that Gerald shared his skills in polishing and finishing plus the unending conversations on all topics dealing with furniture made for a most memorable week. He kindly informed me and BAFRA that I had performed reasonably well so I was in – and I didn’t even buy him a pint!
Life after the assessment has been pretty good. The fund of experience and knowledge which becomes available is unimaginable, and if you have a problem you just have to pick up the phone. Consolidation – the method of conserving poor but original timber and a technique for bleaching new rosewood are just a couple of things I have learned. BAFRA is a very supportive organisation. The comprehensive suppliers list is a revelation and I have picked up work through being an accredited member – not from Head Office but through another Suffolk member and potential clients asking Bonhams, the V&A and Ipswich Library for a restorer and being referred to our annual Guide. So now I can’t even complain about the BAFRA subscription. It costs nothing to find out about assessment and for me it has been a very positive move.

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ANALYSIS AND RESTORATION OF AN ITALIAN CASSONE C. 1400

ANALYSIS AND RESTORATION OF AN ITALIAN CASSONE C. 1400
By Richard Higgins

The Renaissance was the great period of the Italian Cassone but the form continued to be made even into the 19th Century. Many examples exist of elaborately carved wood, sometimes inlaid with painted panels. Others, like this piece from Sienna and probably dating from around 1400, were constructed in fruitwood and overlaid with raised gesso patterns, some of which were highlighted with polychromed and occasionally gilded decoration. Depictions of military heroes or religious themes were prevalent.
The quality of craftsmanship evident in this piece has obviously contributed to its remarkable state of preservation and, with the exception of the lid, there is only superficial degradation of the gesso rather than large areas of loss and delamination. Gesso made from calcium sulphate was the standard preparation for Italian panels during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and the method of applying it is famously described by Cennino Cennini in his fourteenth century handbook for painters. According to his instructions, the first coat should be ‘gesso grosso’ made from unprocessed calcium sulphate, but the final coats should be ‘gesso sottile’ i.e. using calcium sulphate that was first heated to produce the hemi-hydrate from, then slaked in copious water to form a precipitate of fine particled dihydrate.
The cassone is structurally fairly sound. The back left hand foot is loose and should be secured. Much of the timber around the base is worm damaged but none of the infestation is active. The convex lid has obviously split badly in the past and been filled with an unknown resin. Although somewhat unsightly, this is sound and serves to stabilise effectively the timbers of the lid. The convex surface has at some point started to flatten out and as such is coming away from its side members, particularly at the front. Unless environmental conditions alter radically, then further movement is improbable. Trying to reverse this condition is very likely to cause other damage to the lid and I would therefore recommend that the existing gaps that are evident be accepted as part of the overall character of the piece. It is unfortunate that, because of this movement and extensive worm attack, the vast majority of applied decoration to the lid has been lost.
The cassone is decorated with raised geometric patterns surrounding shields, guarded by winged beasts and the whole is enclosed by a Latin inscription of The Lords Prayer. The background has been textured and patterned using tools to produce tiny crosses and small circles. Unfortunately, the original gilded and coloured decoration has been lost and the cassone over-painted at a much later date with a thin layer of red brown pigment. There is an extensive fungal growth of a cloudy white appearance over the surface of the gesso which has arisen from adverse environmental conditions. Whilst this is fairly firmly attached to the brown paint, it has not yet penetrated deeply into the composition of the gesso.
ANALYSIS
Five tiny samples of the surface were taken, mounted in resin and cut and polished as a cross-section. Paint from the upper layers and ground layers was dispersed on glass slides and the pigments identified by polarised light microscopy at magnification x 1000. The identity of the metal leaf of sample 1 and the ground layers of sample 3 was confirmed by X-ray analysis using a scanning electron microscope. A chemical test for lead was carried out on sample 3.
Ground
This is calcium sulphate laid on in two or three thick applications of ‘gesso’ and the craftsmen appear to have followed Cennini’s general rule, as the first gesso layer is coarse and made up of large fibrous crystals of dihydrate, while the upper gesso layers are compact and the crystals are very fine. The ground layers are compact and appear to be richly bound with animal glue. The high ratio of glue to calcium sulphate may be partly responsible for the cupping and cracking.
Paint Layers
Two of the five samples are missing the original paint layer, samples 1, 2 and 3 on the other hand, have the remains of seriously degraded decoration which is probably original.
Sample 1 shows the remains of silver leaf over a preparatory layer of reddish clay. The silver probably once had a coloured glaze over the top. The glaze is now dark brown and the metallic leaf has oxidised to black silver oxide.
