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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gold Dial, post: 4304733, member: 15972&quot;]I spent this last year fixing the desk.&nbsp; I had to tear the whole thing apart, strip all of the finish off and rebuild it.&nbsp; I used hide glue wherever I could to stay close to the original, but I did use some epoxy and super glue where it made sense.&nbsp; Originally, I intended to use shellac but decided to use shellac only as a sealer coat and to use precatalyzed lacquer for the top coats (after all of this work, I wanted it to last as long as possible).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Here are some photos of the progress:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/05/af/f3/05aff3c8612c57c7b0e04e98fdd9e819.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>I had to strip all of the old finish off except inside of the drawers where the finish was in surprisingly good condition and free of the usual ink stains.&nbsp; I suppose there were so many drawers, most were used only rarely.&nbsp; This step of the process went surprisingly fast despite all of the surface area.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/93/70/48/937048be1d7691ce8ebceda982b5a813.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>This desk is largely veneered and every veneered edge had some loose veneer.&nbsp; I had to inspect it all closely, peal back loose bonds with a knife and spatula, sand to remove the oxidized wood, and glue it back together.&nbsp; This was a tedious process and required many passes.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d0/e4/eb/d0e4eb5051328aa4078f390a79c1bf98.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>As you can see from the photos from the original post, the one side has had all of its veneer removed.&nbsp; I bought some new, extra thick quarter sawn white oak veneer to re-veneer this surface.&nbsp; Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to buy veneer with figure as prominent as that used on the desk.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/46/79/8b/46798b669d733dcb06543cd24b2aa6bd.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Here it is after being hammer-veneered with hide glue.&nbsp; I had to make my own veneer hammer as they are very hard to find.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/20/61/7b/20617b330b6bfaafcad637c8f1ea0efe.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e9/75/2c/e9752c8b1b15b06a543952d29e18a9e2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Here is the desk and chair being reassembled, after all of the individual pieces have been patched and sanded.</p><p><br /></p><p>The desk was then dyed, shellaced, lacquered, and the pieces were fitted back together.&nbsp; The cast bronze hardware was either sandblasted or cleaned with brasso, treated with vinegar to bring back an even patina, and then lightly rubbed with scotch bright.&nbsp; The locking mechanism for the drawers was also brought back to working order.&nbsp; A friend helped repair the clock and get it running again.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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