| Project by steliart | posted 06-07-2018 03:40 PM | 1444 views | 0 times favorited | 14 comments |  |
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Restoring a Windsor Rocking Chair
I was given to restore this Antique Windsor Rocking Chair which was in a very bad condition.
This chair was badly treated in the past. It was painted black on the top, underneath that there was a thick layer of white plastic paint, and below that several coats of the old and later added varnish… ALL one on top of the other.
Stripping with paint remover was impossible so I had to stripe it down using a heat gun little by little.
During stripping and sanding I discovered that one of the legs was badly infected from woodworm so the chair had to be disassembled and a new leg was turned. After sanding down to bare wood but always trying to keep its small defects and its character, it was treated with wood preservatives for protection from woodworm, fungous etc.
Some more sanding and finishing with tung oil and beeswax.
My goal was not to make the chair look new but to restore it and keep the old character and history of this beautiful rocking windsor chair.
I think it looks all-right now.
Thank you for visiting and commenting :) !!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
14 comments so far
JCamp
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1738 posts in 2008 days
#1 posted 06-07-2018 04:42 PM
It turned out wonderfully. It looked like it was gonna b part of a bone fire before but now it looks like a family heirloom.
-- Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might
steliart
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#2 posted 06-07-2018 04:50 PM
Thank you very much, it was hard work though stripping it down :) :) :) !!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
Grumpy
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#3 posted 06-08-2018 12:02 AM
Well done Stelios.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
steliart
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#4 posted 06-08-2018 12:24 AM
Hey Grumpy biddy thank you :)
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
doubleDD
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#5 posted 06-08-2018 12:57 AM
Ilove to restore furniture but not a big fan of it any more. That’s a great job and you given it a new life to enjoy again.
-- Dave, Downers Grove, Il. -------- When you run out of ideas, start building your dreams.
steliart
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#6 posted 06-08-2018 01:18 AM
Yea I know furniture restoration needs patience and some times is hard work too and this one prove to be one of those projects but I still enjoy the challenge and the satisfaction of the result.
Thank you Dave for your visit and kind comment !!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
Ivan
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#7 posted 06-08-2018 06:54 AM
WONDERFUL PIECE TO SAVE- GREAT JOB!!
-- Ivan, Croatia, Wooddicted
steliart
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#8 posted 06-08-2018 07:36 AM
Yes it is a very nice piece… Thanks Buddy !!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
helluvawreck
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#9 posted 06-08-2018 01:04 PM
Wow! This is an outstanding rocking chair and shows a lot of nice details and craftsmanship. Its a wonderful restoration and you should be very proud of it.
-- helluvawreck aka Charles, http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
steliart
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#10 posted 06-08-2018 01:46 PM
Thank you Charles my friend for you kind words and visiting !!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
swirt
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#11 posted 06-08-2018 02:07 PM
Nice save. Looks great.
-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com
steliart
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#12 posted 06-08-2018 02:25 PM
Hey swirt
thanks man :) !!!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
Tim Holiner
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#13 posted 06-08-2018 08:06 PM
Nicely done. I am wondering if this was originally a rocker! I have a windsor rocker with similar thin rockers set into slots in the legs that were obviously added later. I have seen several other windsors with similar rockers, most of which are clearly conversions. Nonetheless, this one is a beauty!
steliart
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#14 posted 06-08-2018 09:11 PM
well, when I took the legs apart I found that the rockers where glued with hide glue and each had two thin old type square nails on them… so I can only guess that it was original, that’s all I can say :)
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
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