(Click on image at left to enlarge)
One of the mysteries of the universe to me is "Why do so many 20th
century pieces of furniture have wheels or casters on them?" A clue of
sorts can be found in the generic name of many early 20th century items,
those that are known as "Colonial Revival." These pieces are modern
replays of generally 18th century North American furniture originals,
which in their own right often owe their existence to earlier European
styles, but that's another story.
In the 18th century, carpet and other floor coverings were in much
less general use than in the 20th century and as such, floor care did not
consist of carpet sweeping so much as the mopping of wooden or stone
floors. Brass casters and forks or porcelain wheels served as lifts to
keep the furniture off the floors during mopping so if the piece did get
wet, it was the brass wheels and not the wood that had to deal with the
moisture. The small wheels also were useful in moving heavier pieces small
distances around the floor for cleaning purposes. But that was then and
things are different now.
Carpeting and area rugs have been in general use for most of this
century so the floor thing is no longer a valid reason for wheels. The
truth is, I think, wheels just became a stylistic item with no real
function other than to emulate earlier period styles. Then Art Deco added
wheels in some cases as purely style innovations for they were not
emulating anybody!
The problem with these stylistic devices is that they often become a
problem in their own right. Sooner or later, if a piece has wheels on it,
someone is going to try to roll it across the carpet in order to clean
around or behind it and then the problem starts. The 1" diameter wheels
common on most 20th pieces are really not built for speed. In fact they
are hardly built at all and a close examination of the wheels and their
support structure will reveal very lightweight materials and less than
rugged manufacturing specs. The legs in which these casters are installed
are very often painfully slender and frequently made of poplar which tends
to weaken over time as it dries out. This combination of design and
structure often results in cracked or broken legs when the piece is
rolled. In addition to leg wear and tear the case structure of these
pieces can take a beating as they are twisted and turned by the uneven
rolling process. After only a few trips around the room, cases need to be
repaired because drawers no longer fit and doors don't work due the
torqueing of the main body. The long term results of casters in beds is
even more apparent. The stems of the casters are built to swivel in a
metal sleeve in the wood and the wheel itself is mounted on a fork in such
a way as to be off center of the stem so that the effect of the wheel is
to never provide a stable foundation for the leg. When a bed sits on four
unstable foundations it will tend to move slightly with each nocturnal
twist and eventually the side rails begin to fit not as snugly as they
should and the joints in the bed frame itself begin to work loose. And
each little loosening makes every other joint a little looser.
So what is the solution? Get rid of the wheels. Just take 'em off.
Their absence will not detract from the value of the piece unless it is a
very rare collector's item and will in the long term aid in the
preservation of the piece. The only time you need to be concerned about
removing the wheels is on a table where height is very important. A 20th
century dining table always has a height of 29 1/2" to 30 1/2", without
exception. This is also standard writing surface height and a variation of
even an inch or two is very noticeable. Such a height variation however is
not critical to a chest of drawers, vanity, bed or china cabinet.
The wheels themselves are generally easily removable either by just
pulling them out of their sleeves or by using a screw driver to pry them
out. But that still leaves metal sleeves in the legs to rust on your
carpet or scratch your tile or wood floors and removing the sleeves is not
quite as easy a removing the wheels, especially if they have rusted in
place a little. The simple way to removal is to drive a wide bladed screw
driver into the sleeve ( be careful not to get carried away and split the
leg) and turn the screw driver using a wrench or vice-grips. The sleeve
should break loose inside and start to spin. As it spins retract the screw
driver and the sleeve will come with it. If that fails, use an electric
drill with a 3/8" bit to slowly start the sleeve moving and it should come
out. If all else fails just drill it out! After the sleeve is out glue a
3/8" dowel in the hole, trim it flush with the leg and install a nylon tip
in the end of the dowel. No more rust and no more roll. Now the temptation
to "grocery cart" a nice piece of furniture has been removed and it will
be much happier in the long run.
Two excellent books on furniture of the 20th century are "Colonial
Revival Furniture", Linquist/Warren, Wallace-Homestead, 1993 and
"Furniture of the Depression Era", Swedberg,Collector Books, 1987.
(Click on image at left to enlarge)
Most of us who are interested in antique
furniture have, at one time or another, run across what seemed liked an
intractable problem at the time - the locks on an antique chest or desk.
The usual approach is to either ignore the locks or take the attitude that
if the key is around - great, if not, no big deal. But locks don't have to
be such an enigma. In fact most 18th, 19th and early 20th century American
and some European locks are quite simple and easy to repair and key.
Cabinet
and chest locks come in three major designs: full mortise, half mortise
and surface mount. Mortise refers to the cut out portion of wood in which
the lock is mounted. A full mortise lock is fully enclosed by the drawer
front or door in which it is mounted. Only the selvage or top edge of the
lock is visible on the lip of the drawer or door and nothing shows on
either side. Full mortise locks are usually found on higher quality 20th
century pieces although they are used in rare cases in 19th century goods.
