Six of the best!

Well OK!  This is just two from a set of six below:

All I want for Christmas is my front leg repaired and some new spindles

These chairs really needed my help

Now you can see all six

Line up now!  Ready for your inspection

Don't they look nice!  What do you think?

These chairs were stripped, sanded smooth, stained to the chosen colour then spray finished with several coats of clear lacquer.

Merry Christmas

*Merry Christmas*

To all my loyal readers,

May I wish you all a very Happy Christmas & New Year!

Yes, another year gone around so fast where has the time gone?

I hope that you have found my Blog useful?  If so, I welcome your feedback!

My Blog is now fast approaching Twelve Thousand Views from more than Sixty four Countries around the Globe, so perhaps I am doing something right.

Thank you for those of you that have made contact with enquiries, I hope that I have been able to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

May you have a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2013

Whilst on my Blog, don’t forget to listen to some nice music on my music player, I have Classic, Country and Rock to choose from or why not view the for your pleasure video player enjoy!

And best of all it is all free for your enjoyment.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew.

Craftsman meets artists!

Craftsman meets Artists!

Today, I had the great pleasure to spend the day in the company of artists, and whilst there it became very clear to me that artists face the same challenges as me on a daily basis, let me explain.

Firstly it seems to me, that it is a very difficult profession within which to make a good living and like me, they have to go from day to day, not knowing when or where the next job or commission is coming from.

For some people, this would be hard to comprehend living like that worrying about how and when the bills will get paid without a regular job.

For me, and it seems from what I could observe that the artists are also driven by a deep passion and love of their craft and therefore not over-influenced by exorbitant incomes as paid in other professions.

I felt the camaraderie amongst the artists was unique they all work alongside each other in a large converted old warehouse, working on their own projects, and produce some very fine works of art that are sold all over the world.

Like my profession, I feel that there is not enough recognition shown to craftspeople like myself, or artists for what we have to give up in the pursuit of learning our skills and then the years to perfect and evolve them, I am sure that most people don’t realise just how much we sacrifice for the pursuit of our client's pleasure.

Clients expect that by magic that their furniture will become as new and if not why not?  Therefore it places a great deal of pressure to produce top quality work each and every time not an easy feat.

I came away from the art galleries content that I was not alone in my ongoing struggle to make a living from the profession I love.

Thankfully for me, I believe that I have built up a good reputation for the standard of work I produce and will continue to do so.

Thank you for reading and I hope you find this interesting.

Feedback and comments are welcome to click on the comments tab below.

This was painted by my eldest son Daniel

 

Chairs who likes to do them?

Here are some chairs that I have just finished

Look at this fake red colour dreadful

                                                          Stripped and sanded

                                                     Stained and hand French polished

As you can see that with some very hard work, and attention to detail these old chairs have been completely transformed.

I had to treat them both for woodworm, as there were signs of wormholes however, apparently they had been treated prior to my works.

If you have chairs like this, maybe this will give you some idea as to what you could do with them.

I hope this will be of help to you?

How not to French polish a Dining table

This is how not to French polish a Dining table.

This table was left finished in this condition by a so-called French polisher.

I was called by a potential customer to look at their Dining table, as they had been very disappointed with the French polisher that had carried out the works on their table.

I think he could have no idea how to French polish and his work is an insult to the good French polishers out there.

As you can see from the photo below, showing a very streaky surface with oil left on the surface together with scratches need I go on.

I was very surprised to see such a poor standard of workmanship, the guy never even took the table apart to gain full access to the top surface.

In this picture below you can see that I have half-stripped part of the surface for the clients to view and make a decision as to what lays beneath the old surface.

The remaining photos are after I have completely stripped and re hand French polished the surface properly. 

Looks much better now!

Looks like glass now!

This is how a Dining table should be French polished.

Thanks for viewing, comments are always welcome.

Time for Celebrations!

Let’s not get too expensive!

Time for celebrations!

10,000 Views to Andrews French polishing Forum

Thank you to all my readers from around the world, it is now clear to me that there are many people out there in the big wide world that show an interest in French polishing.

I never imagined that my Blog would have attracted any interest, how wrong could I be!

I have viewers from Seventy One Countries thus far and growing.

Once again thank you for your interest in my Blog.

Regards,

Andrew.

The struggles to learn the art of French polishing

 The struggles to learn the art of, French polishing.

For me, it all began back in 1968 the days of the Beatles and flower power, back then if you made a good enough effort to find a job you could.

