Curbside Treasure

Sometime before the snow fell I found my latest curbside treasure.Excuse the saw dust but this desk chair has been sitting in the work room since we fixed it. The chair was broken when I found it out at the curb. A quick look told me it was an easy fix so into the SUV it went.

Once the chair and I arrived home I inspected it further and realized that the broken spindle could be fixed with wood glue. I was lucky because the break was down in the hole and all the wood was still there. The hoop back was loose which enabled me to get a little glue into several of the spindle holes. I then lined everything up and tapped the top of the hoop with a rubber mallet to drive all the spindles back into their holes. I wiped off the excess glue and let the glue cure for a day.

The chair is now good as new...except for the saw dust and amazingly comfortable. We were going to donate it to Goodwill and then decided to keep it for the built in desk we will build in the kitchen at a later date.

What are we up to now?

R has moved on to the kitchen ceiling demo. But first he is switching out an old and ugly kitchen door for another 15 lite french door with beveled glass. Today was a day of measuring, looking for vintage hinges in my boxes of old hardware, and modifying the hinges to be hung the other way (removing the ball and putting it on the opposite end of the hinge). These are half mortised hinges where one half is mortised and screwed into the door jamb and the other half is offset and surface mounted to the door. All the exterior doors in this house have that style of 4 inch heavy duty hinge. This style of hinge has a loose pin with a slotted ball tip so that it can be made to accommodate either a right or left hand door. Sorry I did not take a photo of the hinges

R also lightly sanded the pins with emery cloth and then oil them before reassembling. It's amazing the amount of crud (metal dust from years of wear + dirt=crud) that builds up on the pin. The pin needs to be smooth and free of rust and crud so that it moves freely in the hinge. This allows the door to open and close easily and without any squeaks or creaks.

The door is all laid out and marked for trimming tomorrow. Hopefully it will not turn into an all day project. But like R says...."if wishes were horses...everyone could go for a ride."

Me? Well, I am back in the dining room stripping paint and sanding trim. I have a feeling I will be there until at least the beginning of the new year.