Summertime Update

So I'm realllllly falling behind on posts. Things have just been really busy lately. I'm sort of back to work, but off again this week.

I picked up a complete DISASTER longcase clock to repair for a client (which will bring in some much needed cash). The clock is so badly damaged that it's almost as bad as if it had fallen face forward on concrete. It's now all fixed and ready to go. I'll be posting about it on the clock blog later. Here's one of the before photos:



So what else has been eating-up my time...

The farmhouse is still coming along nicely but slowly (I'm about 4 or 5 posts behind on it).

There was Canada Day on the 1st, and that same weekend was my friends' annual family & friends BBQ. Good food with good company.

I finished-up working on the shop hutch, but I'm not ready to post about it until I can dig-up all the photos of the build from the past... 4-5 years? I need to take better "finished" photos, and I want to recap the entire project within one post. Here's a teaser of the hutch:



I found some awesome antique light fixtures as a gift for my Dad's birthday, which was last week. One part was missing so I spent some time running around and assembling a makeshift replacement. These are "chain" light fixtures from the 30s or 40s. One of the socket bases that holds the shade was missing (new ones are 75$). Both shades, the one base, and all the chains were only 6.99$! Check out eBay and see how expensive these sell for normally. This was one heck of a great deal!



Dad was thrilled with them, and I had time to hang one of them for him right away. The second one needed a special adapter plate, so I couldn't install it yet.





I started a painting last night. I've been planning to start it for several months.



The painting is a cropped section of the painting "Selene and Endymion" by Ubaldo Gandolfi ca. 1770. I assume that the cherub is meant to portray cupid. In the full sized painting, Endymion can be seen below Selene, lying asleep in a cave. In Greek mythology Selene is the goddess of the moon, who fell in love with the mortal shepherd Endymion. There are several paintings and depictions of her, but I came across this photo a few years ago and really loved it. I have no particular interest in Greek mythology or moon goddess worship, I just liked the picture and I have several antique frames that need paintings in them, haha.

The painting will be 16" x 20" and painted in acrylics.

As soon as I have more time, I'll be posting several more farmhouse posts. I may condense some, and eliminate a lot of boring photos. You don't need to see drywall patching, or more electrical.

I also have a Westminster clock to finish repairing for another client (since Nov-Dec), a Victrola top to repair and refinish for a US client (from over a year ago), a client who needs me to order new gut lines (and install them) for an antique longcase clock, a possible cable replacement on another more modern longcase (I haven't seen this clock or even met the client yet), and I need to revisit (check) my friend's parents' longcase which stopped a while back. That same friend's father has an antique (scrap 1850s) piano that he's donating to me for parts.

So if all that wasn't enough to keep me busy, I thought I'd also include the facts that I have a queue of about 46 hours worth of audio podcasts to listen to, 64 TV show episodes to watch on top of my daily YouTube videos, and there are also 4 or 5 movies I want to watch, and I obviously haven't found the time to watch any of them.

Auction

I went to an auction yesterday. The star attraction for me was a stunning French Comtoise longcase clock. I was really hoping I'd be able to take it home. Sadly, I was outbid on it, but I still wanted to share some of the auction items, and my two purchases.

First off, the star of the show, and the only reason that I dragged myself out of bed at 7am on a Saturday, the longcase. This is a French longcase clock along with its original grain-painted case. The clock dates from around 1860-1870, and it was in fairly decent condition.







The case on it was pretty warped, very flimsy, and thin, but I've been told that they are all made this way. It's sort of like a fragile house of cards holding up a 30Lb movement. The grain painting and surface decorations were absolutely wonderful, and in excellent shape. The dial and pendulum were also beautifully painted (in the original paint) and in great shape. These are just thin stamped brass, and they get damaged very easily.

Some of the problems with the clock, however, were not going to be easy fixes. One of the major problems was that the original hinges of the trunk door were broken away. This means that there are chunks of wood missing from the door, and that some of the original hardware is now missing. The way these hinges work was basically just an eye bolt, with "L" shaped bent wires sticking out of the case body. These are very simple hinges, and you can just lift-off the doors if you need to.