When I left school I was unsure what I should do with myself and what path to take?  As I have mentioned in an earlier post on my Blog site I did not like School and the bureaucracy that went with it, years later I was described by a fellow French polisher he stated “That I was a rebel without a cause” Perhaps that is a good description of me!  Several years later this same man was sacked for stealing from the company that we both worked for so much for his righteousness.

Well, I walked the streets of London looking for work, and the only thing I thought I could do is work with wood, my Father had been a Carpenter & Joiner in his earlier days so perhaps my passion for wood came from him?

Eventually, I found employment as a French polisher for a very famous London West End Store where I served a Four & Half years Apprenticeship, during those years, I spent my days as a typical apprentice first job would be to sweep up the entire workshop, then go and empty all the very heavy metal rubbish bins onto a truck that used to come once a week.

After that job I was responsible for filling the French polisher’s bottles with French polish, then another with white spirits and so on.

I found that most of the French polisher’s would not wish to teach me or pass on their skills, as they perhaps felt that one day I would take their jobs, little did they know.

The way that I tried to break the code of silence was to try and befriend and help the polisher’s by doing this slowly they started to impart their knowledge.

Only after I had earned the respect of the French polisher’s would they then show me how to strip off the polish from whatever item was in the workshop at the time, then I was asked to do all of the stripping processes as you could imagine not a very pleasant job.

Many days, I would go home and be really sad and did not want to go back in to work the next day, but when I spoke to my Father he encouraged me to continue with my training, and looking back he was right.

Well, I stuck my apprenticeship out to the end of its course and the day came for me to receive my Certificate of completion.  This was great and I felt so proud of myself I had achieved something.

Most of my friends at that time were working on digging holes in roads and doing heavy manual work earning better money than I, but for me, it was not about the money I wanted to learn a trade that no matter if I never used my new skills again during my life I could always fall back on my trade should the need arise.

Now my apprenticeship was over I had to leave the company and move on this was very common then as it was considered that the young person, would gain more experience within another company, at the time I did not believe this or understand the logic behind this but now I do understand, as when I moved to another company I did learn some different techniques and skills, and it seems that French polishing is a lifelong learning experience as there is always something new coming along to learn or at least try.

Well, I don’t know everything about French polishing, as that would just be pure arrogant and that is one thing I hate about some people that go through their lives being that way.

French polishing has not been an easy career choice, and since I have been self-employed for the past twenty-eight years life has not always been easy!  As with recessions coming and going and customers looking to keep their costs to a limit makes for a hard life.

For me, I have an easy-going personality and take every day as it comes and this has stood me in good stead.

Most people that I come across are too afraid to try self-employment as they are naturally afraid about what happens if the work dries up?  This is something that I have become used to however, I believe that if I do a good job and the client is happy with my work they will return to me again with more work or at least a recommendation.

For me, as with any self-employed person, a good recommendation is very important with this in mind and having done some good quality works, has given me some very good clients of note that do return to me as and when a problem arises.

If you are new to French polishing or considering becoming one ask yourself do you want to become rich?  Or do I want to be work satisfied?  Because at the end of the day most people that I speak to are certainly not happy with their jobs and would love to work for themselves but lack the conviction required to survive on their own in this big wide world.

It does take a great deal of determination when the phone does not ring and Christmas is coming up etc.  You get the picture!

For me, ever the optimist and still a rebel and will not change now, I love what I do and really enjoy my work even though it is very hard work that requires great patience something that I have in abundance.

Should you wish to become a French polisher?  I wish you every success.

Learn as much as you can and make the best use of your skills, never become secretive with things you learn in and throughout your life why?  You ask because “There is nothing in life that isn't known” in the words of the great John Lennon.  How true.

I hope that this has been of interest to you?  If so hit the comment tab below and I shall reply to you.

Thanks for reading.

Woodworm what can we do about it?

Woodworm what can we do about it?

These are classic examples of woodworm

Let me see what I can come up with, firstly if you detect the signs of woodworm in your furniture or home, you should never ignore it, why because woodworm if still active and left untreated will spread throughout your premises.

How can you tell, if you have woodworm in your furniture?  Well, this is simple to spot if you look usually on the underside and around the feet of your items and you see small round holes this will indicate that woodworm has at some time infected your furniture.

However, this does not necessarily mean that the woodworm is still active as the infestation could have taken place many years ago and therefore, there would be no risk of the Beatles spreading or coursing any further damage.