A half mortise lock is exactly as it sounds - half exposed. The top
selvage is visible but so is the back or lockplate of the lock on the
inside of the drawer front. Also usually visible on a half mortise lock
are the screws or nails that hold the lock in place. The half mortise lock
is almost universal on 19th century American and English case goods. The
simplest design is the surface mounted lock that is not inset in the wood
at all but is mounted with screws or nails flush to the inside surface of
the drawer or door. These locks are most common on early 20th century
pieces and on inexpensive reproductions and are commonly used as
replacement locks by inexperienced restoration "experts".
The purpose of a lock, of course, is to keep
someone out of a private place but since most locks are designed only to
keep honest people honest, a determined trespasser can almost always find
a way in. Most older and antique furniture locks work on the simple idea
of a key moving a bolt through the lock and into the adjoining frame
member. The key usually fits over a center pin of a given size and rotates
around it. The blade of the key engages a semi-circular cavity in the bolt
and moves it forward or back as the case may be. The bolt however may have
a built in resistance to impede the use of an unauthorized key. The
resistance is a notch in the bolt that engages a surface of the lock
housing and prohibits the bolt from moving. A spring holds the bolt notch
fast to the face of the lock housing. The key must not only be the right
size to move the bolt forward and back, it must be the right size to
compress the spring and release the bolt so it can move. Most bolts have
two notches, one in the locked position and one in the unlocked position.
In addition to correct barrel size and blade
size, a lock may employ other features to prevent the entry or use of a
bogus key. The most common is an inside ring of raised metal, concentric
to the pin that requires a notch in the key. This feature is easy to
overcome by inserting a new blank key in the lock and working it back and
forth. This will put a mark on the blank where the notch should be and it
can be cut out with a hack saw. A little practice makes nice notches. A
variation is two inside rings of different heights that require two
notches of different depths, but that's a detail. A more serious
impediment to the interloper is the accursed English "lever" lock. This
lock relies on a series of spring loaded levers, each of different
thickness to deny entry. The levers must be aligned in a perfect line to
allow the bolt to pass but since their thickness is random and hidden,
figuring out a cut pattern is very difficult. This lock requires notches
to be made on the bottom of the key blade rather than on the face of the
blade and is much more difficult to fabricate. Most lever locks are
labeled as such. Apparently the 19th century English had more of a need
for security that did we. This is one case where if you don't have the
key, don't worry about it.
The second most common problem in the old locks,
besides no key, is a broken spring. Symptoms of broken springs include
bolts that can be moved without a key, bolts that don't lock into position
or bolts that do not line up with the holes in the selvage. Removing the
housing around the pin and bolt will reveal the condition of the spring.
Most springs are merely flat pieces of tension steel inserted in a slot in
the bolt and wedged against the housing. If the spring is broken, remove
it from the slot by punching it out with a small screw driver. Then
replace it with the spring from a salvaged lock or better yet with a piece
of a modern bobby pin. It works very well.
The MOST common problem with old locks is
neglect, especially if the piece has been worked on before and the locks
were not removed before stripping and finishing. In this case the locks
should be removed, cleaned thoroughly and submitted to liberal
applications of WD 40 before any key is tried at all.
Blank keys are available from lots of places
including Van Dyke Restorers in Woonsocket, SD., Paxton Hardware in Upper
Falls, MD, Horton Brasses in Cromwell, CT, WSI Distributors in St.
Charles, MO, your local locksmith and flea markets. Collect as many steel
keys as you can to try stubborn locks with before you cut soft brass ones
which may break in a reluctant bolt. Good luck.
(Click on image at left to enlarge)
Several years ago a very nice mirror was given to
me by a friend who was moving away. The mirror is a three pane
reproduction Empire wall mirror approximately 65 inches wide by 27 inches
high, a 1905 (the glass is dated as is all 20th century mirror glass but
that's another story) copy of an 1830 original. The frame was marginally
loose which was easily repaired and the gold leaf and underlying gesso
were in acceptable condition after a little cleaning and touch up. The
only real problem with the piece were the four 3 1/2 inch corner blocks
with the applied swirling sunburst decoration - only three of the four had
the applique and it was terribly obvious that something was missing. The
choice was to remove all the remaining pieces or find a way to make and
install a reasonable facsimile of the sunburst.
Since my carving skills are restricted to
Thanksgiving that certainly wasn't an option. The most obvious choice
seemed to be to make a mold from one of the existing decorations and pour
a new applique. Sounded simple enough and in the end it turned out to be
but it took awhile to get there.
Not really knowing where to start I went to one
of those gigantic, national-chain craft stores that carry everything on
their computer inventory but not necessarily on their shelves. After
successfully finding a human being to talk to I realized that I already
knew more about gesso and plaster than the resident craft store expert so
I left. Next I went to a well known art supply store, complete with the
requisite number of body-decorated, shampoo-deprived young and not so
young very helpful employees. There I received an absolute avalanche of
information about firing temperatures for hard casts, what to do about
sagging molds, lost wax casting techniques (where does the wax go?), how
to tint the casts, how to cool them, how to do everything I needed to know
about casting except how to make a small plaster or gesso sunburst for my
mirror.
