FWW ran an article some months back describing the technique for reproducing an antique finish on mahogany. Some “letters to the editor” contained objections that they were providing forgers with information on how to deceive collectors. This is not my interest. I have a newly carved mirror frame in mahogany and I would like to put an authentic antique finish on it. Anyone know the FWW issue number? Thanks.
Joe
Replies
The most recent article I'm finding was by Lonnie Bird, Nov/Dec 2005 (#180) and it was an antique finish for a Tiger Maple secretary. I'm not sure the same finish would work on Mahogany, they are such different woods.
People who write in and complain to a magazine because the published a process for reproducing an antique finish have waaaayyyyyyyyy too much time on their hands, IMHO. The term "control freak" comes to mind, LOL!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Check out Post 32432.1 / A great example of finishing a piece to look aged.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Joe,
I believe someone else told you where to get antiquing info in FWW.
This reply is an "aside". There is a book called The Gentle Art of Faking Furniture by a man named Cescinsky, which can be bought on Amazon and elsewhere. I read it decades ago. I don't remember the details but I remember having a lot of fun reading it. For some pieces, he said that it is nice to have a creek on your property. Put the piece of furniture in the creek. Cover it with mud and retrieve it in a year. Probably not something you would want to do with your mirror.
I think you can buy the book and have it shipped for under $10. It is a fun read. He even talks about how to fake jewelry. As I remember, he said that the best way to get the right patina on a ring is to use the gastric acids of a goose. You can force-feed the ring to the goose (carefully!). He recommeds about three days. Of course, he says, the goose has to be sacrificed.
Enjoy.
Mel
PS - People spend a lot of money trying to look younger. I have been making furniture in older styles for a long time, and have read a lot about artificially aging the furniture, but somehow it never appealed to me, EXCEPT as an excercise in intelligence and creativity. I have seen some very creative approaches, such as putting the right type of adhesive in the right places on a piece and sprinkling dust from the vacuum cleaner bag on it. I read a piece in FWW a while back on antiquing a chair. It was a very long involved, multi-step process which put stuff on the chair that I wouldn't put on a chair that I made. It really looked kinda old when they finished with it, but I liked it better before they did all of that. There is a lot written about the ethics of restoration by museums. Interesting stuff.. Very philosophical. I have a distant relative who fakes the work of the grand master painters, but he provides a certificate of fakeness. Go to http://www.fakemaster.it to see his work.
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Actually I have had a copy of "The Gentle Art of Faking . . ." for a number of years. It's has some worthwhile information but some of it is a bit silly.
The particular FWW article I am seeking gave the best technique I have ever seen and, I believe, called for the use of potassium dichromate and glazing. Another poster referred to me to FWW #180. I have to dig it out and see it is the one I am thinking about though he did say it involved maple while I am fairly certain the article I am looking for dealt with mahogany.
In any case I just ordered Vol. 2 of the FWW CD. I hope it will have a reprint.
Thanks for the tip.
Joe
Joe,
So -- two people have read "The Gentle Art of Faking ..." You and me. As you could tell from my post, I wasn't pushing it as anything serious. I had fun reading it. I really hope you let us know what you decide to do after getting the various articles in FWW. When you are finished with the piece, please post a photo or two in the Gallery with any lessons learned.Enjoy,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel, I intend to make it look as old as I can as it is beautifully carved. There are portions of it that I will water guild (burnishing of fine gold) if you are familiar with the process. Someone referred me to FWW #180. I started going through my old issues and it is the only one I am missing. What luck.
Anyway, I ordered Taunton's new CD and hope it will be in there when it arrives. By the way, have you ever wondered why FWW does not put out a series of CD containing every issue ever published? They get $125 for their CD with 1000 articles. I would be willing to pay more to have everything ever published in FWW on CD as it is easily transportable and you don't have to go digging around to find a past issue. It's a great magazine. I was an original subscriber--received Issue #1 as a solicitation and immediately subscribed. How it has changed the woodworking world. Just look at the tools available today that were not available then. Admittedly some of their issues are better than others and occasionally they put out a real dud but for the most part it's a great magazine. I just wish they published monthly instead of 6x per year. Oh, well. Thanks for your kind words.
Joe
Joe,
I have FWW #180. I would be happy to send you what you need. Send me a message using the "Reply by email" option, which send the message to my email box. If you tell me your address, I will send you the article. I am looking forward to a photo when you are finished with the antiquing. I am not familiar with the process you described, but I have a lot to learn. I have been getting FWW for a number of years, but am not an original subscriber. I am new to Knots this year, and am learning immensely from the people on it. FWW and Knots are extremely well done, IMHO.Enjoy.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
He was a she, and here are two more candidates for you.
Making Old Wood Look New by Jeff Jewitt, FWW #127 "He often has to match an old look when fabricating missing parts for antique furniture, and in this article, he explains how he does it. "
and Finishing Mahogany, also by Mr. Jewitt, FWW #164 Doesn't say anything about making it look old, but more to get the "classic" look.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
If a "collector" can't tell a repro, then they deserve what they get!! That said I DOOOOO hate it when a dealer is trying to pass something off as antique/old when I know it was made last week. And I have seen some doozies.
But I don't think that is the point at all. There is some great looking furniture and if an artisan can replicate the "look", more power to them. They can't replicate the wood.
I have to admit at having taken great delight in pointing out, more than just a time or two, that some people's prized antiques were 90%+ machine made. I never fail to be astounded by the number of people who insist that a 100 year old piece had to have been made entirely by hand. Some may have been, but most rolled off an assembly line just like they do now albeit it was a better manufactured product than you mostly find these days.
I'm not a fan of applying the term 'antique' to old manufactured furniture. I'm of the opinion that unless you've recently knocked off a major museum or bought a piece at auction from a private collection you probably don't own an antique in the truest since of that word.
Edited 11/29/2006 12:45 pm ET by VeriestTyro
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