wellywood
Established Member
This is a follow-on from a post I made looking for veneering advice. After considering the options and the advice I got, I decided the original finish was beyond repair and the entire carcase needed re-veneering. Apologies to all the purists who tried to persuade me retain the original finish but it really was too far gone. Besides, SWMBO wanted a flat top she could stand an old hand operated machine on which meant getting rid of the hole for the original swing-out machine.
Here's the original with a few close-ups of the original finish.
I stripped off the old veneer which was so easy it showed how damaged it was. The next job was to decide whether to remove the old edge lippings and fit them to a completely new top or repair the existing top. I chose the latter option figuring that, after nearly a century, the original substrate would have performed all the gymnastics it was going to and also that I would probably never be able to refit the edges as neatly as the originals. I therefore used the hinged lid as a patch for the hole, plugged the superfluous screw holes and patched the hinge mortises. The top with the new insert was then scrubbed flat and sanded. As shown below:
Time to move on to the drawer carcasses. The applied moldings were removed (some had already fallen off but luckily had been stored in the drawers) then they were also stripped of the original veneer. The carcase sides had cupped in one or two areas so they were re-glued and clamped then the sides scrubbed flat. These are now ready for re-veneering.
The applied moldings were covered in a thick patina of dust and polish and were losing definition so were cleaned using a Dremel with a soft wire brush attachment.
That's it so far. Next step is re-veneering and I'll update as I go.
Here's the original with a few close-ups of the original finish.
I stripped off the old veneer which was so easy it showed how damaged it was. The next job was to decide whether to remove the old edge lippings and fit them to a completely new top or repair the existing top. I chose the latter option figuring that, after nearly a century, the original substrate would have performed all the gymnastics it was going to and also that I would probably never be able to refit the edges as neatly as the originals. I therefore used the hinged lid as a patch for the hole, plugged the superfluous screw holes and patched the hinge mortises. The top with the new insert was then scrubbed flat and sanded. As shown below:
Time to move on to the drawer carcasses. The applied moldings were removed (some had already fallen off but luckily had been stored in the drawers) then they were also stripped of the original veneer. The carcase sides had cupped in one or two areas so they were re-glued and clamped then the sides scrubbed flat. These are now ready for re-veneering.
The applied moldings were covered in a thick patina of dust and polish and were losing definition so were cleaned using a Dremel with a soft wire brush attachment.
That's it so far. Next step is re-veneering and I'll update as I go.
