Old blackwood chairs - HELP

Hi everyone - this is my first post. Have been dabbling in old furniture restoration as therapy (desressing after work and on wekends).

Have come across some nice old highback blackwood dining chairs. Got them home and took off old leather padding and srings to find that someone had tried (BADLY) to restored them twice already.

There are losts of nails (not tacks - nails) in the wod which has badly splintered. The rest of the chairs are in good condition apart from a bit of regluing.

Does any one have any helpful hints on restoring the cushioning/seating without losing the already lost integrity of the timber tyhe leather needs retacking to.

I hope this is reasonly clear. If not please get back to me. I can take some photos and post if it will help.

Kind Regards

I am not sure as to what component of the chair is damaged by the previous repairs. Is it a visible part or will it be hidden by the upholstery?
Can you post a picture.

It would be good to see a picture, we have some old blackwood dining chairs made around 1895 that have been handed down through the family. The wood being fairly brittle had splintered at the tack points and some regluing was required on the joints. Upholstery supplies have a sheet of what looks like tacks in a row that you only place one tack every so many places and that dresses up the fabric which is stapled in place to minimise further stress to the frame. Hope that gives a clue to where you are heading but from your post I have little idea as to your real problem. These chairs where french polished for the first time in a hundred years and came up a treat.

JohnC

The photos do not do the chairs justice. The wood is very splintered where the leather seating was. this has compromised the integrity of the timber. What can not be seen is the splitting and splintering of the timber nor the three rows of nail holes from all the coverings places on them.
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I was wondering whether it would be better to rout out about 1/2 inch or so and put seat inserts rather than follow the old pattern. From a purist point of view, I know that may be sacrilege but I do not want to damage the chairs more than it has already been damaged.

It also seems that once i took off the shellac that the seats had been painted (don't you hate that). Any thoughts on removing paint embedded in wood grain?<o:p></o:p>

Why not try CCA ( super glue ), it seem to work for wood turners in keeping the wood together?


Al :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Trevor5330

1. I was wondering whether it would be better to rout out about 1/2 inch or so
2. Any thoughts on removing paint embedded in wood grain?

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1. I'd make that a last resort. I agree with super glue, or 24-hour araldite mixed with wood dust.

2. Apply paint stripper, leave for a few minutes, apply more and scrub with various stiff brushes or coarse steel wool. Wash/brush out what's left with meths.

Good luck Trevor

Hi Trevor,

You could rout out the splintered and missing parts and insert some new wood that could be glued (?) in. This would keep the chair looking the same (as far as I can see from the photos the damaged parts are all under the upolstery).

Just another option.

Regards

Greg

Is there just a tiny chance here that these chairs are in fact oz red cedar originally french polished or lacquered and now black with age ?

P.S.If they are cedar then the superglue is a good option as it will penetrate and stabilise cracks and holes and can be applied to very small areas as needed rather than doing more damage to the originality and patina. Ditto for the finish. It might be very tempting to strip it with alchohol and fine steel wool and then refinish with shellac but I certainly wouldn't touch them with sandpaper as you will lose all that surface history.