Sample 2 has the same red clay as in sample 1, however there is no metal leaf visible.
Sample 3 contains particles of a lead pigment - either lead white or lead tin yellow - suspended in a translucent brown oil layer which may once have been coloured. The lead pigment has degraded, forming a grey layer on the outer surface; it has probably been reduced to lead sulphide.
Samples 4 and 5 retain no trace of the early decorative finish, but the gesso layers are the same.
Restoration
Over the top of sample 1 is a coat of red/brown paint. This is resting over degraded varnish and therefore cannot be original. The pigment is an iron oxide of natural origin, of which we are unable to determine the date..
Conclusion
The ground, and the surviving decoration in three of the samples have all the characteristics of genuinely old paint that has suffered badly over time.
CONSERVATION
It was decided that the three main aims of conservation treatment were:
To remove fungal growth from the surface and to treat the piece throughout with a fungicidal agent in order to kill any spores and prevent re-infestation.
To introduce a consolidant into the network of cracks and fissures in order to ‘shore up’ the more fragile gesso beneath to prevent future losses.
To monitor its environment in order to establish whether conditions are suitable to reintroduce the piece without danger of damage and to advise on any changes necessary.
Treatment
The only structural work undertaken was to secure the back left hand foot which was loose using traditional scotch animal glue. Surfaces were cleaned prior to gluing using a water based gel.It was necessary to use a fungicidal agent which was not water based as this would cause extensive damage to both the overpaint and the gesso and animal glue. The treatment, however, would need to have a low viscosity in order to penetrate below the surface. We applied IMS (95% ethanol: 5% methanol) with cotton wool swabs which would instantly kill mould spores, flow into surface cracks and evaporate quickly without leaving harmful chemical residues. The entire surface and interior was treated and the growth removed. A surprisingly small amount of surface dirt came away.
Subsequently a dilute mixture of paraloid B72 crystals, (B72 20%: Propanone 70%: IMS 10%) was prepared for consolidation of the gesso. Using the same method of application, the brown surface was then wiped down with Propanone/IMS during the process to leave it free of consolidant. Paraloid was chosen because it is easily removable using its carrying agent so that, should future conservators wish to carry out further excavations of the painted surface, they can do so easily and without damage.
Finally, a light coating of microcrystalline wax was applied in order to further protect the surface and revive the red/brown pigment.
We have not been instructed at this stage to remove the later red/brown paint, of which we are unable to establish the date, but on consideration of the analysis results we would not recommend that this be done. Areas where the colour is worn away reveal medieval material, although any remaining original pigments and metal leaf are so degraded that no discernible colours or design would be apparent were it to be totally removed. Although quite contrary to the original gilded and polychromed surface, the water soluble red/brown paint is deemed aesthetically acceptable.
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
The environment of the Chapel at Wenlock Priory was monitored for a three month period between 17th March 1999 and 16th May 1999. Light levels are always low and as such it was not deemed necessary to measure these over an extended period. Sensors for both temperature and relative humidity (RH) were located on the floor immediately beneath, inside and on top of the cassone.
Readings from all three sets of monitors were remarkably similar, which would indicate that the variations in temperature and particularly RH were most dependent upon prevailing atmospheric conditions rather than problems such as damp rising through the floor. If the graphs displaying the readings, which were taken and recorded every 44 minutes, are examined closely, it will be evident also that temperature and RH are fluctuating in line with each other, rather than a change in temperature having an opposite effect upon the RH as one might expect if there were temperature fluctuations caused by the switching on or off of central heating. This would further suggest that the local environmental changes are due to the ambient climactic variation. That being said, we do at times see the RH rising to the 75% region which, if held there for any prolonged length of time, is likely to promote fungal growths.
Given that the Chapel contains other gessoed items, I would recommend that an attempt is made to prevent the RH rising above 65%, (60% would be an ideal upper limit but pragmatism being taken into account would make 65% an acceptable and more realistic limit to achieve). The lower RH recorded of approximately 50% will not cause any problems at all. I would recommend that the simplest and most likely way to achieve the limiting of the highest point in RH is to introduce into the chapel an electrically powered oil filled radiator, controlled with a hydrostat set to operate at 65% RH. Running costs would be relatively low as it would only come into operation for the short periods when the RH rises.