Other small issues were that some of the boards on it were severely warped, like the left upper panel shown above. There was also a deep crack through the right side of the case which would have been impossible to repair. The clock also has no key, which is usually a very large crank. You can buy new ones, but old original keys are always much better.

I was willing to pay quite a bit for this clock, but nothing crazy. I had told myself 600$ max, but when it came up for sale, I bid up to 650$, and lost to a bidder who got it for 700$. I was pretty bummed out after that.

The last detail I'll mention about the clock before I move on, is that it was much taller in person than I had expected. I'm 6' tall, and I think the dial bottom was at about my height. The clock was probably a little over 7 feet tall.

At the auction there was also another longcase clock, an Art Deco style German one probably from around 1900-1930.



I wasn't really interested in this one, because I'm not a super big fan of Art Deco, and I don't think I'd like having this huge piece of furniture that I didn't absolutely love. It sold pretty cheap at 130$ to an antiques reseller (I spoke to him later on). It wasn't until after the auction was over that I truly realized how terrible the condition of this clock was. The man who bought it was trying to move it onto a dolly, and the entire top part of it was loose and broken from the rest. You could see screws into the wood that had been added (and that weren't holding it together anymore). I also noticed that the top door hinge had broken right through the wood side of the door and it had been very poorly reglued, and there was also a break in the wood case behind the hood door. On top of all this, I also saw that the two lock plates on the case looked like they were missing, so even though the locks and key were still there, you couldn't keep the doors shut. It also had just general problems visible from the start, like the chipped upper crown, and loose mouldings everywhere. Besides all this, the veneer on this clock was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. I'm not even sure if it was burled walnut, or some other burled wood, but it was some of the nicest cuts I've seen on any similar clock (which is saying a lot). Even the sides were just as nice as the front (a lot of clocks and veneered furniture use cheaper or plainer veneers on the sides).

There were several other mantle clocks at the sale, but only two were worth photographing. This first one was a mint condition Seth Thomas "Black Mantle Clock". I don't know what model it was, but it had a Seth Thomas label on the back, and the plates were stamped ST, so it was all original. A lot of these clocks have been heavily refinished, so it's always nice to see original ones like this in good shape. I bid on it, but I wasn't willing to go over 100$ on it. Some are selling for much, much less on eBay these days. I think it sold for 120$ or 130$.



Another Art Deco piece. This one was a Perivale Westminster chime clock, from the UK. I'm told that it's not the best brand to look for if you want a Westminster clock. I think it sold for 75$. IT was in very good shape, and it ran, because it started up during the auction and kept ringing during the day. So did the Seth Thomas, actually.



Some of the furniture went for absolutely nothing. A lot of items went for very low prices, while others went for way too much. This gorgeous Victorian settee went for only 50$.



This painted cupboard was one of the few items that actually went for a semi-decent price. The auctioneer started at 1200$, but it ended up selling for only 500$ and no one else bidding. It was a really beautiful piece. From the photo I had thought it might be a fake, but I opened it up to look at it, and it was the real thing.



This was another item that almost had me in tears for what it brought. A gorgeous pine bonnet chest, roughly 1850s, old crackle paint, but rotted/broken front feet (not hard to replace). Dovetailed drawers. Gorgeous piece of furniture. 50$. If I'd have had a truck, or a place to put it, I'd have bought it.



This piece was interesting. There was a bunch of stuff on it, so I couldn't open it to look inside, but it looked a lot like a VERY old Quebec blanket chest. Some of these are as old as the 1700s, but again, it's hard to say for sure. I think it had missing mouldings around the top. It sold for 75$.



The last piece that almost had me crying was this MASSIVE bookcase unit.



