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November 11 2003

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November 10, 2003

Well, we got the web site taken care of and the means to send out the newsletter taken care of, now we have to work on me. I'm starting this from the intensive care unit of the hospital after having what the doctor called a heart attack. It didn't feel like what I've read that heart attacks are like and I feel fine. As long as he lets me have my laptop I'll go along with his wishes. This shouldn't effect the re-start of the newsletter, so it should be there close to on time.

Luckily my eight year old granddaughter Jacqui was playing nearby and called 911 to get an ambulance. She's a real hero around our house, the whole neighborhood and the hospital.

We're just full of excitement in our neighborhood. A week before my episode a guy that stole a car in Colorado ended up in our neighborhood in central Washington state with city police, sheriffs office and state patrol hot behind him. That's a pretty tricky thing to do too, because our street is the next to the last street before vast nothing but sagebrush and cheatgrass, it's a block long with a lake 1/2 block away on one side and no earthly reason for even a dodo car thief to end up here. He did though and took over a 79 year old lady's house across the street and down three houses. Luckily someone in the house saw a man with a gun coming in the back door and got the lady out the front door. To shorten the story up a bit, the police had our street blocked off at both ends so we couldn't get home for a while, which really was hunky dory with us, because there was a police sharpshooter on our roof. They talked the guy out without further incident about an hour later.

Quick tip

Clean from the bottom up. When you're cleaning a piece of furniture it's easiest if you can lay the piece in different positions so that you can always work on a flat vertical surface, but that's impossible with large heavy pieces. When you're working on a side of something start cleaning from the bottom up. When you get furniture cleaner runs, which are inevitable, they run down clean surfaces and can be easily wiped off, but when they run down a dirty surface, even though you wipe them they usually always will show slightly after you clean the area.

Periods of furniture and furnishings

I get frequent questions about the different periods of furniture styles. Volumes upon volumes have been written about furniture styles, so we can't cover the subject in depth in the newsletter, but we can manage some of the nitty gritty in a few newsletters.

We'll kind of put the cart before the horse and start with modern furniture, since the majority of people have modern or contemporary furniture.

Modern and Contemporary are apples and oranges. Contemporary furniture can include modern design, but can also include replicas of different eras, but modern is a design in itself.

The modern era began in the late 1940's, probably due to World War II. Material was scarce and workers were more interested in working for the war effort than making elaborate furniture, so the furniture became very utilitarian and plain. After the war there was a great need for more furniture made quickly and plain was the quickest and easiest. Occasional tables became a slab of wood with four legs fastened on with metal brackets in many cases. Case products, like dressers, buffets and hutches became straight edges and square corners with no ornamentation at all.The main problem with modern style is that there really was nothing to admire. Chairs kept people from sitting on the floor and tables gave you a place to lean your elbows, otherwise it wasn't too exciting.

That's pretty much generalizing, because there are many people who prefer the plain straight lines of modern design and lots of collectors are keeping the modern style alive and although it's plain there are some very collectible and valuable pieces.

Some interesting things have branched out from modern design, such as chairs shaped like hands to hold your round part quite comfortably and table pedestals shaped like a human foot to hold up the plain top. People are an inovative and interesting group.

Contemporary is anything from the here and now. In the late 1940's and 1950's modern style was contemporary, but contemporary moves along with the times. You can go into any large furniture store and find a selection of replicas of different furniture styles from different historical periods and some styles that have been designed specifically for the present time.

Contemporary furniture includes some very nice furniture made from some top grade furniture wood, such as walnut, mahogany, cherry and oak. That's the furniture that will become the antiques of the 2100's

Then we move to particle board with a plastic laminate. That type of furniture will last a while, but no matter how tight sawdust is squeezed together to make particle board it's effected by moisture the same as any other wood product. The main problem is that the particles are held together by glue rather than the stuff that makes a tree stay together for hundreds of years.

Plastic laminate is durable and hard, but once it's scratched or the surface color is worn through it's impossible to refinish it and an unnoticeable repair is almost impossible. One nice thing though, plastic laminate is an ideal surface for veneering with wood veneer.

Then to the lower end, kind of temporary contemporary furniture until you can get something better. Particle board with a photo finish plastic sheeting finish. Kind of like plastic wrap with a photo finish wood grain pattern. The plastic wrap finish has a big smile in the store, but on the way home it seems to take on a defiant chin jutting attitude and shortly after you get it home and rassle it together, for no reason other than because, it starts coming loose on the edges, then big chunks and so on.

There is a benefit to particle board furniture. More of the tree that isn't used for lumber and used to be just burned is made into material for consumer products, so it will save a few trees.

Quick Tip

You can fume oak to make it a warm brown color.

Build a framework large enough to enclose the piece of furniture, but not too much larger. PVC pipe makes a good cheap frame. Use the utility grade 3/4 inch pvc available at garden centers and pvc fittings. You can cut the pvc pipe to desired lengths with just about any kind of saw. Just push the joints together without glue, then when you're through with the frame you can dismantle it and store it away until the next project.

Cover the frame with plastic drop cloth or plastic sheeting and tape any seams. Place a glass bowl of ammonia under the furniture piece, or if it sits flat on the floor place four smaller bowls, one on each side with ammonia and let the piece fume for a couple of days and the fumes will turn it a warm brown. After the wood is fumed you can apply a clear finish. The wood has to be raw, either new wood or completely stripped as the fumes won't work on oak with a finish.

Be sure that it's somewhere that children or pets can't get to the ammonia.

Product links

I got an email from someone questioning the links to products so I thought I'd give an explanation in the newsletter.