ANALYSIS AND RESTORATION OF AN ITALIAN CASSONE C. 1400

ANALYSIS AND RESTORATION OF AN ITALIAN CASSONE C. 1400
By Richard Higgins

The Renaissance was the great period of the Italian Cassone but the form continued to be made even into the 19th Century. Many examples exist of elaborately carved wood, sometimes inlaid with painted panels. Others, like this piece from Sienna and probably dating from around 1400, were constructed in fruitwood and overlaid with raised gesso patterns, some of which were highlighted with polychromed and occasionally gilded decoration. Depictions of military heroes or religious themes were prevalent.
The quality of craftsmanship evident in this piece has obviously contributed to its remarkable state of preservation and, with the exception of the lid, there is only superficial degradation of the gesso rather than large areas of loss and delamination. Gesso made from calcium sulphate was the standard preparation for Italian panels during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and the method of applying it is famously described by Cennino Cennini in his fourteenth century handbook for painters. According to his instructions, the first coat should be ‘gesso grosso’ made from unprocessed calcium sulphate, but the final coats should be ‘gesso sottile’ i.e. using calcium sulphate that was first heated to produce the hemi-hydrate from, then slaked in copious water to form a precipitate of fine particled dihydrate.
The cassone is structurally fairly sound. The back left hand foot is loose and should be secured. Much of the timber around the base is worm damaged but none of the infestation is active. The convex lid has obviously split badly in the past and been filled with an unknown resin. Although somewhat unsightly, this is sound and serves to stabilise effectively the timbers of the lid. The convex surface has at some point started to flatten out and as such is coming away from its side members, particularly at the front. Unless environmental conditions alter radically, then further movement is improbable. Trying to reverse this condition is very likely to cause other damage to the lid and I would therefore recommend that the existing gaps that are evident be accepted as part of the overall character of the piece. It is unfortunate that, because of this movement and extensive worm attack, the vast majority of applied decoration to the lid has been lost.
The cassone is decorated with raised geometric patterns surrounding shields, guarded by winged beasts and the whole is enclosed by a Latin inscription of The Lords Prayer. The background has been textured and patterned using tools to produce tiny crosses and small circles. Unfortunately, the original gilded and coloured decoration has been lost and the cassone over-painted at a much later date with a thin layer of red brown pigment. There is an extensive fungal growth of a cloudy white appearance over the surface of the gesso which has arisen from adverse environmental conditions. Whilst this is fairly firmly attached to the brown paint, it has not yet penetrated deeply into the composition of the gesso.
ANALYSIS
Five tiny samples of the surface were taken, mounted in resin and cut and polished as a cross-section. Paint from the upper layers and ground layers was dispersed on glass slides and the pigments identified by polarised light microscopy at magnification x 1000. The identity of the metal leaf of sample 1 and the ground layers of sample 3 was confirmed by X-ray analysis using a scanning electron microscope. A chemical test for lead was carried out on sample 3.
Ground
This is calcium sulphate laid on in two or three thick applications of ‘gesso’ and the craftsmen appear to have followed Cennini’s general rule, as the first gesso layer is coarse and made up of large fibrous crystals of dihydrate, while the upper gesso layers are compact and the crystals are very fine. The ground layers are compact and appear to be richly bound with animal glue. The high ratio of glue to calcium sulphate may be partly responsible for the cupping and cracking.
Paint Layers
Two of the five samples are missing the original paint layer, samples 1, 2 and 3 on the other hand, have the remains of seriously degraded decoration which is probably original.
Sample 1 shows the remains of silver leaf over a preparatory layer of reddish clay. The silver probably once had a coloured glaze over the top. The glaze is now dark brown and the metallic leaf has oxidised to black silver oxide.
Sample 2 has the same red clay as in sample 1, however there is no metal leaf visible.
Sample 3 contains particles of a lead pigment - either lead white or lead tin yellow - suspended in a translucent brown oil layer which may once have been coloured. The lead pigment has degraded, forming a grey layer on the outer surface; it has probably been reduced to lead sulphide.
Samples 4 and 5 retain no trace of the early decorative finish, but the gesso layers are the same.
