A Little Reconstruction, Part Dos

I cleaned up the dried glue around the pegs and dry-fitted some of the pieces together. While I had some pieces clamped I was working by the compost bin on the other side of the garage and heard something happening high over my head. A dead branch broke off (probably a fat squirrel) and fell right where I had been standing a few minutes before. I rushed over to see if my chair was ok and had it cleaned up before I thought to take a picture.


Here is the tree. I put everything away because storm clouds were rolling in.

And here are the pieces of the limb.



Scary how you can get hurt just standing under a tree with no wind blowing. Anyway . . .

I went back outside after I was certain it was not going to rain after all and I got the chair glued together and clamped.





Tomorrow I will clean up the stain some more and put some poly on it if I have some. I have to fabricate a small screwing block for the seat, too. It's amazing the trust we put in a few little pegs and some glue that's all that's between our butts and the floor.

A Little Reconstruction

Thought I'd tackle one of the many "projects" I have sitting around the house. This is one sad chair I got from my mother. I don't know what happened to it--maybe someone dropped something heavy on it--anyway, some of the pegs were broken off and it fell apart.


I had to really work to get all the broken pieces off the chair and ended up cutting through some of the pegs with a coping saw. The plan is to drill out and replace the pegs and glue it back together and refinish it. I have already used Formby's Refinisher on it and removed a lot of the darkened shellac and finish. It's solid oak and sort of Mission-style and will go nicely with the Mission-style desk my father gave me.



On the left is one of the stringers. Unfortunately, the dowel ends, which were integral with the stringer have broken off. I will have to drill them out and put in pegs. They will not be as strong, but will hopefully stay together. On the right is one of the pieces of the seat frame.

Here are the steps I took to remove the glued-in old pegs.


I clamp the piece to a horse, padding it with a washcloth and get my biggest drill bit and drill through the center of the pegs.


Then I get a skinny wood chisel and a hammer and start tapping and prying out the rest of the glue and dowel. It doesn't look pretty and the edges get a little ragged, but they will be covered up when I'm done.


I can't take a picture of that step because I don't have another hand.





I got these nifty tools the other day. I could really do some damage with these puppies!

I cleaned up the holes with the appropriate size spade bit.


Then I glued in the pegs and glued and clamped some cracks and let it dry overnight.

Great New Old House Pics

I just got back from a visit with a granddaughter of the woman in this pic who grew up in my house, which was built by her aunt and uncle. She inherited some wonderful photos and I had her copy them for me in high res. This is a pic of the house that was on the corner of Sibley and Gold, which is now my yard and garden. When we blew it up to look at the details I was looking at my front porch! I had thought that this house was torn down before my house was built so there would be room to work, but this proves me wrong. 

What is great about this is this is the first time I have seen exactly what my porch railing looked like--also the brick and sandstone piers on either side of the front steps. Now I actually have something to show a carpenter to reproduce for me. 

Note the new cement sidewalks with the wooden boards leading to the streets. There are no curbs, so the streets are unpaved as yet. They were first done in brick and asphaulted over now.

Here is the original picture. Notice the street signs on the corner of the house reading "Gold" and "Sibley".

Here is a blowup of my front porch (the brick one) and the house next door's front porch which doesn't look like that anymore--it was redone in brick and cement and later vinylized.

So check out that corner post. When blown up you can see four round ornaments in a row on all four sides--they are catching the sun. I had an AHA moment when I saw those. Back when we excavated the Egyptian tomb that was the cement steps leading up to the entrance to the second floor apartment, which went up the front stairwell, I found this wooden ornament.

So, what do you think? That's a CD case its sitting on to show the size. Too big? Perfect? There can be no other place in the house this thing would go as there is no ornamentation at all anywhere but on the two mantels--and this is not oak.

Here is a pic of the back of the house on the corner taken in front of the carriage-house-that-is-no-more, built for my house. I can't tell if my house has been built yet or not, so am not sure of the date of this pic. You can see the church across the street and the other houses in the neighborhood that are all still standing, although vinylized, as is the church. They even covered over the bell! You can also see a pole and wires here. I do not know if these are telephone or electric wires, but my house was built for gas only and converted in the 'teens to electricity.


