I picked up this set of modular barrister's book shelves for my daughter last week Over all everything is in good shape but it needs a few minor fixes. I have already reattached the door on the top unit -- had to make a bracket for that fix. I am planning to preserves its existing patina but I will touch up a few dings in the finish. The worst bit of damage is a large missing chunk of wood on one of the doors. The joint actually seems to be quite solid but it is in a bad location because behind this spot is a gear and axle for the slide mechanism. This makes it difficult to use some sort of filler approach. This is the track that the gear rides in. There is one on both sides to prevent racking as you slide the door in and out. A pretty cool mechanism, actually.
I am looking for ideas on how you would approach the repair so that it is both structurally and functionally sound but also does not look like a sore thumb.
I was initially thinking that I would carve a small piece of white oak to fit the missing chip but getting good fit can be challenging as can getting a good grain match.
Another alternative is to use some sort of filler and then carefully sand, stain and draw in grain with a finish repair marker. With it being on the edge with a shallow rabbet behind it where the gear rotates, it seems like that might difficult to do.
The most drastic option is to deconstruct the joint, cut out the chipped area and glue in a new piece, matching the grain the best I can. I assume that it is assembled with hide glue (and possibly some nails) so seems like it should be fairly easy to take apart. I would have to duplicate edge rabbet and groove across the back but I feel like I can make that work. I will probably have to disassemble more than just this joint, includin removing the glass. Note that the glass appears to be the original which affects the value of the unit so I would not want to risk breaking the glass. This may be one of those cases where the adage of first do no harm comes into play so this is probably a last resort.
Anyway, I was hoping that someone has some ideas, techniques or simply advice that I have not considered before I dive into the repair.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
I would enlarge the damage to try and make it rectangular so I can easily cut a patch to fit. That might be possible without deconstructing the joint, but might not. I would pick a piece of white oak that has as close to a grain-match as possible and darken it with garnet shellac to match before a final finish.
Since the joint seems to be sound, I think I would consider NOT repairing the missing chuck of wood. Consider it part of the patina. A gentile cleaning, touchup, waxing and call it done.
What does your daughter think?
As you indicated in your post, repairing it will not be easy and could be disasterous (broken glass, more wood damage, etc.)
I think the least risky repair option is carving a piece to replace the missing chunk. Not easy, but you can start the process without doing any modification to the damaged area. If you decide the replacement piece will match the grain and look good, then you can clean up the edges of the gap to make the patch fit perfectly.
Oh cool bookcase! I don’t have much to say about the repair options. I think I’d have to see it in person to have an opinion, but I’m sure you’ll be able to sort it out…
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
TonyC's idea is my first thought, just leave it as part of the whole antique appearance.
Beyond that, the defect cleanout and prep, then a patch install would be the next logical step. Disassembly and patching from behind would be the ideal, but most challenging. Only thing I can add is maybe scavenge a fill piece from somewhere in the back so you have a piece of wood with the same finish and general grain pattern.
I would enlarge the damage to try and make it rectangular so I can easily cut a patch to fit. That might be possible without deconstructing the joint, but might not. I would pick a piece of white oak that has as close to a grain-match as possible and darken it with garnet shellac to match before a final finish.
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!
I looked at the damage a little more closely and realized that, while the joint is currently holding, on the opposite side is where the glides are attached and the stress from pivoting and sliding the door in and out is concentrated. I am going to be taking this up to my daughter in NYC (happy birthday Laura) so if it eventually fails I won't be able to fix it for her. I decided to approach this sort of like a very thick veneer repair. I scribed a line with a marking gauge to mark a rectangular cutout and leveled the area by first using a fine Japanese saw and then a chisel.
I found a chunk of white oak that's been laying around for years and sliced off a 3/8 inch slab which I then resawed for about a 1/8" thick piece and cut a piece slightly wider than the cutout. I used a low angle block plane to dimension the width and also to add a bevel to match the joint. I left the thickness proud so I could sneak up on it once I had a tight fit.
I used my Kunz 100 to carefully level it using it more like a controlled chisel making skew cuts. I put masking tape around the piece so that I could stop before I cut into the surrounding wood. I did this before cutting it to length or gluing it in place so that the extra length could help stabilize the plane near the edge. Once the tape started to tear I knew to stop on that edge. The left side is higher so I continued working on that side until I hit the tape. I then removed the tape and use a chisel lying flat on the surrounding surface to nearly eliminate any raised edges. You can still feel it but I felt like this was good enough. I cut it to length and it was ready for glue up with hide glue. It was a nice tight fit and with the bevel sliding under the joint, it did not require much clamping.
Note that I used a gouge to better match the cove area not inside the joint. This was before I finished shaping the cove section and leveling.
I used some Mohawk finish repair markers to blend several different colors to get a fairly close match.
I am pretty happy with the result. Unless the light hits it just right or someone looks at it closely, I doubt that most people will be able to tell. I will probably apply a little shellac before remounting the door to the cabinet.
Thanks everyone for your input. It really helped. I considered all of your input, including doing nothing.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Nice Work Nathan! That was my first thought too, square it up to make a replacement patch easier to fit. Looks like you nailed it. I doubt anyone that wasn't looking for it would even notice.
Those Mohawk finish repair markers are great. I mostly use them to hide scratches but they also work well when you use filler to patch holes. I keep several different colors on hand so that I can blend the color to sneak up on match. They even have fined tipped ones you can use to draw in the grain that really help hide patches.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Thanks guys. I could not be happier with the result. I had to show my wife where the patch was. You can obviously see it up close but under normal circumstances, I doubt anyone will notice.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
When I get something like this, if functional I just try to "clean up the look" I have had very good luck using Howards either in "Golden Oak, or Walnut" with either they can go on lighter for a really light look, to full on Walnut for darker, and truthfully Walnut more often than the Oak, just applied lighter. Also Walnut Oil if the wood looks dry, it feeds the wood nicely, and tends to refresh the overall look. Usually to figure which to use I start on a spot around back, where it won't show if you are too strong. Makes wood look a lot closer to just finished, than it sat in a barn for 25 years, which has been the story on most of the saves I have done.
Looks like a win on the glass front. Most of the ones I have gotten all the old glass was broken, easy enough to do the glazing work, just loose all that old glass charm. It tells a lot better story.
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