Restoration
Over the top of sample 1 is a coat of red/brown paint. This is resting over degraded varnish and therefore cannot be original. The pigment is an iron oxide of natural origin, of which we are unable to determine the date..
Conclusion
The ground, and the surviving decoration in three of the samples have all the characteristics of genuinely old paint that has suffered badly over time.
CONSERVATION
It was decided that the three main aims of conservation treatment were:
To remove fungal growth from the surface and to treat the piece throughout with a fungicidal agent in order to kill any spores and prevent re-infestation.
To introduce a consolidant into the network of cracks and fissures in order to ‘shore up’ the more fragile gesso beneath to prevent future losses.
To monitor its environment in order to establish whether conditions are suitable to reintroduce the piece without danger of damage and to advise on any changes necessary.
Treatment
The only structural work undertaken was to secure the back left hand foot which was loose using traditional scotch animal glue. Surfaces were cleaned prior to gluing using a water based gel.It was necessary to use a fungicidal agent which was not water based as this would cause extensive damage to both the overpaint and the gesso and animal glue. The treatment, however, would need to have a low viscosity in order to penetrate below the surface. We applied IMS (95% ethanol: 5% methanol) with cotton wool swabs which would instantly kill mould spores, flow into surface cracks and evaporate quickly without leaving harmful chemical residues. The entire surface and interior was treated and the growth removed. A surprisingly small amount of surface dirt came away.
Subsequently a dilute mixture of paraloid B72 crystals, (B72 20%: Propanone 70%: IMS 10%) was prepared for consolidation of the gesso. Using the same method of application, the brown surface was then wiped down with Propanone/IMS during the process to leave it free of consolidant. Paraloid was chosen because it is easily removable using its carrying agent so that, should future conservators wish to carry out further excavations of the painted surface, they can do so easily and without damage.
Finally, a light coating of microcrystalline wax was applied in order to further protect the surface and revive the red/brown pigment.
We have not been instructed at this stage to remove the later red/brown paint, of which we are unable to establish the date, but on consideration of the analysis results we would not recommend that this be done. Areas where the colour is worn away reveal medieval material, although any remaining original pigments and metal leaf are so degraded that no discernible colours or design would be apparent were it to be totally removed. Although quite contrary to the original gilded and polychromed surface, the water soluble red/brown paint is deemed aesthetically acceptable.
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
The environment of the Chapel at Wenlock Priory was monitored for a three month period between 17th March 1999 and 16th May 1999. Light levels are always low and as such it was not deemed necessary to measure these over an extended period. Sensors for both temperature and relative humidity (RH) were located on the floor immediately beneath, inside and on top of the cassone.
Readings from all three sets of monitors were remarkably similar, which would indicate that the variations in temperature and particularly RH were most dependent upon prevailing atmospheric conditions rather than problems such as damp rising through the floor. If the graphs displaying the readings, which were taken and recorded every 44 minutes, are examined closely, it will be evident also that temperature and RH are fluctuating in line with each other, rather than a change in temperature having an opposite effect upon the RH as one might expect if there were temperature fluctuations caused by the switching on or off of central heating. This would further suggest that the local environmental changes are due to the ambient climactic variation. That being said, we do at times see the RH rising to the 75% region which, if held there for any prolonged length of time, is likely to promote fungal growths.
Given that the Chapel contains other gessoed items, I would recommend that an attempt is made to prevent the RH rising above 65%, (60% would be an ideal upper limit but pragmatism being taken into account would make 65% an acceptable and more realistic limit to achieve). The lower RH recorded of approximately 50% will not cause any problems at all. I would recommend that the simplest and most likely way to achieve the limiting of the highest point in RH is to introduce into the chapel an electrically powered oil filled radiator, controlled with a hydrostat set to operate at 65% RH. Running costs would be relatively low as it would only come into operation for the short periods when the RH rises.

