19-10-2011, 09:45 PM
Well done at the auction Joe!
As to woodworm, there's always an understandable irresistible urge to want to treat cabinets that are peppered with holes, but as has been said before, the holes are exit holes - not entry holes, and are evidence that the larvae ('worms') after maybe three or more years of munching up and down inside the timber, will have pupated into beetles, left the timber, mated, laid new eggs elsewhere, then - being at the end of their life cycle, will have died long ago, probably before D-Day in this case! From a beetle's perspective, about the least attractive place to lay eggs is in dryzabone timber that has already been infested. It's a bit like us eating someone else's leftovers! There's no shortage of timber for discerning beetles to choose. I mean, even if you only have a beetle's brain, if you know you're going to die, at least you're going to do the best you can to provide for your progeny and the survival of the species. The little blighters been at it a lot longer than we've been around!
There's an earlier forum thread on woodworm here:
http://golbornevintageradio.org/forum/sh...hp?tid=882&highlight=Woodworm
It's alway difficult to know how to deal with cabinets in which there are so many holes. True, you can fill them all and perhaps french polish the cabinet with dark polish to help make the holes less prominent. The older and rarer he set, the more we are generally inclined to 'conserve' rather than to 'restore' - as in make it look like new again. We wouldn't take a Chippendale chair and sand it down and give it two coats of Ronseal (I hope!).
On that basis, I guess you'll do as little drastic work as you can to converse it Joe.
However, on a cabinet so badly disfigured such as this one, arguably it's worth considering sanding it back and 'hammer veneering' it, using the same type of veneer, and pearl glue, which is easier than it sounds as it consists of flat surfaces which pose few challenges, and if you do make a mistake, you can reposition the veneer or even remove it altogether, by heating it with an iron. However, having just hammer veneered a lidded box about the size of a small radio cabinet, (9" x 9" x 12") what I would say, is steer clear of using rift oak veneer. It's very open grained, and hard to sand to a good finish. I'm at the staining and polishing stage, which will involve several coats of shellac sanding sealer. If you do ever use oak veneer, don't on any account use steel wool to cut it back as it will react with the tannin in the oak and leave black stains. I used a steel two-part glue pot, and suspect that the steel tainted the pearl glue, and has left some black staining, though it's not too bad and probably won't show when stained dark oak.
Best of luck with the restoration Joe & Alan!
As to woodworm, there's always an understandable irresistible urge to want to treat cabinets that are peppered with holes, but as has been said before, the holes are exit holes - not entry holes, and are evidence that the larvae ('worms') after maybe three or more years of munching up and down inside the timber, will have pupated into beetles, left the timber, mated, laid new eggs elsewhere, then - being at the end of their life cycle, will have died long ago, probably before D-Day in this case! From a beetle's perspective, about the least attractive place to lay eggs is in dryzabone timber that has already been infested. It's a bit like us eating someone else's leftovers! There's no shortage of timber for discerning beetles to choose. I mean, even if you only have a beetle's brain, if you know you're going to die, at least you're going to do the best you can to provide for your progeny and the survival of the species. The little blighters been at it a lot longer than we've been around!
There's an earlier forum thread on woodworm here:
http://golbornevintageradio.org/forum/sh...hp?tid=882&highlight=Woodworm
It's alway difficult to know how to deal with cabinets in which there are so many holes. True, you can fill them all and perhaps french polish the cabinet with dark polish to help make the holes less prominent. The older and rarer he set, the more we are generally inclined to 'conserve' rather than to 'restore' - as in make it look like new again. We wouldn't take a Chippendale chair and sand it down and give it two coats of Ronseal (I hope!).
On that basis, I guess you'll do as little drastic work as you can to converse it Joe.
However, on a cabinet so badly disfigured such as this one, arguably it's worth considering sanding it back and 'hammer veneering' it, using the same type of veneer, and pearl glue, which is easier than it sounds as it consists of flat surfaces which pose few challenges, and if you do make a mistake, you can reposition the veneer or even remove it altogether, by heating it with an iron. However, having just hammer veneered a lidded box about the size of a small radio cabinet, (9" x 9" x 12") what I would say, is steer clear of using rift oak veneer. It's very open grained, and hard to sand to a good finish. I'm at the staining and polishing stage, which will involve several coats of shellac sanding sealer. If you do ever use oak veneer, don't on any account use steel wool to cut it back as it will react with the tannin in the oak and leave black stains. I used a steel two-part glue pot, and suspect that the steel tainted the pearl glue, and has left some black staining, though it's not too bad and probably won't show when stained dark oak.
Best of luck with the restoration Joe & Alan!
Regards, David.
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
