Refinishing Chairs

Everybody has them, chairs, there are as many kinds and styles as you could possibly think of. In The united states alone there dozens of different kinds and materials to choose from, there are stools, benches swivel chairs reclining chairs wood ones metal ones wicker and rattan, Chippendale, Duncan Fyfe, and Sheridan, just to name a few. By far the most common would be some type of Classic wooden chair.
Wood is a valuable and renewable resource that has been used extensively for thousands of years and continues to be a good choice and that is the material we will be focusing on today.
Of the multiple millions of wooden chairs currently in use today, thousands and thousands will be discarded for no better reason than their owners don't know what to do to keep them in good and serviceable condition. In days gone by the idea of discarding otherwise good stuff just because of issues of wear was unthinkable. Thankfully there has been a trend toward better stewardship and most people have understood the folly of the disposable mindset of the eighties and nineties.
When an otherwise good set of chairs begins to show wear and the finish becomes ugly, there is a process where the worn finish may be removed and another fresh finish can be reapplied. The variety of finish colors and sheens is almost endless. Often through refinishing, your chairs can take on an appearance of completely different chairs. For example, in the 1960's the use of early American decor called for an extremely orange color that was commonly used on birch and maple chairs. The early American stain became so identified with that period that when the early American phase passed, nobody seemed to want those old orange maple chairs, so we refinished hundreds of them.
Then again around 1970 or so the phase of dark pine furniture came into vogue, many people never even noticed that the same chairs from the sixties were now being finished in a tone more in keeping with the design trend of the day and millions of them continued to be sold with almost no design change, and again in the late eighties the trend toward Cherry reached full effect and colors changed again.
So it becomes more and more understandable, that when one owns otherwise good chairs that have become a little worn, it makes good sense to consider refinishing.
Older chairs typically offer well-seasoned wood, good quality joints and workmanship of a higher level than most made today, so think twice before you decide to pony up your hard earned dollars for new ones, and you too can enjoy better quality chairs for less money than you thought Possible

John VerHines is the president at Gramco Furniture Restoration. LLC. and an ASID i.p With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more about furniture restoration you can visit http://www.gramcofurniturerestoration.com/Chair%20refinishing.html
Copyright 2006Gramco Furniture


About the Author (HTML)
John VerHines is a seasoned restorer and the president of Gramco. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more visit http://www.gramcofurniturerestoration.com/Chair%20refinishing.html
Copyright2006 Gramco furniture restoration LLC.

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80 seems hot.. till it gets 90.

Thank God it's a little cooler today. funny thing how people can compalin about it being hot at eighty or eightyfive.
but when it gets up to nintyeight for a few days then cools back down to eighty five, it seems like a cold snap.

Interior design and your family legacy

After 40 plus years as a furniture restorer, it still warms my heart when a client brings in an old item for review, wondering if it might be possible to do something with it. There was a time long ago when if the item presented was not really worth the time, I would recommend against the restoration. As I have grown a little older I have begun to realize, there is a kind of value that defies appraisal.

The furnishings and other artifacts we have, and pass along to our kids and grandkids are more about preserving a family tradition and carrying on a pride in our family and loved ones than just a place to sit.
As I slow down and really listen to what my clients are saying, it starts to become more and more clear, It isn’t really about the chair or end table or whatever on the surface it seems to be. The little thing they brought along for me to see. The thing they are trying to grab onto is really more a legacy than any thing else. It’s a way to preserve what seems good about the past, and to bring that forth in their home today.

Maybe that thing lives inside the chair, where as a kid they remember Grandpa sitting on the front porch, smoking his pipe and telling stories of how it was when his daddy raised him. It's a reminder of stories from a time before people had electricity in the house, and chilly visits to the outhouse on a cold November night.

For example, not long ago, a client of ours named Barbara stopped by to drop off a family piece. My associate commented about a rocking chair, it was laying just inside the door of our shop in pieces where barb left it just a moment before, I think something like “why in the world, would anybody spend money on that?” At face value, it’s a valid question. The chair wasn’t that good. The cost of restoration probably was every bit or more what it would cost to replace the rocker, but there was more to it than that, he had totally, missed the point as so many do. The rocker belonged to Barbara's Mother whom had used it to rock barb and her little brother when she herself, was a young mother, it was a gift to her from her mom and in turn Barbs Mom had given to her just before passing away. I’m pretty sure that Barb had a lot of other chairs, and I’m sure she could have gone out and bought one just as nice for the money she was spending for the restoration, but knowing what we now know, that’s not the point is it?

