Oil Gilding and Gilt Surfaces Explained
Oil gilding uses a tacky size to attach metal leaf. It is durable and suited to carved wood, metal, architectural elements and areas that cannot be burnish.
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Materials & Techniques
44 published guides on repair, care and the stories behind well-made things.
How Traditional Water Gilding Works
Water gilding lays extremely thin metal leaf over a prepared ground, commonly gesso and coloured bole.
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Cast Brass Mounts and Furniture Hardware
Cast brass handles, escutcheons, sabots and decorative mounts protect vulnerable areas and enrich furniture. They may be sand-cast, moulded, chased, gilded.
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How to Read Dovetail Joints in Antique Drawers
Dovetails lock two boards together with interleaving pins and tails. See construction, dating evidence and conservation risks.
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Rush and Cord Seats: How They Are Made
Rush, grasses, paper fibre and cord can be wrapped around seat rails to create a resilient woven platform.
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Why Conservators Still Use Animal Glue
Traditional animal glues were standard cabinetmaking adhesives for centuries. See construction, dating evidence and conservation risks.
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Japanning on Furniture: History and Care
European japanning imitated admired Asian lacquer using layered coatings, painted or raised decoration and often gilding.
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Why Antique Wood Shrinks, Swells and Splits
Wood exchanges moisture with surrounding air. See construction, dating evidence and conservation risks.
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Marquetry Explained: Pictures Made in Veneer
Marquetry builds decorative images or patterns from shaped pieces of veneer and sometimes other materials.
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Mortise-and-Tenon Joints: A Collector's Guide
A tenon formed on one member fits a mortise cut into another. See construction, dating evidence and conservation risks.
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How Cabinet Scrapers Leave Evidence on Wood
A cabinet scraper is a thin steel tool whose prepared edge shaves fine curls from wood. It can level difficult grain and refine surfaces without the scratc.
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Shellac Finishes on Antique Furniture
Shellac is a natural resin dissolved in alcohol and used in many furniture finishes. It can form anything from a modest brushed coating to a highly refined.
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