Furniture repair

[BigguyZ]

Well, I have a small house, but it's a sparsely furnished small house. And while I fully intend to some day have it filled with handcrafted works of my own making, I'm still working on getting a shop in order first...

So, I found this buffet on Craigslist for a reasonable amount of money. When I got to the house, I could see some minor splitting in the side panels, and the bottom drawer needs the bottom replaced. But otherwise it looked in OK condition. It was definitely hand crafted, with dovetailed drawers, carved doors, and claw feet. The side panels are solid wood, and not plywood. The whole thing is made of quarter sawn white oak.

The husband of the seller helps me get the thing into my car, and it wasn't until it was fully loaded that I noticed the bottom rail for one of the side panels was completely gone. And while it's not completely falling apart, it's nowhere near solid (even missing that part of the side panel). the husband immediately offered to reduce the price substantially, and I thought it was still a good enough deal.

SO.... here's my question. Is it best to try to keep it as together as you can, and re-glue what you can do easily enough- or should I try to completel y disassemble it, re place the missing part, and then re-glue/ reassemble the while thing? If I don't take it apart, how in the world would I be able to repair the side panels?

I'm also wondering if I should refinish it. I don't mind the look now, but there's really nothing much protecting it finish-wise. And the finish is dull enough that the ray flecks in the white oak don't pop much at all. I know it's sacrilige as far as conservation goes, but the thing needs to be repaired anyways, why not try to bring it fully back to life?

What do you guys (meant in the non-gender-specific-sense) think?

[cabinetman]

Can you post some pictures so we can see what you are referring to?

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[BigguyZ]

forgot pics. These are from the ad, I need to resize the ones I took of the missing part and panel damage...

[BigguyZ]

More pics. You can see the two sides from the bottom. There's actually two missing pieces from the left side panel.

[tommyt654]

Nice lookin buffet,I do a ton of repurposing of older,better made furniture from the past, amazing how well things were built 60-80-yrs ago and in todays market you would be surprised what a coat of milk paint or a nice coat of paint can add to the value of older furmiture doubling sometimes tripling/quadrupling the initial investment and easily paying for time and materials. Enjoy your project

[Pappy]

Try rubbing on an inconspicuous spot with denatured alcohol. The finish is probably shellac and if it is, the alcohol will break it down. If I am right, the only thing I would do to the finish is rub down top with the alcohol to even out the finish and then maybe add a coat or 2 of fresh shellac.

You can duplicate the missing piece on the end panel so it will glue in tight with just butt joints. Try ammonia fumiing some sraps to 'age the new wood then work with mixturesuntil you get a stain that will match the original wood. Again, finish the new piece with shellac.

[chopnhack]

Nice find Bigguy. Pappy has given some excellent advice on the piece. I am also in the same boat for the repair. I wouldn't attempt to disassemble the piece, way too much time and repairs will need to be undertaken and as far as we know its not a heritage piece worth doing all that for. If you think that you may have found a valuable antique, have someone look at and appraise it before you make any changes to it!

[BigguyZ]

Here are some more pics. The thing is holding together, but there are a LOT of joints that are just coming apart. I think because this was made well, the fit of the joints is preventing it from going down the crapper totally. As we know, the old glues just don't last like modern PVAs.

I tapped the parts apart to show how it's separating, but I can easily tap it back together. When it's stationary, I think it's fine- so there's no rush. But eventually I'd like to make sure it's solid again.

So do you think just using glue injectors and re-clamping the piece should be good enough?

As far as the finish goes, I think that's a great idea on the alcohol. I'n not thinking of sanding it, but I would like to find a way to bring out the grain more. And I'm definitely not going to paint it (I'm not sure what to make of your comment, Tommy. But whatever).

Do you think there's any way to repair the cracked panel? It's not too visible, but if I can fix it I wouldn't mind doing so...

[tommyt654]

Guess what I meant was if you are just going to repurpose it and only care about its usage vs looks it could be painted or "antiqued" as they call it. I have taken a lot of older furniture such as this ,effected repair and either lightly sanded and refinished it or painted it and taken to a friends business (antique furniture) where he'll display and sell it, I take 85% and he gets the rest. We have sold a ton of repurposed furmiture and its fairly proftable from that viewpoint. Yes if you are going to keep it and wanted to keep the originality to the piece I understand the perspective and think even a very light sanding after effecting repairs (pin nailer + glue comes to mind) followed by a wipe on urethane poly and a good wax job would really make it "pop" more.Its definetely a nice lookin piece tho

[cabinetman]

Here are some more pics. The thing is holding together, but there are a LOT of joints that are just coming apart. I think because this was made well, the fit of the joints is preventing it from going down the crapper totally. As we know, the old glues just don't last like modern PVAs.

