Hello Friends,

Following is a picture of a 100 year old plus secretary that I and my friend and shop worker refurbished.

I hope you like the picture for Jimmie did most of the work on this project.

When we got it it had been sitting in an old shed and subject to the weather and conditions of the old shed.

 

Here we go folks;

Hello Again,

There was not enough room for me to write beside or under the picture however I wanted you fellows to see what Jimmie can do with a piece in the art of restoration.

 

I wish we had taken some pictures before he started on it.

 

Looks great Ralph, what had to be done to it?

Hi John,

I don't think there is enough space on this forum for everything we did on it. When we pulled it out of the shed it was completely black with dirt and almost any other thing you could imagine. The pulls and hardware was as black as the secretary, one end was totally rotted off about 8" up, The beveled mirror was broken in three different angles with duct tape holding it in. The door glass was broken across one corner as well as some of the ornate trim at the top of the secretary and some I had to carve new so one side would look like the other.

 

Other than that there wasn't much wrong with it.

Ralph, that is beautiful man, absolutely beautiful.

Hi John,

I have had the owner in my shop before it got this far and she was tickled pink to say the least as was her daughter and that was before in got to this stage of the job. With all of the work that went into the piece she was truly pleased to the piont that she just couldn't resist reaching out to give a loving tender wipe with her hand.

Over the years I have refurbished several pieces for her with pretty much the same results. Her comment was people like you are far and few between. Good thing I wasn't wearing suspenders to snap.

An Absolutely beautiful job on the redo Ralph. I sure wish you had taken some before and after shots. It sounds like you rebuilt a lot of it. By the picture you can't tell and that is great. 

 

Excellent work!!


Ralph Allen Jones said:

Hi John,

I don't think there is enough space on this forum for everything we did on it. When we pulled it out of the shed it was completely black with dirt and almost any other thing you could imagine. The pulls and hardware was as black as the secretary, one end was totally rotted off about 8" up, The beveled mirror was broken in three different angles with duct tape holding it in. The door glass was broken across one corner as well as some of the ornate trim at the top of the secretary and some I had to carve new so one side would look like the other.

 

Other than that there wasn't much wrong with it.