Stripping! Friday June 25th, at the shop

Today I thought I would show you another aspect of our shop I haven't posted on yet. We just got done stripping the finish of this chair and table set. Our strip tanks give the cleanest result possible. We have even had customers come to us with items they have hand stripped or had other companies strip, but that need some additional cleaning. That certainly give us a little boost of confidence! Now that these chairs are clean and finish-free, we will prep them and apply an nice new water based finish. Water based finishes are awesome for many reasons, but my favorite is just the significantly lower health risks. Come back soon to see the finished dining set!

Flat Reed Weaving June 23rd at the shop

Just another beautiful example of what our furniture weaver can do! This cool chair still needs to have the new weaving stained to match the original, but once that is done, you won't be able to tell the difference. This chair is now ready to be used for years and years to come.

An update on our bedroom set project

Ok, so on June 11th I showed you all the work-in-progress bed set. It had come to us covered in nicks and dings and even a few cracks. These all needed to be filled and have the wood grain painted on. Fortunately at our shop, we have a pro at making things dissapear! So we put him to work! Now you can't tell where the real wood grain leaves off, and where the painted wood grain begins. In fact, I challenge you to try and figure out on this head board where the split in the wood was. It was at least 6 inches long! Also, if you look back at our older posts you will see a picture of this head board mid work, looks pretty good now doesn't it?

Bar Stools For Sale! June 17th at the shop

Check out these awesome Barstools we recently put up for sale! We think these three bar stools were someone's imaginative creation from parts that went to other things. But what a great concept! We wish we had a way to use them. The seats do swivel. The bases will need to be anchored to a floor or extended base to keep from tipping. The seats are 27" from the floor, the base is 10" in diameter with six holes for mounting bolts.

The set can be yours as is for $150 plus tax

Check out our other items for sale on our website.... http://bit.ly/b3duZT

June 16th, At The Shop...

Well, we are starting on some really neat, but totally different projects here at the shop. These dashboards all belong to the same guy, but need completely different care, to bring each of them to their best. They are all for 1930's era Bentlys. In that era a gentleman's sports car was expected to be customized, so following in that tradition, our customer is customizing his! The dashboard on the bottom is being switched from a right side drive to a left, and the center one is being fit to put into the vehicle. The top dashboard unfortunately needs the most repair, so it is being re-made.

June 15th At The Shop...

So we have been working for a few weeks on this beautiful trunk from Portugal. Here you can see it as it came in, and it's condition as of today. After cleaning it thoroughly it is interesting to see that the trunk actually has a slight purple coloring which was hidden by the grime and age previously. This trunk has a wonderful family story attached, but before I tell it, I want to get it right. So when I post about this trunk being finished, I promise I will have the story for you in all it's wonder, straight from the first owner's granddaughter.

June 11th at the shop...

We have begun working on a HUGE bedroom set today. It came to us with nicks and dings as scuffs and scrapes all over it. It is quite a set, including a King Bed, a nightstand, Two dressers and a mirror unit. But all 5 items have extensive repair and touchup to be done. At this point the repairs are almost completed, now our 'touchup magician' can move in and do his stuff. After the work is completed, you will have no idea where the problems were. Don't believe me? Come back soon and see the finished work!

June 9th at the shop...

It is Furniture Stripping Day! Today we take all the pieces that have come in this week which need stripping and get all of them done at once. We usually have lots of cabinet and chairs and such to strip, but today we have something special going through our tanks. This beautiful handmade chest was made a few generations ago and has been passed down the family tree. It's current owner decided it was about time to restore it to it's former glory. Since she wants to preserve the original (but very damaged) finish, we are not stripping it completely, we are just putting it through our cleaning tanks. It looks pretty bad now, but keep checking back with us, because you will be amazed at what a transformation will occur with this special piece.

June 8th At The Shop...

Today a project we have been working on for a few days was completed and picked up! We received about 20 Cabinet doors recently which were all painted white. Our job was to strip the old paint off and give them a new finish. These doors though were not solid wood which made it an extra challenge. Since they have a Particle Board Core, we had to be especially careful to be sure that no moisture from the stripping reached the inside. We were able to put them through our solvent stripping process but had to do the cleaning by hand.

After stripping, and prepping we applied the beautiful finish you see now. It is a Brown Cherry Stain with a Satin finish. How would you like to have these beautiful doors your kitchen?

June 7th At The Shop...

This beautiful rocking chair came in to the shop this weekend in desperate need of some TLC. The original hand caning on the back had split all the way down the center. Lucinda, our Furniture Weaver got to work on it right away. Here you can see the weaving in mid progress, with little wooden pegs holding the cane into the chair until the work is finished. After the caning is done, we will apply Tung Oil which will take away the white color and help the new cane to match the original cane on the seat. This lovely rocker from the 1850s or 60s is considered a 'ladies' rocker. You can tell because it has hip rests instead of arms. This allows room for a ladies skirt.

I love rocking chairs. Something about them seems so much like home. Probably because they are easily associated with mothers, grandparents, comfort and for me, memories of curling up reading a good book.

June 4th At The Shop...

Today we had two birthdays to celebrate here at the shop, but we were still able to get allot done. Today we put the final coats onto the Antique Piano Bench we mentioned yesterday. We are also in progress on the finish of some beautiful cabinet doors we stripped. A hand made Hope Chest is being disassembled so that we can make repairs. Busy weekend for the Craftsman so hopefully today will continue to be productive!

June 3rd At The Shop...

Today we have several different items we are working on, but one in particular captures my imagination. This beautiful piano bench from the 1900s has a Bird's Eye Maple top that almost glows with it's new finish. The wood grain has such intricate styling that it seems to dance. We stripped the old finish off and applied a new Blonde Shellac. This historical finish helps the bench to retain it's value, and we are proud to be able to say, we are the only shop in California who can legally apply these old style finishes.

It is easy to imagine this unique piano bench gracing a home over 100 years ago. I wonder what tunes were played and what parties were entertained?