I tapped the parts apart to show how it's separating, but I can easily tap it back together. When it's stationary, I think it's fine- so there's no rush. But eventually I'd like to make sure it's solid again.

So do you think just using glue injectors and re-clamping the piece should be good enough?

As far as the finish goes, I think that's a great idea on the alcohol. I'n not thinking of sanding it, but I would like to find a way to bring out the grain more. And I'm definitely not going to paint it (I'm not sure what to make of your comment, Tommy. But whatever).

Do you think there's any way to repair the cracked panel? It's not too visible, but if I can fix it I wouldn't mind doing so...

Depending on how old the piece is, the glue used may be hide glue. If it is and was done properly it far exceeds the performance of our common white glue (PVA), or yellow glues (aliphatic resin). Doing a repair would be easy if done with hide glue, as it will work by re-activating the presence of old hide glue. If the joinery was done with any white or yellow glues, new glue to old glue doesn't hold very well.

If the gaps are large enough, a two part epoxy would be the adhesive I would use. As for the cracked panel, you could support the width with a clamp, and add the glue, and slowly clamp the width to bring the separation together.

I wouldn't try a disassembly, as parts will not likely fit back together perfectly. There's the possibility of pieces cracking or edges tearing. For the most part adding glue or epoxy as a force fed input, and clamping will usually be sufficient. If you plan on taking it apart or certain pieces, be prepared to having to fabricate a replacement part with the same species, and then to stain/tone it to match.

As for that bottom rail, it appears that the top linear edge may be grooved to fit the bottom edge of the panel. I may be wrong about that. In any case you could make a well fitted butt joint and glue in place. To improve the joint, I have in the past drilled a ¼" hole at an angle on the underside of the rail into the leg and inserted a dowel with glue. Something like a pocket screw, but much more dependable. I wouldn't use PS's or biscuits period.

The finish could be shellac, or, depending on the year it was made, lacquer. If it's a film finish it's unlikely that it is oil based.

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[Woodshark]

I just got through repairing a smaller white oak desk from the same era. It had similar problems. Glue joint failure, split top and a missing piece or two. Here is what I ended up doing.

1. Top-Cleaned out the crack in the top. Re-glued with Titebond II and clamped it back together.

2. Loose glue joints- If I could wiggle it loose, I cleaned up and re-glued it. If it held ok, I left it alone.

3. Missing pieces-Lucky for me, they were not visible so I replaced them with red oak.

4. Finish-The finish was ok, just had years of dirt and handling. It cleaned up well with non-abrasive GoJo hand cleaner. This is a trick I picked up from an antique dealer years ago. Just make sure you use the non-abrasive stuff, not the stuff with grit or pumice. It works like a champ.

[woodturner]

Do you think there's any way to repair the cracked panel? It's not too visible, but if I can fix it I wouldn't mind doing so...

Given that the piece appears to be handmade, the first thing I would do is try to determine its age, maker, and value. While its a remote possibility, its possible you have found a valuable antique -and if you attempt repairs on such a piece, you are likely to destroy its value.

If you do opt to repair it, the "ethical" approach in the restoration field would use reversible methods - hide glue, shellac (assuming that is the original finish), etc. Given that the piece is well-made, it's likely that a future craftsman will want and need to do further repairs. To allow him or her to do the repairs, reversible methods are preferred. If you don't want to work with hide glue, white or yellow glues are generally reversible as well, but definitely avoid "permanent" glues like urethane, epoxy, and urea glues.

A restoration craftsman would disassemble the piece, clean out the old glue, perform the repairs on the individual pieces, then reassemble - but that doesn't mean you have to do it that way. If you use hide glue or possible thinned yellow glue, you may be able to inject enough glue into the joints to make the piece solid. If the joints are generally tight, this method can work well.

Regarding the split panel, it's really just a matter of gluing and clamping it, but the clamping is likely to be the challenge for an in situ repair. Perhaps you could cut wood wedges and wedge the panel against the frame to "clamp" it while the glue dries.