Great Grandmother's Wheelchair

My cousin moved a few years ago and Lee and I went to help.  She had an old broken wheelchair under her house and she offered it to me.  It seems it was my great grandmother's.  My Aunt was there helping and remembers using it to push other kids up and down the sidewalk in front of their Ashland, Kentucky home.  No mention was made as to whether this was appreciated by the one that needed a wheelchair!

 

On the underside of the foot rest is a name and address.  I believe it is my grandmother's house in Ashland.  I can't read the name.

We brought it home and set it aside.  I can fix a lot in the way of furniture, but this is wicker and cane.  I don't know nothin' about birthin' no...I mean wicker.  Or cane.  I discovered the cane can be purchased in sheets and is kept in place with a wicker spline.  Sort of like replacing a screen.  But I didn't want to attempt it.

 

At one point, to surprise me as a gift, Lee took it to a place that said they could fix it.  Many months later they called and asked him to come get it.  They weren't doing that any more!  The Factory Antique Mall has a lady inside that WILL repair wicker.  We took the chair up there recently for an estimate and discovered it was going to cost a LOT of money. 

 

I have an appreciation of family pieces, so I do want to get it fixed.  But I decided to do some of the work myself to save a bit.  The wood had been painted at some time in the past.  Most of the paint was gone and what was there was either flaky or stubbornly stuck on.  The wood is dry and cracked.  I used a soft brush to get rid of the worst of the flakes on the canes.

 

I removed the broken cane in the seat and leg support.  I used a small screwdriver to pry up an end of the cane and then used needle nose pliers to pull it out.  It was very dry and brittle and everything came out in pieces.  This made it easier to get to the wood behind the seat area and it would have to go anyway. 

 

Notice the pink tools.  This was in self defense when the tools kept in the house for my use ended up out in the shop.  It's a long walk to the shop when I just need to tighten a screw.  So I asked for, and got, pink tools.  No one ever mistakes them for manly, shop type tools.

I used a power sander to get a lot of the paint off.  I started with 150 grit and finished with 220 grit.  Small wire brushes helped me get to the areas close to the wicker that I didn't want to damage.  Then I used the sand paper in my hand.

 

Lee took off the wheels and all the metal holding everything together.  He, or I, will use steel wool or sandpaper to strip off the rust and smooth out the black chipped paint.  But he left these on.  I used a Dremel moto-tool to grind off the rust and will spray all the metal parts with a flat black paint.

 

I am not trying to remove all the patina from years of use.  Just make it strong and preserve it.  There are a few damaged places I will need to fill with a wood filler.  There are some places that are cracked or joints that are coming loose.   I will use glue and clamps.  But I am dirty and tired and it will wait for tomorrow! 

 

My big decision is whether to use Danish Oil on the wood or Tung Oil.  Danish oil will soak in and be good for the wood.  Tung oil will also add a hard surface to protect it.  But chances are it wouldn't have been used back in my great grandmother's day.

 

Any experts out there with a suggestion?

A Whole Lot of Nothing

We are constantly busy and even actually accomplishing things.  But nothing so exciting that I think I can make an interesting story about it.

   

The big news is that Lee has finished all the electrical work.  He just finished the last three this morning.  That is a huge job and I imagine his fingers are grateful to have a break.  Every outlet and switch is now operational and all the overhead lights are in.  There are places that aren't as bright as we would like, but we didn't want glaring bright lights everywhere.  We intend to put in a few table and floor lamps to finish things off and for all levels of light.

Speaking of which, I am going up to visit my brother and his wife soon.  They are kindly hosting us and arranging to show us some of their favorite estate sale sites.  Whatever we don't find on this trip we will get later, or maybe Jane will find it in her heart to pick up a few pieces when she finds them.  There is no rush on furnishing an unfinished house.

We are waiting for the tile contractor to give us a bid.  Kinda scary.  Like Lee says, though, "It's only money."  Wait a minute.  ONLY money??

I took off the railing in the stairwell to paint the walls.  It is made with unfinished wood and I decided to put a Tung oil finish on it.  A long time ago, back in the days before HGTV (yes, Virginia, there was such a time) there was a show I used to watch with Homer Formsby.  He did some beautiful furniture refinishing and he used Tung oil.

Based on his recommendation, I have stripped and refinished some pieces using it and I really like the effect.  It gives a nice finish to the wood and protects it, yet it is not a varnish and super shiny.  The intent is to nourish the wood and give the appearance of a hand rubbed finish.

   

Lee set up some saw horses and I sanded the railings with smaller and smaller grit paper.  Then I polished it with some very fine steel wool.  I used 0000 steel wool and then wiped off all the dust.  A tack rag works well.  Smooth as a baby's bottom!

    

Homer ( I call him Homer because we are like this...picture fingers crossed ) would use his bare hands to apply the finish and rub it in. The instructions on the Tung oil container...and it IS his formula... say to use gloves, so I do.  I discovered I only had a left hand glove.  The right hand one was ruined on the last project, so I got a quart size Ziploc bag, put my hand in it and it worked great.  It wouldn't have worked for a big project, but this is a little one!

   

Tung oil should be applied in three coats.  The first one soaks right in the raw wood and you can barely tell that you have applied anything.  You have to wait 12 hours and then use the 0000 steel wool lightly before applying the next coat.  I usually just do it the next day.  The first time I did it I wondered if I was taking all the finish off I had just put on.  Do it anyway.  Don't forget to wipe all the dust off before applying the second coat.

   

You can really see the results after the second coat.  The temptation is huge to just stop there.  And you can.  But you already have at least two days into this project.  What's one more?  You can see how it looks, even in poor light.  On the left is after two coats and the right is after three. 

  
   

We will re-install the railings tonight and then I will feel safer when walking up and down the stairs.  Not a fan of stairs without railings!  And one more thing off the huge,  gigantic,  enormous list.