As time goes on, my hair gets thinner, and my belly gets thicker, and I see more and more, the importance of leaving a legacy, as individuals, families and even as a country. And the stuff we have in and around our homes, while it is so true that we can’t take it with us, what we leave behind helps us to tell a story. The story of what we hold dear, the values we ascribe to and the example we set for future generations to model.

Christmas dinner on Grandma’s dining set will always taste better, and a book enjoyed in front of a fireplace is more intriguing if you are seated in mom’s rocking chair.
So, when taking inventory and planning what to do with potential heirlooms when they come your way think twice. Remember, it’s not only about cost benefit analysis and replacement cost.
When you decide to keep that rocker, or table or dining set, keep this in mind, these things are heavy laden vehicles, vehicles that transport fond memories, important values and sometimes several lifetimes worth of identity. I believe, that if you plan your interior design projects with these thoughts in mind, you will develop a real beautiful and warm home, a back drop for all the things you hold dear, and an opportunity to teach the next generation what is good and true and praiseworthy in life.
Description
Christmas dinner on Grandma’s dining set will always taste better, and a book enjoyed in front of a fireplace is more intriguing if you are seated in mom’s rocking chair.


About the Author (text)
John VerHines is the president at Gramco Furniture Restoration. LLC. and an ASID i.p With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more about furniture restoration you can visit www.gramcofurniturerestoration.com
Copyright 2006Gramco Furniture


About the Author (HTML)
John VerHines is a seasoned restorer and president of Gramco. With 40+ years experience in the craft of furniture restoration.To learn more visit http://www.GramcoFurnitureRestoration.com
Copyright 2006Gramco Furniture

working around the summer heat.

Over the last few days it has been really hot for the metro Detroit area. The heat requires us to make some adjustments in our schedule.
Mostly we have shifted our people on to Case cleaning and repairs.
the heat and humidity really plays havoc with the way that different finishes perform, in a bad way, so to keep the quality hign and move the work ahead we have made the scheduling adjustments.

The Truth About Do It Yourself Furniture Refinishing

Hear it all the time, the tone of semi disappointed do it yourselfers after they spend countless hours on their refinishing project "it doesn't look like we hoped it would.
Like so many other times in life, when good folks find themselves disappointed.
It really isn't their fault at all, all they did was read the brochure, and then the theater of the mind took over. I hear them say, "we followed the instructions to the letter, so why does it not look at all like we were hoping?"

Here is why, Restoration by the very definition of the word, requires that the restorer understand from what condition the original finish has fallen. To put it another way, if you don't know what it was, how can you know what it should be?
So it's another situation of not even knowing what questions to ask because the idea of there being some other way isn't even there.

It is true that some furniture is finished with a really simple process, perhaps a coat of stain and then three or four coats of polyurethane, and for home woodworking projects and other simply functional stuff that will do, but if you have a nice medium, or high-line piece and you expect it to look as spectacular as it did when it first came to your home using a simple one or two step treatment, you may not know it now, but soon you will, it's not going to look anything like you are expecting. Where the harsh reality and the hoped for dream collide, that is where disappointment lives.

What you were hoping for was something a little more. For example, the finish that one would expect to find on furniture from a company like Baker, Henredon, Drexell or Gramco, is really, really sophisticated. Master finishers; spend decades perfecting their craft to produce finishes like these. Even the apprentices in this environment possess knowledge of the ways of the "force". Artistic finishes like this sometimes require as many as twenty or more steps to achieve the depth and richness that people have come to expect from top drawer brands like these. When you see the fantastic catalogues and well lit showrooms it may be hard to imagine that even though there are many layers of finish, sealer, glaze, cow tails, spattering, brush-graining and finally several coats of topcoat hand rubbed to a deep rich glow, it is still quite thin. That is what gives the furniture that really refined classic look. When you compare the two different methods you begin to see that there is no comparison at all.
On one hand the single step stain followed by multiple coats of oil-cured polyurethane you end up with a monochromatic, thick, plastic finish, the one up side to all the mill thickness is that these oil-cured poly finishes are pretty durable.

