This table came to us some time ago in desperate need of some veneer expertise. It is a 'home made' table, which makes the original work quite remarkable! Unfortunately the glue just didn't stand the test of time, and there were pieces of veneer peeling up and breaking off all over the place. We began our work by stripping the table, which revealed the true nature of how much work was needed. You can see the work needed, in the top photo. We were able to salvage many of the pieces that had peeled or broken off, and re-glue them into place. But for the rest of the damage, we had to try and find a matching veneer and make patches. This turned out to be a true challenge. Much of the veneer on this table is rare or obscure, so that made it hard to find replacements. In addition, when we did find the correct replacement veneer, the older pieces had often darkened with age, so the patches were still visible. The wood grain matched, but the depth of color did not. This meant we had to use subtle dye techniques to bring the new wood to the same tone as the old. We also had to employ some expert touchup techniques where the old veneer had tiny little chips, or the seams between veneers were no longer as crisp as they once were.
Once the tricky veneer work was completed, and all the necessary touchup and dye was done, we moved on to replacing the finish. We applied a shellac as that was the original finish. To replicate the color we used 4 coats, 2 of orange shellac and 2 of super blonde shellac. The table looks fantastic. The colors of the veneers are vibrant and have depth. It is once again a masterpiece that can proudly grace the living room of the original maker's family and descendants.
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