Machine Carved Platform Rocker

 We have completed work on this platform rocker,  and just in time to!  Its owner is having a baby any day now and will be putting this beautiful chair to use right away.  Fortunately,  the water based stains and finishes we use have almost no VOCs, zero fumes, and are quite safe for use on furniture than infants will be around.

As I was looking at this chair and taking photographs I noticed an interesting clue that tells us this is a mass produced rocking chair.  If you look at the carved panels (of which there are 3 on this rocking chair) you will notice that instead of being a balanced carving with a clear center and mirroring sides,  it seems to be a replicating pattern that could have easily been carved over and over by a machine.  But the real kicker is that the replicating pattern isn't  centered on the chair.  It looks as though a long strip of wood was machine carved, chopped into pieces and then bent into shape.

While this is a fine method for making furniture, and you end up with a sturdy piece with beautiful carving for a lower price, it would be better if the maker had at least paid a little attention to detail and centered the pattern in each chair.  If the middle of the three flowers on this rocking chair was one inch to the left, I probably would never have noticed the obvious mass production clue.  Or, if a more subtle carving design was chosen, that didn't have such distinct parts, then centering the design would not have been an issue at all.

Restoration of a Chippendale Chair Set

Chippendale is probably one of the most well known furniture makers and we had the pleasure of  working on a set of Chippendale style chairs in our shop.  Actually these two chairs are so old, they may be originals.

As you can see, they came to us in really bad shape.  One was completely in pieces but they both needed to be thoroughly re-glued.  As we have worked on this set of chairs some really interesting things became apparent to us.  These little things such neat historical clues.

The chairs have identical styling, as though they were made by the same furniture house, but they are also subtly different, as though different craftsmen made each one.  Notice how the arms are the same curve, same pattern, but one has a wider flair than the other.  One chair is also a tiny bit taller than the other.  They both have the same shell motif on the front of the seat, but one is carved a little more shallow then the other.  When we put together the way the joints were made,  the tight grain of the mahogany wood (which means it really has to be very old)  and the hand made details,  we begin to see that these are very very old chairs.

With a little bit of digging about the history of Chippendale design, it begins to look as though these are original, late 1700's chairs, probably made in the Chippendale design house itself, and definitely made in England.  English Chippendale furniture was made of Mahogany, whereas American manufacturers generally used Cherry.  Thomas Chippendale also employed 40+ craftsmen who all used the same patterns, but each worked on a piece until completion.  American makers used a more assembly style process which means that the slight variations in this chair have to be from English manufacture.

After we performed the extensive repairs and regluing that these chairs needed,  we prepped them for staining and then our customer came in and chose the stain color herself.  The color she chose, and that you see on these chairs in Dark Pine stain over Mahogany wood which gives a gorgeous rich  red color. After staining with our water based stains,  a glaze was applied so that the intricate carving that Chippendale chairs are known for,  could be fully emphasized.  Now all the chairs need is a new seat and they will be ready to grace the most elegant living room.

It has been such delight to bring these chairs back to life for our customer.  They were her grandmother's chairs and have been in dis-repair for as long as she can remember.  With such a beautiful history,  it is good to have the chairs look beautiful as well.

Old Morris Chair Gets A New Life

This Morris Chair came to us in bad shape.  The finish on the wood was failing and had turned a dusty color or was just worn off.   The casters on the legs ware missing as well.    We began of course by stripping the chair in our immersion system which got the wood very clean and ready for prep sanding.  The chair originally had a dark stain on it, and while the chair's owner could have chosen any stain, they decided to go with something that would have been similar to the original color.   The color they chose is Walnut, and over that it has a Satin Finish.  

After the finishing was completed,  the old holes for the casters were drilled out, filled with dowels and then re drilled so that new brass casters would fit securely.  Now all it needs is a new padded seat and back and it will be ready to grace any room!

Morris Chairs were first marketed in 1866 by William Morris and is one of the original 'recliner' style chairs.  The chairs featured a hinged back, set between two un-upholstered arms.  The angle of the back could be adjusted through a row of holes, pegs or notches in each arm.  Reproductions are still made today, but they generally have a lighter wood stain, and simple oak slats instead of the decorative spindles under the arms.