I've only just begun...

It's been an interesting spring - full of SO many repairs that I can barely keep track of them. This cedar chest is over 100 years old,  and this new lid will hopefully give it many more years of enjoyment.  The new strip of wood on the front edge of the lid is a completely different color, so I had to work like crazy to tint it to match. 

It was a little darker than I wanted it to be, but still... a pretty decent repair. 

The chest was SO old and beaten up that the new piece of wood on the lid didn't match very well. The wood needed to be distressed, to "age" it a bit. For anyone with anger management issues, distressing wood is a great way to get some of that out of their system. I put some old nails and screws into a sock, and beat the top with it. The dents and bruises looked as if they'd always been there.

 I even ordered some cedar oil and rejuvenated the inside of the chest... the aroma was lovely.  

But as soon as that chest left the shop, this rocker wandered in. Well.. the owner of it wandered in, hoping for a repair. This poor chair came in in pieces, and it's a hot mess. 

I'm not sure if someone else attempted to repair it, or if it was built this way - but most of the joints were reinforced with nails. Coaxing them out with needle nosed pliers, 

and then pulling them with a crowbar out filled my afternoon. Anyone who thinks woodworking is exciting needs to think again.

There are so many broken tenons and new parts that need to be made... I'm not sure  how this is going to turn out.

I mean - who nails wood together?!? 

I had a handful of these by the time I was done... and I've only just begun. 

 While I was pulling nails,  students in the other room wrapped up the last day of their mini-workbench class. These benches are the handiest things ever, and she's going to get a ton of use out of this one!  

This work on the chair has only begun - and it made me think of this oldie....

Wish me luck!