Folding Bed Restoration
A folding bed from 1887 was damaged in a recent move to Seattle and arrived at my studio.
Designed in the 'renaissance revival' style in white quarter sawn oak, the piece is free standing on well balanced castors and is superbly engineered.
The massive folding motion is accomplished by stout steel wheels moving on short iron rods each side helped by a dedicated rack of pig iron ballast acting as a counter weight.
When upright, the unit displays a beveled mirror under the highly ornate, turned and carved front foot assembly.
Broken in the move were the tongue and groove joins between the lower base & side elements on the external platform. As a corrective for this weak point, I installed modern ball ended draw bolts for strength and easy disassembly which allowed the customer to move the unit to an upstairs bedroom previously inaccessible by dimension. These draw-bolts are concealed by themattress in the open position.
Broken and degraded moldings at the top of the bed were rebuilt, a major split on one side mended, losses corrected and worn corners made good.
Application of shellac, touch up colors & wax completed my work.
That such a large & complex decorative object has survived intact for 12 decades is a testament to the integrity of this fascinating relic.