Expert: Greg Scholl - 1/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: I inherited on old Singer sewing machine from my grandmother. The cabinet is in pretty bad shape but I would like to restore it anyway.

There are several wood carvings on the drawers and on the sides. Some of the carvings are missing. I am looking for a way to reproduce the carvings, perhaps by making some kind of mold using the remaining carvings to make replacements.

Also, some of the vernier is splitting and coming loose. I am also looking for some advice on removing and replacing the vernier.

Once I get the repairs to the wood made, I know how to refinish the cabinet. Thanks.

Tom

ANSWER: Hi Tom, you can use a silicone mold making kit to reproduce the carved details, available at any good Art supplier (dickblick.com, etc.), but you will likely need to remove one of them completely to make a mold. Make any veneer repairs with liquid hide glue, as this was the glue of the period, and it will stick best to the old glue residue. For single layer loose areas, steaming and clamping may restick the veneer, but this is tricky work, and can sometimes result in loosening other areas adjacent to the loose ones, so proceed with caution. Work out your clamping methods in advance of gluing, then glue and clamp until dry, (usually overnight). Use an Artists palette knife to get the glue into the layers, often there are several layers to these veneers, and they all tend to get loose in the problem areas. If veneer needs to be removed, it can often be coaxed off with steaming,( I have a few old steam irons around for this) as the old hide glue is water soluble, but it will take some real work to do this, and it's often risky to the surrounding veneered areas.....hope that helps a little- remember too, that alot of these are around still, in attics, barns, and garages...it might be worth it to put an ad on craigslist or similar, looking for old ones, and you might find some replacement drawers, or other parts you can use, without a lot of work....regards- Greg

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QUESTION: Greg,

Thanks for your input. I have a couple more questions.

After I make a mold for the wood carvings, what material should I use to make the carving? I would like for it to be stainable like wood and also durable enough to be lightly sanded.

I am not familiar with hide glue. Is that different from something like Elmer's wood glue? Do I have to go somewhere special to get it or will most hardware stores carry it? Thanks.

Tom Mull

ANSWER: Liquid hide glue is available at most good hardware store, it's a stabilized version of the hot hide glues that were used in furniture construction for many years. Franklin Liquid Hide Glue in the brown bottle is the kind you'll likely find...I think even HomeDepot will have it...along with the moldmaking supplies at DickBlick or similar, they will have a selection of resin casting products that will make a nice cast. As far as making it look like wood, that will be done in the finishing process...with graining and toning techniques usually....

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Greg,

Thanks again. I have just a few more questions.

Can I use a stain-able liquid wood filler to make the chip casting?

What do I need to do to keep the casting from sticking to the mold?

Thanks.

Tom Mull

Answer
Please elaborate on "stainable liquid wood filler", I'm not familiar with what that would be...typically one would use a casting material designed for casting in silicone molds...they're usually a 2 part resin and catalyst (polyester,etc.), and the store will have them in with the mold making supplies...a release agent is also required, depending on the casting medium, as it's important to make sure your release agent won't interfere with the curing process of the cast.....