Furniture Tips

Maintenance

Water Spots On Furniture

Take an old, worn-in toothbrush and some baking soda. Wrap the bristles in a soft, damp cloth and then dip in the baking soda. Rub the water spot area gently to remove the stain.

Teak Furniture

Teakwood being an oil-finished product needs special care. Frequent dusting is very important. Frequently used furniture need oiling every month or so. Use a solution of mild detergent for cleaning and tung oil for restoring the sheen to dry areas.
Furniture not used as much may need oiling only once or twice a year. Oil if wood looks pale and the surface feels dry. Oil piece, then let the oil set for 3 to 4 hr. or even overnight. Then buff with another clean, soft clothe to remove the excess oil.

What Should You Use To Refinish That Wood Project?

How do you determine whether paint remover or a furniture refinisher is needed for a particular refinishing job?
Use a cotton ball, moisten with nail polish remover and touch it to the furniture. If the cotton ball sticks, the finish is varnish, lacquer or shellac, and you need to use a furniture refinisher. If the cotton ball does not stick, you need to use paint remover.

Furniture Scratches

Scratched Wood Tables

To keep your tables from being scratched buy ordinary felt and glue it onto the bottom of ashtrays, vases, and collectibles. That way, their sharp edges will not mar your woodwork. Glue or double-faced tape can secure the felt.

Scratches in Furniture

Deep scratches are hard to cover up, but some surface scratches are filled in and made less visible with furniture polishes.

Cedar Chests and Closets

Why These Chests and Closets Work So Well!

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) does not repel moths or beetles from its odors. This is an old wives tale! The wood is resistant to insects but the odor doesn’t act as a repellant.
Don’t throw or give away your cedar chests quite yet! The cedar chests and closets do work great; but only because they are air tight , since the gasket on the lid and joints are very snug. Therefore, if your cedar chest has a loose seal, it stands to reason you will not be adequately protected from any insects.
Other tips:

• Do not finish cedar with varnish, it will reduce the cedar smell.
• To restore the cedar scent, just sand the surfaces lightly with 150-grit sandpaper.
• Do not dry chests and closets over 80degrees F. This will greatly reduce or destroy the cedar odor permanently!

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Selecting Furniture

Selecting Wood Furniture That Will Last

To select wood furniture that lasts, check underneath. Look for secure corner blocks. Chairs should have tight stretchers. All wood surfaces should be smooth.
Extension leaves in tables should match the top in appearance. You want to check to make sure the leaves are the correct ones for your table! (Double check at delivery time!)
Examine all furniture at the time of home delivery. Call the dealer with any problems, such as dents, scratches, damages.

Selecting Upholstered Furniture

Try out the floor models, that is why they are in the showroom. Shake furniture arms looking for solid construction. Squeeze inner and outer arms, you don’t want to find any hard structures. Look for reversible seat cushions, they will last longer! The frame should be solid and stiff. No bowing or wobbles wanted! Have a seat. A metallic ping might be telling you the springs are not properly installed. A whoosh of air hints there is an impermeable cover that might strain seams. If you hit bottom, springs or padding are insufficient!

Fixing Furniture

Wobbly Tables and Chairs

To fix a wobbly chair or table, never shorten the 3 legs to match the length of the one that wobbles! Instead, try adding a little plastic wood to the short leg and build it up. You can always sand it down if it is too tall!

Refinishing/ Repairing Chair Legs

When refinishing or repairing chair legs, keep the legs from slipping by screwing some cans to your work surface. Just mark the chair’s leg positions and drill holes to fasten the cans. Works great!

Wood Chair Repairs

Chair parts are joined by mortise and tenon joints or dowel and socket joints. One loose joint can cause other chair parts to loosen or weaken, or possibly break. If possible, try to reglue and clamp a shaky joint WITHOUT disassembling the chair. Using a wire brush, get the old glue off the wood and squirt some fresh glue, wiggling the joint to get the glue into the wood.

