I have a nice older neighbor couple that have asked me to refinish an old tea cart for them.  The gentleman said his mother got it circa 1925 when she was married, and it has been painted twice since then and seen some terrible wear.  It has two little wood wheels on the front and two large wheels with turned spokes on the back.  One of the larger wheels is broken and a spoke or two will need to be recreated.  It also has a smaller leg on it that is turned and will need to be rebuilt.

Here is my dilemma: I have done a fair amount of refinishing, and I know the reason this couple has asked me to do this is because they saw me refinishing an oak dining table recently that really turned out nice.  However, this piece that they have given me has a good amount of veneer that I’m afraid may be damaged under the layers of latex paint.  The wheels will require some lathe work.

I have almost no experience with a lathe and even less with veneer.  Is it difficult to hire out someone to do the turned pieces?  I told my neighbor that I would not be able to fix the pieces that required turning, and he said he would pay for someone else to rebuild those parts.  Because of the age of the piece I suggested that he look for a professional antique refinisher (I do my own antiques often enough, but I get nervous handling other people’s family heirlooms), but he said he wasn’t concerned with the value of the piece, he just wanted it to look nice.  I was very hesitant to take on this piece, but he insisted and told me “You can’t make it look worse than it already does”.  I have done some other pieces for other neighbors and family members, and word has spread a bit.  I’m afraid if I turn this one down, my neighbor will feel slighted, and he insisted on paying me a fair price.  Other than the spoke and leg and maybe some damaged veneer, I can refinish the rest of the piece without a problem.  What would you do in my case?  I have until Christmas to finish this small piece.