Just before my house was built there were 6 people living in this house--possibly 7. Augusta Schmitt, son Crescencz and his two children (and possibly his 2nd wife), and daughter Rosa and her husband Charles Hauser.

Sibley Update

I thought you might like to see photos of Sibley the Feral Cat's progress towards becoming a Tame Cat.


Here he is getting petted while I am sitting in my computer chair. This is now a nightly routine for him.

He really is enjoying this! If I stop he stands up and taps me on the arm for more. I still don't dare pick him up, however.

He will lay on the floor and watch me at the computer.

He also wants to be petted when I am eating at the table in the kitchen. It seems whenever I am in a chair he is not afraid. The only place he doesn't want my attention is in the bathroom--which is the place all the other cats seem to think is where I am doing nothing and should be petting them.

This is Bertie, Sibley, and Purrcey on the kitchen floor.

This is Bertie and Sibley enjoying some catnip sleeping pads on the bathtub in the dining room. (Don't we all have bathtubs in the dining room beside antique stoves and half-refinished Victorian sideboards?)

He is progressing daily and knows his name and will perk up when he knows I am talking to him, but still will not come when called. He hangs around when the other kitties are getting treats, but is still somewhat afraid of having treats tossed to him and a little slow on the whole treat thing, so doesn't get too many when greedy Tommy is around.

Right now he is sleeping in a chair in the room with me, but still aware of every noise I make so I don't sneak up on him and kill him.

Cristallo Lighting

My taste in lighting fixtures tends towards the Edwardian/Victorian end of the spectrum, but I just love this collection! Look at the beading on the shades. I think these would look great in any restored home.

You can see the rest of the collection here.

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with this company.

Kissed By A Feral Cat

This is Sibley.

He is a feral cat. I trapped him on the back porch last Spring, got him neutered, and then, not wanting to release him back outside to fend for himself, released him into my house. These pictures were taken several months after. He hides most of the time I am around--most lately under my bed, and when I enter a room I see a fluffy yellow tail leaving it. Sometimes he will lay on the floor in the kitchen with the other cats when I am at the kitchen table quietly reading late at night. I turn and speak to him and use his name so he will feel included. As soon as I get up he is gone. He has learned to play with cat toys, batting them down the stairs and in the bathtub, and he and the other cats play chase up and down the stairs and down the hall. He has always been a gentleman and uses the cat box and has no problem finding the food and water, as you can see by his picture.

I have not touched him since soon after he came here, when he used to cower in a cat house and I would touch his nose. When cornered he has said terrible things to me and rushed past to escape the horrible things I am going to do to him. All my other cats love him and get along just fine. I pet them in his presence to show him that I am not going to kill him. He has entered my bedroom, sitting just inside the door, to watch me as I am sleeping. I wake up and say Hi to him. He snuggles on top of my clothes on the vanity stool, and lately he has been sleeping on my bed when I am actually IN IT! Last week I woke to see him on the other pillow--just 12 inches away, and he didn't run.

This morning I woke up and, as is their custom, the other cats came and stood on me and started purring and getting their morning pets. I had one in each armpit and two on my chest, several on my feet, and one on the other pillow, and Sibley was on the far side of the bed. (A double, so I can reach both sides.) I pet Spot and got him all purry and happy and he went over and started washing Sibley's head and ears. Spot is my best ear washer. I reached over and pet Spot and started petting Sibley. He didn't object, and soon he was actually PURRING. This is the first sound he has made other than a hiss. Soon he was rolling over on his back, stretching out his feet, and giving my hand little kitty kisses. He didn't want me to stop. He found out that hands are good. I withdrew my hand to pet the other cats and then resumed petting Sibley several times. Each time, he kissed my hand and rolled over so I could scratch his chest. He was making little purry whimpery noises and then he rolled off the bed!

I dozed off and he was back when I woke up. I pet him again and got up. I haven't seen him the rest of the day.

W00t!! Progress!

Misty

Misty

24 October 1994

5 January 2009

RIP