It seems that links to some products show up in each newsletter, mainly in email replies that I use in the newsletter. Prelude Furniture Cleaner is a good example. There are many different types of situations where furniture cleaner is part of the procedure, but the question answered is for a different general procedure.

Although the stuff is good, I'm not pushing it, just making it available to those who would like to use it.

When I first started the web site I determined that the whole site should be totally ad free, nothing but information, but it didn't take very long to discover that a lot of people wanted information about where to purchase products. I got way over my ears with that type of email.

An example is someone in Tulsa, Oklahoma who wanted to know where they could buy Deft brushing lacquer, so from my home in mid Washington state I found a store a few blocks from their home that sold it. It gets a little time consuming shopping all over the USA and sort of difficult in other countries that use different addressing systems, so I started linking to product suppliers on-line.

The suppliers are people that I buy from and I know to be well established and trustworthy. The links to products are a convenience to anyone who wants to use them. I receive a small commission from some of the products sold which helps to cover the cost of the web site and other expenses involved with giving out free information.

Extra smooth sanding

Email question. . . . .

Hello

thank you for your info on using the tung oil on my cherrywood end tables. I have dicided to use a paste wax to add some sheen to the wood and not poly.

I have one problem though. I tried to remove a scratch and left the sander in one spot too long. I now have a white spot on top of the table. I have tried to apply stain to the spot, but it would not absorb the stain. It is not a veneer finish, but there is no sign of the grain in this spot. I think I will have to use a touch up marker. I'm puzzled. How did I mess this up?

Thanks for your help JC

Reply . . . . .

Hi JC

You may have sanded too smooth for the stain to be absorbed. The more smoothly you sand wood the less stain will soak into the wood. You might try a light sanding by hand with a little more coarse sandpaper than you used originally and see if it will soak up stain then.

It's unusual that there's no sign of the grain with solid wood. Generally something like you describe is from sanding through veneer on high density particle board.

And then the kind of reply from JC that's fun to hear. . . . .

Thanks for your prompt reply about the spot on the table that I sanded too smooth. I never sanded with fine sand paper before and never encountered such a thing. It is taking the stain now but I have to appply a few more coats to attain the color I need. I have'nt refinished may items,so I checked some books at the library to see if I could find a solution and I found no mention of sanding too fine so I have decided that you are a genious. By the way,I am seeing some grain now that I roughed the spot and added the stain. Thanks for your help JC

Veneer repair

Email question. . . . .

How do you repair Veneer that is split and curled?

Dave

Reply. . . . .

Hi Dave

First you might try laying a piece of clean white paper over the split and go over it with a warm iron (clothes iron). There is a very slight chance that the heat may reactivate the glue and stick the veneer down. Be sure to have the paper on any part of the surface that the iron touches and don't heat it too much or the finish will soften and stick to the paper. Don't have any water in the iron at all, because the steam could make white stains in the finish.

If the heat doesn't work then the next thing is to apply a couple of layers of masking tape exactly at the edge of the split on both sides for protection of the veneer while you work on it.

Next clean out all the dust and any glue crystals or other foreign things under the veneer on both sides. A toothpick is a good tool for this operation. A real fine crochet hook is another good tool. Scrape it out the best you can, but don't push too hard or you can go through the veneer at the back of the split. Slide some masking tape gently under the veneer to pick up more chunks. Don't press down on the veneer while the tape is under it or it can be the dickens to get loose.

Apply some yellow carpenters glue to the whole surface under the veneer on both sides of the split, then work as much excess glue out as you can by pressing down on the veneer. Wipe the excess with a damp cloth. Very carefully remove the masking tape from the edges of the split and press down on the veneer again to see if more excess glue will come out. Wipe with a damp cloth.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the split to keep any glue that might ooze out from sticking your work to the weights you're going to apply. Put a narrow strip of wood or anything else flat and narrow, like a flat ruler or yardstick directly over the plastic wrap over the split to localize the weight, then pile on lots of weight, like a pile of books or anything else heavy.

Let the glue cure overnight with the weight on the repair, even though the directions will probably say that the glue will set in an hour. That should take care of the problem.

Alcohol and white finish.

Email question. . . . .

I own a dining room set that is about 60 years old. My local cabinet maker told me that denatured alcohol was all I needed to apply and have it look as good as new. I did and the wood has turned an ashy white. He says that is moisture in the piece coming to the surface. Help! Have I ruined the finish? Did I remove too much of whatever originial finish it might have had? I don't know the difference between varnish and laquer, so I don't know what it had. I believe the piece to be mahogany.

Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I am working on the smallest of the pieces which is a server.

Thank you for your help.

Adriana

Reply. . . . .

Hi Adriana

I think you can heave a big sigh of relief. The white is probably only old wax and polish buildup that was affected by the alcohol. The white probably is moisture, but it's probably moisture from the alcohol which was added to the old buildup of wax and polish and not coming from the wood into the finish.

If you had removed any finish you would have definitely known it. The only finish denatured alcohol will remove is shellac. The denatured alcohol would have dissolved the shellac and turned it into a gooey mass about the consistency of honey or molasses.

Give your set a good cleaning with a furniture cleaner designed for cleaning, such as Prelude Furniture Cleaner

Whenever someone, whether it's a local cabinet maker or me, suggests using a product on your furniture you should try it in an out of the way place to be sure that it's compatible with your finish. It's a lot easier to repair a tiny spot than a whole large surface.

You can find more information about restoration.

If you'd like to add a little protection of your finish you could use something like Antiquax or Craftsman Furniture Polish shown on the same page as the cleaner.

If you use wax apply it very sparingly, a thin coat will dry harder than a heavy coat, will give more protection and is a lot easier to work with.