I just got in two Italian made chairs for arm repair. The right arm of each broke off at the dowel connection to the body. I thought that it would be better to go ahead and make a new set of arms per chair so at least the arms will match each other. However, the stain/finish has me a little stumped. As you can see by the pics, there is a dark, almost black “patina” in the corners of the detail work, and also some darker “speckles” on the upper face of the arm. How can I achieve this look?
I’m also trying to figure out the species of wood. That pic and post are over in the general discussion area. I suspect it might be beech since the chairs are european. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Scott
Replies
Scott, the photos are too dark (at least on my computer) to see much detail. The Italians import a lot of wood from all over the world, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a European species. Is the raw wood rather fine textured and grayish tan in color? The reason I ask is I've seen some imported Italian furniture that looked to be made sometime in the mid 20th century (pre or post WWII) and the wood used was sweetgum, probably imported from The U.S. Our sweetgum is similar in color to European walnut (AKA, "English" walnut.) and they use it as a cheap substitute. In fact, it's sometimes referred to as "silver walnut" in the European furniture trade. The ray flecks are noticeable in sweetgum, because they are lighter in color than the background tissue (similar to the rays in quartersawn cherry), but it's unlikely that you would confuse sweetgum with beech. The rays in beech are much more pronounced...Hope this helps, but without seeing a sample of the wood, it's pure guesswork.
The photo's are pretty clear on my screen Jon. Looking particularly at the arm3.jpeg my guess is central European beech. There are what look like the classic medullary rays, and where the polish appears to be chipped off I think I see the characteristic pinkness coming through. It would be quite common for the Italians, like all Europeans, to use beech for this kind of job. Beech in Europe gets used a lot for hidden structural parts, just like poplar in the US. It's also used a great deal as a plain timber that can be faked up to resemble walnut, mahogany, etc.. Slainte, RJ.Link to RJFurniture site.
Sgian, Scott has e-mailed me a nice clear photo of the raw wood and I think you're right...It's almost certainly beech. I know they use it a lot over in Europe. The Brits use it for making Windsor chairs, because it turns so well...and they also take advantage of its extreme instability to lock the joints by using green wood for the socket (mortise) side and dry wood for the tenon piece. As the two sides of the joint equalize in moisture content, the dry member swells, while the green member shrinks to tighten the joint.
Also, because beech has excellent steam bending properties, there are some manufacturers over there that use it for bent wood furniture (some very high quality stuff.) I have a few small samples of European beech, but haven't really worked with it beyond doing some experimentation to get a sense of its shaping characteristics. It seems to be a little softer than our native species. Have you worked with both?...And if so, what's your appraisal of the two, Sgian?
You're right about the use of beech for locking joints. Part of my training included windsor chair making, something I haven't done now for twenty years so my memory is now a bit hazy. An old trick I was taught was to turn a bunch of legs and store them over the workshop heat source. Then they'd get the slabs for the seats from the outside storage, carve the seat, bore the tenons and insert the legs and chair back spindles. It's been so long that I don't quite recall how the sequence of dry and wet worked below the seat where stretchers spanned between the legs. Also common is to use different timbers for different parts--- legs and stretchers out of ash for the ability to withstand shock, seat out of beech or elm, and seat back spindles and crown out of oak for its toughness--- something like that anyway.
Yes, it's standard stuff ideally suited for both steam bending and laminated structures, along with ash of course, and I've used beech a few times for just such purposes and veneered show timber on to the show and back face if needed. I had some 12 mm (1/2") beech dowel I made up for a repair job once, and after I steamed it I amazed the students I was teaching at the time by tying a spare piece into a fairly tight knot. haven't used much American beech, but I think your hardness assessment is about right. the American is a bit harder. European beech is high on the list of favourite foods for the common furniture beetle. Presumably the beetles like the American stuff just as much too?
Back to the original question, Paul came in after me and suggested that the polish job might have had all the colour in the polish in the form of glazes or tinted polish. This is another strong possibility that I mistakenly failed to mention. But Scott could still possibly stain the new beech parts to get the colour close, and then follow up by tinting subsequent polish coats to get the final match. He'd just have to watch that the new work didn't stand out as different to the original because of a difference in the clarity of the polish, even if the colour match is good. This can happen, so he'll have to look carefully to see what the original approach was, and try and copy it. Slainte, RJ.
Link to RJFurniture site.
Edited 5/20/2002 9:49:23 AM ET by Sgian Dubh
Right. I'm on it. Now if I can just find some beech here in Japan.
Anyway, here's a virtual round on me to all who helped. Cheers!
Scott
Scott, the arms are stained and polished, probably an aniline dye, but it might be strong tea or coffee, and a lick or two of french polish and a bit of wax. If it's not french polish, it's probably a varnish. The black in the fluting is almost certainly painted between coats of polish. You get the 'flecking' by loading a little stiff water paint or pigment stain, but probably paint on a small stiff bristled paint brush and flicking your finger over the bristles to deposit little flecks here and there. Slainte, RJ.
Sorry I can't help identify the wood species - but there seems to be some strong clues about the finish.
On the photo labeled "arm3", there seems to be a chip in the finish without damage to the wood. From the photo, it appears that all the color in the finish disappeared with the chip of finish. If this is the case, a colored lacquer (toner) was used to produce the warm brown color. If the piece had been dyed or stained before the toner, the color of the dye or stain would remain after the finish had chipped off. Use of toners in a factory finish setting is very common - it's very fast - which means a profit for the final product. The overall even coloring is another clue that a toner was used. If you inspect the chair closely, you can tell if a toner was used. Look for areas in corners that are lighter than the rest of the chair - it's difficult to spray toners into corners (any 90 degree mating surface) and get even coloring. You can also check the bottom of the chair for lack of color or variations in the spray pattern. Also, if you look at the arm from a low angle and the color seems darker than when viewed straight on, you are seeing the effect of color in the lacquer.
The black (or very dark brown) coloring in the recessed areas is from a glaze that was applied over the first seal coat and wiped off except in the affected areas.
I don't see any specking/flecking in the photo but as one of the others recommended, this can be imitated with a toothbrush lightly loaded with the glaze (after wiping).
There are also some mild scrapes that give the same indication. I'll completely agree with Paul on this one.
On the same vein, my daughter's friend just spilled fondue fuel on her oak dining room table. When I removed the damaged finish there was no color remaining. I built up thin coats of amber shellac to match it, then sealed with a urethane.
Gerry
Great work. This gives me some areas to test out before the final run. Thanks everyone.
Scott
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