However, if you are looking to achieve a finish that has real depth and character, one that people look at, and just get lost in, that will require a lot more, a whole lot more. At a minimum, A base dye of the required intensity, followed by a wash coat of sealer, hand rubbed then glazed, followed by another wash, rubbed again, then add the light distressing and rag work, wash coat and rub once again, followed by gun shading and highlighting. All detailed by hand, free form to match a specified sample, before the first application of topcoat is applied. This process is not one that comes off the shelf. It is derived from a lifetime of touching the wood, looking at how the light dives into the wood and knowing what comes next, it is the difference between a pop tart and a fine French pastry.
Refinishing furniture can be a really exciting and fulfilling thing to do when all goes well and the results are what you were expecting, but when it does not it can be a bad way to spend your vacation time. So the next time you are thinking about taking on a refinishing project, do your homework before you begin, ask for professional advice. If all the lights are green, go. If not, and you still want to go for it, maybe you should consider an apprenticeship in our restoration shop, who knows in four or five years you too may be a member of this quirky band of brothers known as Wood finishers.



About the Author (text)
John VerHines is the president of the Gramco furniture restoration co. LLC. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more about furniture restoration you can visit http://www.gramcofurniturerestoration.com
Copyright Gramco furniture restoration LLC.


About the Author (HTML)
John VerHines is a seasoned restorer and the president of Gramco. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more visit http://www.GramcoFurnitureRestoration.com
Copyright Gramco furniture restoration LLC.

How To Stop The Destruction Of Your Wooden chairs

Ever since Adam got tired working in the garden and decided to sit down and take a rest, chairs have been a really popular addition in people's homes. Chairs made of wood have been around for thousands and thousands of years, some still exist today that dates back that many years. So why is it that today that so many chairs are coming apart and breaking in just a few short years?

Even though there are wide varieties of quality when it comes to chairs, the care of a low budget chair and an outstanding chair have much in common. Pay attention these few easy to do tips your mom may have already told you about, and any chair will last a lot longer, and be more enjoyable to own than if you ignore their care.

1. When you take your seat, do it like a lady or a gentleman. I told you your Mom probably told you some of this, The reason it's so important to sit and not flop, has got to do with the basic laws of physics. Basically if a one hundred forty pound person hits the seat at three miles per hour, that is like the force of a four hundred pound person at the moment of contact. Even the most substantial seating doesn't like that very much.

2. Finally after you are in the seated position, do your best to lift the chair as you position yourself at the table.
Scooting is not good, especially on carpet. Maybe that's where the tradition of a man helping a lady into her chair came from. I don't think so but heck, it sure seems like a nice thing to do.

3. Okay, this one I have been known to be guilty of myself. I remember in school getting scolded for leaning back in my chair. I don't really think the teacher was so concerned about the care of the chair but still it was good advice. Don't tip, first of all it will make the chair loose, and then the back legs will break off where they attach to the seat.

4. Don't over load, this one is pretty tough, we've all been there, a friend or relative who is big, asks, can I sit here? Almost no one will say no, it's like gravity is somehow going to be suspended for the duration of the seating.
Do yourself and your large friends a favor, Buy a really sturdy chair and offer it instead of your dainty vanity chair, you'll feel better and if done tactfully your friend will appreciate it too.

5. Don't over look preventative maintenance. Your car gets a look see and an oil change every 3000 miles, you change the furnace filter every 3 months, and you get your teeth checked a couple of times a year. Chairs deserve as much, they take an enormous amount of stress, and you should check them out every couple of months or so. You will save a bunch of money if you stay on top of any looseness as it occurs. At our shop we see it all the time. People bring a chair with some really gnarly damage that is obviously from a cascade effect of joint failure. It's your choice, spend forty or fifty bucks once a year to keep the chair in good and serviceable condition or face an embarrassing and expensive total collapse when you least expect it.

6. When legs begin to come loose, don't try to re-glue it with a shot of hot melt glue, It is not really even glue, it's some molten plastic ooze that will make it really hard to achieve a good bond once you decide to ask a professional for help.

7. Finally maintain an even level of humidification in your home. Wood shrinks and expands as it goes through swings of humidity. Glue doesn't shrink and swell at the same rate, the result is a breaking of the bond that holds the chair together. All your furniture and even the people and pets that inhabit your home will be much happier if you can maintain humidity of between 35 and 50%.

That's it, do this and all chairs, the good the bad and even the ugly will live longer and feel better.