According to the auctioneer, one of the people there said they knew where this cabinet came from. Somewhere local and it was either a built-in or from a store display. In either case, the piece was probably close to 10 feet wide, and it had been propped up on an odd looking base. I would have taken that off, and put 6 bun feet under it as a low bookcase cabinet. All it needed was a few new pieces of glass. It sold for only 150$. Just for comparison, it would probably cost 200-400$ just to build a copy of ONE of those doors.

So finally we come to my purchases. I was so bummed that I hadn't managed to buy the clock or anything else (and I wasted the entire day there: 9am-4pm) that when the auction was close to wrapping up, they asked the rest of us if there were any specific items they wanted us to bring up. I had been waiting for 2 specific oil lamps, so I got one of the guys to bring them out.

The first one, and the one I wanted the most, as a black marble 1860s coal oil lamp with a wheel cut font. I had one other bidder against me but I got it for 45$ (less than what I've paid for some of my other lamps).



The other one was this early 1850s flint glass "bulb" or ringed/beehive lamp.



I got it for 30$. Note that the burner and chimney that are on it are NOT original. They are much too "top heavy" for the lamp, since the lamp was meant for whale oil.

Both lamps were FILTHY, especially the black marble one. It still had coal oil in it (which smells like roofing tar), and I think it has never been cleaned. The patina on the brass is some of the heaviest I've ever seen (which is nice - and very difficult to fake, btw). All of the engraving was also deeply embedded with grime.





Both lamps after cleaning, and the short lamp with the correct burner.



I spent about half an hour cleaning this lamp. I did not polish any of the brass on it (because it looks amazing like this), but I did wash it. I actually took the entire lamp apart to clean it. The entire bottom is held together with a bolt in the marble base. I scrubbed all the nooks and crannies in the engravings with Comet and an old toothbrush. The inside was also a bit of a challenge to clean. I had to use the toothbrush, a paintbrush, and my fingers to reach all the spots, but now it's spotlessly clean.



The engravings show up especially well when it's backlit.



The last thing I want to mention, is that the incorrect burner and chimney from the bulb lamp were a perfect fit for my white marble lamp that was missing these parts. I had been looking on eBay for a burner and chimney, but it would have cost a lot more than the 30$ I paid for the bulb lamp, so really, it was almost free.

Small Updates

Alright, I've made a few small tweaks to the blog's layout and design.

I've had one or two readers who've expressed difficulties clearly reading the text in the posts due to the transparency, so I've switched it to a coordinating dark greenish black. I've also slightly increased the font sized, and switched font to "Georgia".

I had also noticed that for some reason my 600x800 photos were touching the right edges of the frames, so I've adjusted the widths again.

Hopefully that will make everyone (including myself) happy. If there's any other small bugs you've noticed, please let me know. That said, also be aware that I'm just using modified existing Blogger templates, so I'm slightly limited. For example, I haven't done any kind of checking for what the blog looks like on mobile devices.

***

House-wise, I've continued to work in the garage by installing a beautiful salvaged door at the base of the staircase leading upstairs. There WAS a door here when I moved, but it was a recycled closet door which was too short, and it was very poorly installed.

Before:



The door was hung on the inside of the stairwell, which made it really awkward:



I really want to beautify and improve the garage/shop so I'll be installing insulation, repairing the cracks in the concrete, installing wall coverings (either OSB or drywall), painting, and putting in new lights, plugs, and probably even a sub-panel.

Having a nice old door at the bottom of the stairs is part of that "beautification" process. The door opening was fairly small, so I could realistically only install a 26" door or smaller. I ended up installing a 24" door, since it was one of the nicer ones that I had, and I had nowhere else that I was planning to use it.



The door I picked is a beautiful 2 panel Fir door (salvaged from the trash just 2 or 3 houses down the street) and I removed the top panel. I will install a glass panel here.

I spent several hours over the past two days installing and tweaking this door. First, I built a new frame (jamb) for it, and then I installed the jamb into the wall opening.



