Think of it...

Wouldn't you rather trust the restoration and /or repair of your
fine antiques and family heirlooms with a craftsman who has the knowledge
and skill to actually remake your furniture in every detail?


These images are of a recent restoration of a New England sideboard made in the early 1800's. The sideboard suffered from a series of really bad repairs, as well as having all six legs cut off and poorly reattached. As a result the piece was in danger of collapsing under its own weight. In addition, the top was in extremely poor condition, with large cracks patched with wood scraps glued crossgrain and screwed through the top.

Sometimes to make corrections, it's best to start from the beginning. Hence, my strategy was to take the side board completely apart, make repairs, replace missing joints, make new legs, salvage as much of the originals as possible, and put it back together.

Although maintaining the "original" finish is highly desirable, the finish on this sideboard was already compromised by an over lay of lacquer and shoddy staining of repairs. In the end I decided to remove the finish to the bare wood and finish with french polish.