Little Black Chess Piece Table

Chess Piece
Table Before

This little gem is another furniture item to add to our collection of painted black tables. As like the previous posting, our customer had envisioned this table being stripped and stained, but like the last table the wood beneath the gray paint was simply not stainable. It was splotchy and had absorbed the paint into the wood grain. There were two coats of paint on this table, black then gray on top of the black. It was also never primed, which contributed to the discoloration of the

Chess Piece
Table After

wood, making it not stainable. 

So, black was chosen once again as the color choice because it is popular for modern life and matches everything. This little gem was only about 16” in diameter and only about 24” tall, so not very big but big enough to keep a lamp or set down a cup of coffee. 

Needless to say the stripping process was intense and took a couple of days to remove all that paint enough for it to be properly primed and prepared to receive the new paint, which for this table we chose to spray on since it was late summer. We generally can’t paint in the colder months because it’s just too cold and the spray painting doesn’t work very well in cold weather. The finished black table was outstanding and made a huge difference. I told Jim I think the table looked like a large chess piece because of the interesting detail on the underside of the top, lending it a chess piece look. Very cute and very functional, this little chess piece table is once again a nice addition to the customer’s room.

Table Re-painted in Beautiful Black

Table Before

We mostly prefer stripping furniture to reveal the beautiful wood beneath and then stain it as it would have been done naturally, but it doesn’t always work out that way and there’s a good reason why the furniture was painted instead of being stained. This antique folding table was a prime example of why painting is better than stain as it would not accept stain. The reason was that it was made up of different types of wood and most of the paint had penetrated the wood’s surface, therefore making it not stain-worthy. Luckily our customer understood the situation and opted for paint instead.

Table After

We stripped this table as we do most other furniture items with stripper and plenty of elbow grease. Once the table was completely stripped, each area then gets carefully sanded to remove as much rough surface as possible. This prepares the piece for the next step, primer. Any time you have raw wood, primer is a must do as raw wood will soak up all the paint if it is not primed first. You can purchase paint with primer in it, but we prefer these processes to be kept separate because we find it gives us better results and a smoother finished surface. 

You generally don’t need polyurethane on a painted item unless it will be used outdoors, but then you would be better off using outdoor paint. Adding polyurethane or lacquer to a painted item will over time turn it yellow. Just a little piece of advice to keep in mind...

While we can paint furniture in any color the customer chooses, as this is a personal preference, but black seems to be the most popular colors because it is neutral and versatile and looks great when accompanied with brass accents such as this table’s feet. We always clean the hardware and additional accents such as brass feet on tables or hinges, because it finishes the piece nicely, giving it “bling,” as well as a fresher look. 

This table had two fold-out leaves, which doubled its size, making it a great table to use when you need more seating. Its compact size made it easy to store when not being used for a dining table and can instead be used as an accessory table. The classic black was a great choice and kept the original integrity of the table in addition to giving it a fresh, new appearance that will look great for decades.

Newly Caned Dining Chair

 

Cane Chair Before

    My caning abilities are really being tested these days, but the

Cane Chair After

more caning I do, the easier it becomes and the more enjoyable. I’ve rounded another curve in my progress and have become more than just sufficient, in fact, I'm pretty darn good at it. This exquisite dining chair was likely the last survivor of a six to eight set of predecessors, therefore it deserved special treatment and caning done right. 

    This chair had been caned many years prior and had been broken, likely by a knee or a child that used it as a way to sneak cookies out of grandma’s cupboard. Cane gets brittle after so many years, therefore it is vulnerable to breakage as it ages. My choice to keep the cane original (not stain it) is to add years of service to the chair by allowing it to age naturally.

    This chair was “strand caned,” meaning the cane comes in 6’-8’ lengths, then carefully woven, one strand at a time through pre-drilled holes surrounding the chair’s seat. It’s a labor intensive process, both in removing the old cane as well as weaving the new cane. Cane comes in various widths from very fine 2mm to medium 3mm or larger sizes 4mm and up. It’s important to determine the size of the cane in relationship to the holes, or it becomes very difficult the further you get into the process if the cane is too large since you will be pulling many strands through the same holes over and over due to the nature of the weaving. While the caning process is repetitious, each chair is unique in the way it is woven to accommodate the shape of that particular chair. 

    This chair had a curved seat, wider in the front than in the back, therefore it was necessary to double up the strands in some holes and omit others for that direction. The most difficult part of the chair was near the arms, because the cane moves around them beneath the chair so getting the cane to slide through those holes was tricky. Having the right tools is essential as they make the difference between a mediocre job and an excellent one. Strand caning is done is six parts; front to back, left to right, front to back again, diagonal one direction then diagonal in the opposite direction and finally, binding. When you first begin weaving, you use caning pegs (see photo below) to keep the cane in place. Eventually the cane becomes tight so they are no longer needed. 

    The very last step is the tie off the cut cane beneath the chair by tucking it up under the loops created by the weave then tie them tightly prior to snipping off their ends. It was really a nice looking chair one the new cane was in place.

Caning pegs hold cane in place
during weaving process

Antique Oak High Chair

    

High Chair Before

    The very nature of a chair’s construction makes it quite time consuming

High Chair After

to work on. When a chair has spindles with curves and detail, the time spent stripping is even more time consuming than a relatively simple style. But the very best part of restoring any chair is the finished product, which always amazes me because of the drastic difference between how it comes to us and how it looks when it is restored. Yup, chairs are a lot of work, but the outcome is always worthwhile and successful.     

    A high chair such as this one was once used for a great-grandfather whom would have been seated in while his mother fed him mashed carrots. Needless to say if this chair could speak, oh what stories it would tell! Unfortunately, the most obvious story was that it was in need of restoration and repair. The seat was held together by panty hose (which works well in a pinch!)

    The center portion of the seat had split directly in the center as well as a minor split closer to the side. Therefore in addition to refinishing, it needed to be repaired first. The best way to achieve this and do it properly, was to take it apart, partially. Once it was separated all the way, it was cleaned and re-glued, then clamped overnight so that the glue would do its job and mend the splits. If this is done properly, the glue will hold for many years to come (providing a high school student that had long since outgrown the chair didn’t intend to sit on it!)

    After the chair was strong and secure again, the slow and tedious process of stripping and sanding was next. There are no shortcuts when it comes to stripping a chair, any chair. It simply takes a long time because chairs have a LOT of surface area. This chair had such pretty grain that had been hiding under many years of use. When this is stripped and sanded away, that original grain shines through, giving the chair a new life by revealing its original beauty. We selected “gunstock” stain and a satin finish for this high chair. I absolutely love the way the chair turned out! Once again structurally sound and the gorgeous wood revealed, this chair is ready for another century of being a family heirloom.

Check out the other high chair we’ve done by clicking on this link: https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2020/06/height-chair-before-height-chair-after.html