After deciding that I wasn't going to be casting
a Rodin or Remington I decided to revert to the old tried and true KISS
(keep it simple sister) method and see what I came up with. I bought one
pound of the cheapest modeling-clay-like material that I could find. It
was called "Plasteline" and cost me about $1 for a pound, roughly a 3 inch
cube. The art supply people told me it absolutely positively would not
work so I was further reassured. They insisted I buy a substance called "Sculpey
II" for $1.25 for two ounces. I passed. Then I went to the hardware store
and bought a pound of plain old plaster of paris in a cardboard box for
about another buck. So now I'm into this project for about $2 and change,
that's more my speed.
There were some starts and stops, several trials
and many errors but in the end it did work and here's how. Start by
working the clay between your hands until it is warm and soft. It will be
difficult at first because it is packed really tightly in the shrink wrap
material but it will loosen up and you will achieve a workable consistency
in about 5 minutes. Start with a piece of clay roughly 20% wider than the
piece you are going to cast and about twice as thick. For the sunburst I
used a slab of clay about four inches square and an inch thick. Next dust
a small, clean (very clean) paint brush with baby powder and spread the
powder on the piece you plan to copy for the mold. The powder keeps the
clay from sticking to the positive. Don't apply the powder directly from
the shaker to the piece because you will get too much on your positive
cast. Just dust it with the brush and make sure the powder doesn't
accumulate in the details of the cast.
If the positive you are about to duplicate is
still attached or otherwise inconvenient, as in the case of the sunburst,
just press your lump of clay directly over the piece. Apply firm, even
pressure all over the cast and visualize the cast as you do it. Think of
working the clay into the details and remember where the deep parts are
that might need extra pressure. Use a flat piece of wood bigger than your
clay to apply even pressure. The flat block will also put a flat back on
the clay mold so that it will sit level after you remove it and turn it
over (don't forget to dust the block with baby powder too). If the
positive is a loose piece such a small medallion or patera, lay the clay
on a flat board (dusted with powder) and press the positive into the clay,
again using a block of wood to insure even pressure and a flat back. Next,
remove the clay mold or the loose positive very slowly and carefully.
Don't worry too much about distortion of the clay as you remove it because
you can reshape it with your hands from the outside. If you need to pry a
loose piece from the mold, the mark from the pry tool can be touched up in
the clay. Make more than one mold if you have enough material. Some molds
are better than others and often you can't see the difference until the
end when you have to start over. Inspect your molds as you release them
and if they don't look clean and clear your casts won't be either. Just
reform the clay and make another mold.
Once your molds are made and laid out on a flat
surface, it's time to mix plaster. Follow the directions if you like or
just mix the stuff slowly with water to about the consistency of pancake
mix but without the lumps. You can experiment with the consistency. Pour
the mixed plaster into your molds until they are full to overflowing.
Don't worry about having too much, the excess is easily removed when dry.
It's worse to not fill up a mold and end up with a concave back after the
plaster dries. Now use a toothpick to help distribute the plaster within
the mold since air can get trapped in the pockets and details. Again,
visualize the mold to help release air pockets and insure a full cast.
Now comes the hard part - waiting. The directions
on the plaster will say that it sets up in 2 - 4 hours, which it does, but
usually not hard enough to withstand pulling it from a mold, especially if
your cast has a lot of fine detail. If you can stand it, allow the plaster
to cure overnight before releasing the mold. When you are ready, gently
start to remove the mold by working at the edges and corners with your
fingers, use no tools if absolutely possible. The soft clay should come
off in your hands leaving a nice white new plaster cast of your original.
If you are releasing a loose positive from a block of clay be careful that
you don't break your original. Patience is the key here. Your new cast may
have excess plaster around the edges which is easily removed with
sandpaper or an emery board. If it has some of the clay mold stuck in it,
gently remove it with a knife point or other sharp object.
Since you probably are going to apply your new
cast to a flat surface, the back must be as perfectly flat as you can make
it or it may crack when you glue it down. Turn the cast over and use a
sharp rasp to flatten the back, finishing it off with 80 grit sandpaper
wrapped on a block of wood. You don't want it much smoother than that for
glue adhesion. When you are ready to apply your new applique, use some 5
minute epoxy and light pressure from a C clamp or other clamp arrangement.
The plaster cast will accept stain well although it may go a little dark
so try your color on some scrap material and stain the piece before you
glue it since the epoxy will not take a stain if you happen to get a
little on the piece during the glue process. The new plaster will also
accept most surface finishes such as paint, lacquer and urethanes.
All of the foregoing sounds simple enough and it
really is but be prepared for mistakes and leave yourself time to learn as
you employ and enjoy your new skill.
