a clock case repair

we fixed another clock this week. there was a handwritten note pasted inside the case that said it was "old in 1854 when _________ gave it to my grandfather." i'm waiting to hear from the british clockmaker, who is repairing the works as to his best guess on the date and geographic origin. it's american, with a cherry case with mahogany details, and appears, with the exception of the lock, pretty original. like the last one we fixed in the spring, the weight had fallen and taken the floor with it ... all better now. click the photos to enlarge them ...
we started with the easy stuff, some missing moldings here and there. a brainstorm i had was to do the first couple coats of dye and shellac before gluing them in, which simplified the blending of the finish later on.
this was the most troublesome aspect of this project. it's the front right leg, and it had been nailed through the glue block in several directions. it twisted off easily in my hand, the nails, not so easily. eventually, i worked them out through the hole and repaired the surrounding area and drilled a new, slightly larger hole. i had to make a stacked jig to keep the little foot vertical while i drilled the new hole for the new tenon, which was simple once i worked through the concept phase of it.
viola ...
new bottom from recycled chestnut ...
out the door ... pics with the works when they arrive later this week i think ...

Cleaning Antique Metal

Along with our nonstop woodworking we like to also play with metal from time to time. Here is a pair of antique French urn planters that a customer brought to us to see if we could remove the rust. The foundry plaque reads "Corneau Alfred A Charleville" which dates them back to around 1880. Usually when someone sees a piece that has started to rust badly they would give up and get it out of the house or hide it behind the garage. With a little time and effort a piece like this can be transformed back to its original beauty.