RESTORATION OF A SEVENTEENTH CENTURY INDIAN IVORY INLAID CABINET TABLE

RESTORATION OF A SEVENTEENTH CENTURY INDIAN

IVORY INLAID CABINET TABLE

y Peter Brazier

"This 5mm square of pattern was a mix of no less than 15 pieces of different sized ivory and wood arranged in a specific manner. It was barely discernible to the human eye."
This cabinet, which was approximately 30" x 20" x 20" with a fall and small drawers inside, came to us for restoration.
Inspection showed the carcass was split in several places and the end joints had significantly moved. Not surprisingly it was apparent that over the years it had been repaired, sometimes well but frequently indifferently. The lock on the fall was a replacement, a smaller till lock, and the carrying handles were cheap modern wrought iron ones. Unusually in a cabinet of this origin, all the inlaid surfaces except for part of the back were covered in a relatively thick veneer. There was an immense amount of inlay missing and much of what remained was not secure and was curling up. A great amount of the banding was missing and the outer row had been completely removed and replaced by veneer.
Banding
The extent of the restoration needed made this a challenge in itself but the repair and replacement of the banding in a cost-effective manner was daunting. The banding was of a Tonbridge Ware type pattern enclosed between ivory and ebony stringing. No less than 7Oft of this banding needed making up in two different patterns! The internal pattern was only 5mm wide and the pattern repeated itself every 5mm. This 5mm square of pattern was a mix of no less than 15 pieces of different sized ivory and wood arranged in a specific manner. It was barely discernible to the human eye.
It was photographed with a digital camera and greatly enlarged. This enabled us to see that down the length of the banding the pieces were all of uniform width however across the banding they were alternately single and double sized.
Before starting the work we turned to the engineering trade and bought two 6" slitting saw blades which were about 1 1/2 mm thick. These we had ground down to 0.4mm thick. As so much banding was needed it was essential to reduce the waste of ivory to a minimum by using the finest saw blade. We also had a mild steel gluing jig made up. The side and top were tightened on threads and came up on steel stops. Each 5mm x 5mm "pattern" was made up in 12-inch lengths. After the jig was tightened the whole was placed in a low oven (70 deg.) so the excess glue could flow freely out of the perforated drain holes at the top and bottom of the jig.
When several lengths had been made they were side glued together and then "bacon sliced" off and the slivers glued up between the outer stringing. The jig proved of enormous value as everything came out precisely to size and the banding was relatively quickly assembled.
Carcass
Before work could be started on repairing and replacing the ivory inlay, the carcass had to be repaired.
The corner joints were injected with glue and many of the wooden pegs which had failed in shear, were replaced. Then splines were carefully shaped precisely to fill the splits in the carcass. Several areas where the veneer cladding was completely missing were made good as well as those edges of the cabinet, which had been split away.
Ivory Inlay
All the ivory was calibrated for thickness by gluing temporarily onto boards and passing through a thickness sander. Before any new inlay was applied much of the existing inlay had to be removed, flattened where necessary and the cavity cleaned out before re-laying. All the missing motifs were cut out to size in packs of three with a Hegner saw, then fitted; using the finest blades, three were found to be all it could handle. Motifs, which were incomplete, were repaired. Just under 900 pieces of ivory alone had to be cut out, fitted and applied! When completed the missing banding already made up to length was similarly applied. All the replacement ivory and wood had then to be scrapped down to a true surface avoiding the old ivory motifs, which were engraved. Only then were the replacements engraved themselves. The outer moulding was then re-worked around the edge of the cabinet. Finally the whole piece was given a rubber of shellac and waxed up.
Hardware
A new lock was fabricated to fit the original pin position and back plate. We cast suitable contemporary handles and had them and the lock plate silver-plated. The fixing of the handles presented us with a particular difficulty. Originally the pommels would have been either of the strap variety, bent over and nailed inside or more likely made from half round bar and squeezed together inside the cabinet, having previously been threaded and then hove up on a nut and the surplus cut off. We could not do this without removing the whole inside of the cabinet. How we overcame the problem was to make up solid pommels, cut exactly to length and bolted inside; even this was not easy. The handles we cast without the conical pieces on the end, thus allowing the handle ends to pass through the pommels.
The end pieces were then hove up on threads which had already been drilled and tapped as we could not silver solder them without destroying the silver plating.

Info Coppied from

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