Finish Repairs

To remove a water mark in your furniture’s finish, moisten a cheesecloth pad with denatured alcohol and rub the area quickly back and forth. You can also try petroleum jelly (or mayonnaise), on the water mark and let it sit overnight. Generally the oily substance will displace the water.

Keeping the Dust Off Your Wet Varnish

You are about to varnish a project, and still have on those dust-covered clothes you wore while sanding. It's a good idea to change into some clean clothes. This will help keep dust to the minimum, and means you will end up with a smoother finish.

Painted Furniture

Removing Magic Marker From Painted Furniture

Is there any way to remove magic marker from painted furniture? Acetone may be your answer. Just remember to sand wood and refinish damaged area of wood to match the rest of furniture, when done.

Removing Dried Paint

Try removing dried paint splatters from wood furniture that has a varnish finish and been waxed by running a hair drier at the low heat setting . Keep moving the hair dryer all over the area for about 20 seconds. Then try peeling off the paint with a blunt-edged knife. Please remember to try on a unobservable site first!

Removing Old Paint From Wood Grooves

How can you remove old paint of finish from grooves in turned wood? Try using a string that has been saturated in a remover solvent. Work the string back and forth in the groove, similar to dental floss action in the mouth.

Piano

Cleaning Ivory Keys

To clean your ivory piano keys, dip a slice of lemon in some salt and rub keys gently. When dry, wipe gently with a damp cloth and buff. If you put a piece of cardboard between the adjacent keys you can stop some seepage of the lemon.

Speaker Stands

Vibration Problems Solved

Having trouble with your speakers sitting on a hard floor? Make some stands and glue some cork to the shelf and bottom of stands with a spray adhesive. This should help with any vibrations! Enjoy!!

Bleaching Wood

Wood Bleaching

Bleaching is the means which color is removed from wood through a chemical process.
Different woods react differently to the bleaching process. Two of the easiest being birch and oak. Mahogany, maple, and walnut are average. Chesnut, red cedar and rosewood a little harder. White pine and fir are the very hardest to bleach.

WEAR PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AND GLASSES--WHENEVER USING CHEMICALS!!!

Always test a portion of the wood on a scrap piece of wood. Many of your questions will be answered by this simple test.
Prepare your wood to be bare--well sanded and free of any foreign materials before the chemicals are used. Brush onto the wood, just enough bleach to cover. After reaching the desired shade of wood, clean the wood's surface with a neutralizer to prevent any problems in later finishing stages. Then run water over the wood and allow to dry overnight before your next finishing stage.

Abrasives

Correct Direction to Sand

Sand with the grain. Wood fibers are lengthwise and will be scratched, cut and/or torn. End grains also need to be sanded in one direction, otherwise the stain will be much darker on the ends.

What are abrasives made of?

• Garnet which has hard, sharp edges and corners.
• Silicon Carbide which is man-made and composed of silicon and carbon.
• Aluminum oxide another man-made tough abrasive.

Standard Sandpaper Backings

Type A- soft, pliable paper used for finish sanding.
Type C/D- heavier paper, more durable than A. Used on the coarser abrasive grits.

Grit Numbers

Abrasive papers are identified by the number of particles per square inch of backing. The higher the number of particles per square inch, the smaller the individual particles are, and the smoother the sanding properties.

Tips About Sanding

• Always sand with the grain.
• End grains , sand in one direction only--not a back and forth movement.
• Use patience on edges and corners.
• Always work from coarser grits to the finer grits.
• Always clean the object getting sanded between grit changes.
• Use an even pressure over your entire work surface.
• If using abrasives with water, and oils, make sure that it is classified as "Wet/Dry", or "Waterproof".
  
  

  Building Plans

  Sawhorse Plans

  I am going to modify your plan to add a 1/2 inch sheet of plywood beneath the 1 X 4's forming a tool tray.
  We were working outside in the morning dew and this tray kept my saw, drill, pencils, safety glasses, square and tape measure at my fingertips and off the ground. I never misplaced my pencil once.
  
  Erich in Indy.