About the Author (text)
John VerHines is the president of the Gramco furniture restoration co. LLC. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more about furniture restoration you can visit http://www.gramcofurniturerestoration.com
Copyright Gramco furniture restoration LLC.

About the Author (HTML)
John VerHines is a seasoned restorer and the president of Gramco. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more visit http://www.GramcoFurnitureRestoration.com
Copyright Gramco furniture restoration LLC.

Seven Simple Steps To Make Your Furniture Last Long Enough To Become Heirlooms

People love furniture, furniture is simply wood and glue but still it is a really personal thing. Somehow, a little bit of the different people who have owned it and the craftsmen who throughout the years have been entrusted with the care of the item lives on in the piece. Furniture can last for hundreds of years. It can bridge time and carry forward a family legacy that otherwise would be lost. Sometimes the most well meaning people inadvertently cause, or allow unnecessary wear and damage to occur. In this brief treatment we will lay out seven of some of the most common accidents and abuses that all too often people learn the hard way.
Pay heed and you will be one of the wise ones who have learned from someone else's mistakes.

1. Some things need no explanation, and this is one. When a client arrives at our shop with a chair in the back seat of their car, a leg sticking up and visible through the rear window as we walk across the parking lot to take a look, it is painfully obvious from 50 feet away. Puppies! Yes Puppies, they are babies you know, baby dogs, and just like baby humans they teethe. The question is not if they will teethe it is when, so be extra careful to keep puppy and furniture under surveillance during this toothy time.

2. Almost as sad as the puppy problem is Teen girls. Well not the girls really, but their nail polish, and especially that bad nail polish cohort, nail polish remover.
It happens, my phone rings, and on the other end of the line is an obviously terrified almost adult female asking for the magic potion that will replace the finish on the top of Moms beautiful cherry dining table before she gets home from the store. The nail polish remover stripped the finish off clean down to the wood in an area that is "not really that big". Don't do your nails on any finished, painted or stained furniture, oh yea don't think that if you put news paper down that that will somehow eliminate the problem, it will not. The newspaper will become glued to the top and that is no better.

3. Hot melt glue is not your friend; as a matter of fact it's not really even glue. It is okay for arts and craft projects but not for furniture re-gluing so don't use it on any furniture item you don't wish to defile.

4. This one seems like a good idea at the time, but later you will discover an entirely new and better problem. I refer to metal mending plates, angle brackets and any other metal bridging device. Wood is an active medium, meaning it expands and contracts with changes in humidity and metal does not. The differences in expansion will provide a practical example of hydraulic power as the metal restrains the wood's expansion till the wood pulls its self-apart. Don't use mending plates.

5. I love plants; my wife wins a beautification award almost every year for her gardening. But more furniture than one can count has been ruined or severely damaged when the plants get over watered and leak on the wooden tops of people's furniture. Use a plate or tray or consider a glass top for really well used surfaces then you won't have to worry about that.

6. Similar to the problem with plants is sun damage. You probably wouldn't notice for a long time if there were no accessories on the top because it would fade evenly. The sun's ultraviolet light is a powerful force that absolutely will fade the finish color and break down the topcoat.
Rotate accessories on a regular basis to eliminate having an outline of the item permanently burned into the top and limit direct sunlight as much as possible.

7. Finally here's one most people never think of till it is too late, don't overload your drawers and cabinets. Just because a certain amount of stuff will fit in a drawer, that doesn't mean the drawer will hold up under all that weight. Drawers are for towels and sheets, shirts and pants. Keep the bowling balls and boat motors on the heavy-duty steel-shelving unit in the garage.

That's it, the seven most common repairs and good advice on how to completely avoid the problems, Remember, love your furniture, and it will love you back long after you have gone on to that big mansion decorating project in the sky.
Description
Learn how to avoid seven of the most common furniture faux pas that Kill furniture before it's time. Furniture should live longer than you do. Learn how to take steps to make sure the furniture you own today, become heirlooms in the future. Simple common sense stuff that every one should know.

About the Author (text)
John VerHines is the president of the Gramco Furniture Restoration co. LLC. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more about furniture restoration you can visit http://www.gramcofurniturerestoration.com
Copyright2006 Gramco furniture restoration LLC.

About the Author (HTML)
John VerHines is a seasoned restorer and the president of Gramco. With over 40 years of experience in the craft of furniture restoration.
To learn more visit http://www.GramcoFurnitureRestoration.com
Copyright2006 Gramco furniture restoration LLC.

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