How can you tell if the Beatles are still active in your woodwork?  Usually, if you can see traces of wood dust around the holes and another way to tell is if you tap the surface and wood dust falls out then that is a clear sign that the Beatles are still active.

As a precaution as soon as you see any sign of woodworm, you should always treat the timber as if it is still infected.

How to do this, woodworm treatment should be carried out by qualified specialists due to the nature of the hazards associated with the chemicals used in the process.

Should you choose to carry out the treatment yourself?  You should ensure that you take the time to read and understand all of the manufactures instructions prior to starting.

If you are in doubt about your ability seek professional help.

How I treat woodworm firstly, I ensure that if possible I take the item out into

The open fresh air, due to the strong fumes are given off by the chemical used, I make sure that I use safety goggles this is a must why?  Because you can either brush on or inject the treatment into one hole and the liquid can and has shot out from another hole and gone straight into my face, not very nice!!!

Also, I make sure that I wear a breathing mask this is also a must as the fumes given off by the treatment can be harmful.

Wear suitable protection for your clothing, such as a disposable outfit and when you have completed the treatment it is best to dispose of it in a sensible manner.

If you are treating woodworm indoors it is essential that you choose a treatment killer that is non-flammable to let me explain further, I had very bad woodworm in flooring that required a specialist company to deal with the problem, and whilst the woodworm killer was soaking into the wood this can take hours or more to dry out.

As a safety precaution, the treatment agent removed the electrical fuse circuit to the room that was being treated, due to the risk that if light or an electrical appliance should cause a spark when switched on then this, in turn, could lead to an explosion.

That is why I advise you to ask professionals to treat indoor infestations but I see no reason, as to why you cannot carry out small projects that can be done as I have instructed outdoors.

I hope this will help you to choose whether to do it yourself or call in the professionals!

This is meant for guidance purposes only and therefore, I take no responsibility for any injuries caused whatsoever, by or as a result of lack of experience by persons unskilled in the treatment of woodworm.

Thank you for reading, feedback is always welcome.

Finishing Stages & Stiffing off

Finishing stages and stiffing off:

Recently, I was asked about this crucial stage in French polishing.

This section is about the final process during French polishing, it is known as stiffing off, what this means is, that when you have finished building up to a high shine on your surface and now need to leave the surface with a streak-free finish.

The way to achieve this is while you have enough linseed oil on your polished surface and before your rubber starts to begin to drag, you should now begin to polish in the direction of the grain only, should you do this method you will soon begin to see that eventually the oil marks left by your rubber, will start to follow your rubber direction.

Keep this up until you need to charge your rubber with some more French polish, open your rubber and apply the polish and this time add a very small amount of Methylated spirits, reshape your rubber and continue to polish with the grain using light and even pressure and you will soon see a very high shine begin to appear.

This is what I do; once my surface starts to become clear I change my rubber rag for a fresh cloth and then continue to polish with the grain until all of the oil has been worked out of the surface.

This will take some time and patience but your hard work will be rewarded with an outstanding shine to be proud of.

I hope this will be of some help to you.

How can I clean my hands?

Well, I have worked in a number of workshops and have found that just about every company uses a different method.

One company I worked at used a household bleach with hot water to remove the old French polish, yes it worked but what was it doing to my and others skin? 

Another company used soda crystals in hot water, now this works well but again very harsh on the hands.

Of course, methylated spirits will remove the polish from your hands, but will leave you with a nasty smell that will last for hours.

If you are particular about your hands and need to keep them in a clean condition, you might like to try a barrier cream rub this well into your hands prior to French polishing and this will help to reduce the polish from sticking and therefore make it easier to clean off at the end of the day.

I found that trying to remove the polish by vigorous rubbing using canvas with hot water was causing my hands to become very red in colour so I stopped using the harsh canvas and now I just use hot water with soap and flannel and if I have stain around my fingernails I reach for the scrubbing brush rub soap into the bristles and this works well, of course, it does not get all of the stains out but it is better than having sore hands.

I find it is much better to let the polish come off in its own time or if like me by the time I have finished washing and doing the washing up nearly all of the polish will have gone.

It could be said that gloves would be the most prudent thing to use and this would negate all of the above having said that French polishing is about getting the feel through your fingers and I don’t think this can be done wearing gloves only my thoughts.

I hope this will be of some use to you?

If it is of use or perhaps you have a method that works fine for you?   Please click on the comment tab below thanks.