Restoration of an Art Deco Quilted Queensland Maple coffee table

A friend of ours has a lovely oval shaped Art deco coffee table veneered in quilted Queensland Maple. Unfortunately, time has not been kind to the veneering of the oval column as the veneer has lifted and a large piece has been broken off. Fortunately, the piece has been retained. I love highly figured Queensland Maple so I was happy to offer to do the restoration.

This is the table, and the problem. I swear my images are the correct way up (promise) but no way I can change them. However, you can see the veneer lift and the broken off piece.

Attachment 410731Attachment 410733Attachment 410732

The loose piece of veneer had straightened out so it no longer fit the curve and clearly the lifted veneer had also exhibited a tendency to straighten rather than follow the curve.

Because of the age of the piece, the original adhesive would most likely have been hide glue. I tested that with a rag and some hot water and confirmed it. The oval shape made clamping difficult without making a purpose-built former - a lot of work for a one-off. So, instead, I injected hot water and hide glue behind the lifted veneer and dipped the loose piece of veneer in hot water to soften it, coated it with hide glue and placed it.

I then wrapped the repair in cling wrap and, when I was sure the the veneer was in the correct place (since hide glue is slimy and pieces tend to slide out of place) before wrapping in a strong fabric tape and leaving it to dry for a couple of days.

Mostly, that process went well. However, the edge that had lifted was very stubborn and wanted to stay raised. I couldn't have that so I decided to apply some more direct clamping pressure. warmed the hide glue at the joint and applied some more. I shaped a hollow into a piece of scrap timber to match the curve of the column at the join. Then, I padded it with some bubble wrap. On the other side I taped a piece of plywood to protect the veneer then applied pressure with two clamps.

Attachment 410769

Clamping the joint worked well. I left it for a couple of days before I removed the clamps, then cleaned off the squeeze out with hot water on a rag. Unfortunately, as is often the case when re-gluing a patch that has been off for quite a while, the loose piece of veneer had not only straightened but also my hot water dip had swelled it a bit. That made the join less than perfect. I gently sanded it smooth with very fine grit wet and dry - but that had its own consequences in making the sanded join much lighter than the original finish.

I applied many layers of brown button shellac with a rubber but I still wasn't happy so I touched-up the lighter sections with a fine brush and some stain/shellac mix I made up. I'm no painter, but the aim was just to disguise/make the repair less obvious and I think I have achieved that. It is not perfect but that is very difficult to achieve.

Attachment 410773 After gluing and smoothing

Attachment 410772 Retouching a
Attachment 410771 More retouching
Attachment 410774 Waxed and finished - the repaired patch is on the column at the lower RHS

That looks like a pretty good job to me. Well done.

cheers,

ajw

A great result and a good WIP!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

That is some beautiful veneer and a lovely old table.