Small Project Updates

So as I mentioned the other day, I did some stripping for a few small projects, and here they are!

First off, it's nothing too exciting, but it was a *LOT* of work, and I want to show it off: the living room heating grate. It still needs the thumb latch, and I'm getting a copy cast for it:



Next is the inlay maple desk/table. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to finally have some semblance of a proper desk after 4 years of dealing with a rickety card table. I also took the opportunity to thoroughly vacuum the floor, clean out the computer (inside) case, and clean all the wires.

The desk turned out pretty well. The finish isn't perfect (since it's hand-brushed), but it should be quite durable. I like the edge a lot better without the brown paint, and I also fixed the drawer and replaced the runner boards.

The only problem now, is that my office chair (which I reupholstered last week) is now too low (the lift on it is broken). So I need to fix it, since the desk is now about 2" taller than before. Two inches doesn't sound like much, but it's a big difference.



You can see the office's matching heating grate in these next two photos.





Additional notes: There was a bit of a burn mark in the wood which is still a bit noticeable in the photo above, but it's not enough to bother me. I also decided not to do any modifications to the top (I had thought of routing another profile on the edges, or sanding it flush to eliminate the double bead, etc. I also didn't bother to do any veneer repairs (there was one large-ish chip). Instead, I just used wood filler in a light golden yellow, and it was a close enough match to do all the little chip and nick repairs.

Stripping

Most of yesterday was spent stripping. Not the sexy kind of stripping, though, the messy kind.

I have several projects that need stripping, and I've been putting them off for a while (mainly due to the weather, since I need SOME ventilation).

Some of the projects include:
- Antique front door
- Two antique chairs (needing new upholstery)
- The living room heat grate
- An antique (1920s or 30s) cedar chest
- The maple table/desk
- The antique Eastlake walnut desk
- Several clocks
- Etc., etc., etc...

There's no way I could handle all these in just one day (it takes hours), so I worked on a few items that have been driving me nuts, namely the maple inlay table/desk, and the living room heating grate (which you might remember had a TON of old paint sloppily applied).

No photos on the table yet, but that was a fairly simple stripping job, since everything comes apart into many small flat pieces (4 legs, 4 aprons, the drawer, and the top). The grate, however, was another story.

The grate was a huge pain in the rear to strip because of all the nooks and crannies. I had to mostly slather it in stripper, and cover it with cellophane to sit for a while. Considering how strong the chemical stripper is, I'm surprised that the cellophane doesn't melt into goop, but I've seen this trick elsewhere, and it worked well.

Grate before (as purchased from an antiques salvage store):



And after stripping, and new paint. I should have taken a photo of the grate stripped (it was a beautiful flashed copper look and in decent shape), but I was tired and looking forward to getting it DONE.





Note: The interior is flat black, with the front parts in gloss white. These are just standard oil based spray paints, applied in several coats.

Not shown are the 2 interior flaps (lever operated shutter), which also had to be stripped, buffed clean of rust, and repainted (also in flat black). Next, I will need to have a new latch cast for the one that's missing. I hope this won't be too expensive, but at work we know a guy who knows a guy who does casting, and he had done a few copies of antique dresser pulls for us, and they were gorgeous. The set of 2 pulls (with back rosettes) was something like 60$ for the 4pcs. I only need one piece, so I'm hoping it will be under 50$, since I can buy a whole other grate for 50$.

Upcoming Projects - Inlaid Maple Desk & Antique Walnut Secretary

Those of you who've been following the blog for a while will remember that I've been tolerating using a rickety old card table as a temporary computer desk since I moved here in 2010. I hate this setup, but I've been looking for a nicer table for a while, and nothing had turned up until recently (a month or two ago).

This little table, probably from the 50s or 60s was in the nearby Salvation Army Thrift Store, and was priced at 30$, so I couldn't resist buying it. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but was good enough for now.



What attracted me to this particular table was the inlay on the top, as well as the size (which is exactly the size I wanted for the room).

The large centre panel of veneer appears to be 1/4 sawn maple or beech, with a beautiful band of ebony, walnut and maple around it.



As-is, the table has two leaves on the ends that pop out on an unusual spring loaded mechanism. Although the leaves could be handy to have, I really hate how sloppily they sit when not in use, and how incredibly bulky they make the top of the table look.





I'm planning to remove the leaves and mechanism, keeping just the plain top, but this will leave me with two holes on each end board (photo above). I'm not sure if I want to just patch them with "removable plugs", or completely eliminate them by sawing off the top halves of the end boards and adding new maple boards there (and sanding/finish to blend it). I kind of hate to permanently modify the table. I may just end up keeping this table temporarily (I still want a fancy mahogany one with 2 drawers).

Here's how the table looks without the leaves (everything just unscrews):



The table will obviously need to be refinished, and the little drawer also needs new runners (one is broken, and the other is questionable).

***

I also have a small update on the beautiful old walnut desk/secretary. I was able to find some reproduction handles in a very similar pattern to the originals. These come in very limited patterns and styles (Eastlake/Victorian ring pulls) and they generally sell for around 6-12$ per handle. I did some extensive internet sleuthing and although these same handles are sold by dozens of hardware companies, some did not sell to Canada, and some had overly inflated shipping charges. In the end, I was very fortunate to come across one company that had them on clearance, and they were around 2$ each, with very reasonable shipping to Canada. All told, the set of 9 (they had only 9 in stock, and I may or may not need one for the drop down lid) cost me something around 40$ total!

The back plates are the same size as the originals, but the rings are larger. They also happen to be solid brass, which is even better than the brass-plated originals (but the originals are definitely staying). Once they darken, they will look great!

Computer Desk Inspiration

I've been wanting a new computer desk for quite a while now. I've been hoping I could find an antique desk or a table, but so far (the past year), I haven't found what I've been looking for yet. I'm really starting to get tired of the current CARD TABLE set-up I have now (since I moved in nearly 3 years ago).

Here's what I had in mind. I could definitely build it, but it would likely cost as much as an antique (and I'd rather have an antique).





This one would be ideal!



*sigh*