I found 2 beautiful antique ball-tip hinges in my stash of antique hardware, and stripped the paint off of them. These hinges were silver, so they don't match anything else I will have in the house, so they're prefect for the shop.

The hinges were installed, and the door placed in the door opening. Before I could install the door in the new jamb, I had to re-trim the top of the door slightly.

Once I had the door fitted, I had to pick some hardware. I was going to change the really Art Deco plates that were on the door to something more plain, but the old plates were really tall and left holes and shadows. I decided to just keep the old plates for now.

For the knobs, I wanted to use the same black ceramic clay knobs I'll have (eventually) on the interior doors. The ones I used on this door are slightly oversized, so they don't match the rest of the others I have. Again - perfect for the garage.

The lockset I used was the original one from this door. I took it apart, cleaned it, and gave it a quick paint job (flat black spray paint on all the internal metal pieces for moisture protection).

If you look at the white paint on the 2x4s flanking the door, and compare it to the first photo, you can tell how much the height of the door was adjusted. This door isn't even a full "new" standard door height either. A new door is usually 80" and this one is around 78".



Isn't the old hardware just beautiful?



The door jamb still needs the stop mouldings (I have old ones I'm recycling, but I'm missing 24" for the top piece).

Furniture and Drywall

Nothing too exciting to report, but I at least have some photos.

I just did another small batch of drywall repairs in 3 rooms.

Around the new vent in the Office:



The corner seams on the Living Room cold-air returns (to Master Bedroom):



And the long seam in the kitchen.



The furniture portion is the "sprucing-up" of the little Art Deco night table trash find. Here was the "as found" photo:



Step 1 was to remove the awful Mac-Tac stuck to the bottom shelf. It was pretty well stuck down, but with a little bit of heat from a heat gun (on low), it softened the plastic film enough to get it started, and most of it came off fairly easily. The finish under the Mac-Tac turned out to be in near perfect shape, so that was a big bonus. With old furniture, sometimes you just never know. There could have been a big stain, scratches, failed finish, or all kinds of other horrors under a later covering (or paint), but sometimes you get lucky.

The drawer handle was removed and cleaned (just warm water and dish soap). It's a cheap die-cast alloy metal with a gold paint finish. The upper part is a semi-transparent celluloid plastic with marbling.

While I was working on the drawer, I noticed one side was unglued. I just coated the mating surfaces with a bit of carpenter's glue, and clamped it back together. If this were a heavier wearing item, I would have taken more time to scrape out any old glue first.



The back plywood along the bottom shelf was warped and loose, so that was nailed-in with additional new nails.



If this were a more high-quality item, I would have taken the time to also repair the loose veneer along the back of the bottom apron (near hammer tip in photo), but it wasn't worth the trouble on this guy. This area is never visible.

The top had a few issues as well. There were two smallish holes through the veneer, and the side pieces, which are made of a cheaper wood that was painted (it was done this way originally on many pieces) a brownish red colour to match the Walnut veneer, was chipped along most of the length on both sides. The original shellac was also chipped and damaged over the entire top surface.



The holes were filled with a dark red (matching) wax, and the chipped edges were touched-up with a specialty furniture touch-up marker.

The entire piece was given a rub-down with a stain/scratch cover polish.

If I wanted the top to look new, I would have stripped it, and refinished it (just the top not the entire piece), but I wanted only a minimal (quick) restoration on this piece. The stain covered most of the imperfections, and I went over this with a light spray of satin varnish (aerosol). The spray varnish was done ONLY on the top. All the rest of the finish on the piece was fine.

This is the finished piece. It still needs a quick coat of wax polish (which won't take long) but I'm waiting for the top varnish to fully cure (it could take several more days). The final waxing won't make any noticeable difference in the photos, though.



Note: there were also a whole bunch of chipping/raw wood edges that were showing on the rail over the drawer, and along the bottom shelf. Those were also touched-up with the marker.

The top. Not perfect, but very serviceable. Can you spot the two holes? I can't.