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Sweet gum has quite a different grain, colour and figure!

It looks like Sapele which is not a true Mahogany but was sold as such. I think Sapele was the place in Africa where the trees were mostly grown.

Welcome to the forum. You have already started on the right route by stripping the finish right off, so carry on doing that and sand with the grain down to 240 grit. Once you have done that you could wet the timber and if you like the colour then there should be no need to apply a stain but a...

Allen, those doors are not unlike my front door which when I bought my house three years ago were in a similar state, with partial peeling varnish and partial sound yellowing varnish. I hate varnish on doors so my intention was to have no finish and to allow the oak to silver naturally. Your...

Mike J, you are doing an excellent job, well done. What joint did you use for the legs at the junction of the seat frame?

Oh, hang on I was looking at the wrong photo. The other photo makes it even more clear! Pay up :-)

The split may not look like it lines up because it has been inexpertly repired but the grain certainly does. Pay up :D

Mrs Cranstons tea rooms had two floors, the dining floor had the Argyle chair and the lower floor had the ladder back chair, 103 of them! Here are the pair I worked on. I think they are beautiful and they have stood the test of time but you might be surprised at how shoddily they are made...

I have not had my hands on the Argyle chair but I have restored a pair of the willow tea rooms ladder back chairs. The seat and front legs will be pretty similar apart from the two stretchers on the Argyle chair. Looking at the drawing and the photo of the original I'm not sure this chair had a...

This is a good source. http://www.fromtheanvil.co.uk/catalogse ... +and+studs

Richard I'm sure I can find you a piece and put it in the post to you but I agree with orraloon you will make a better job of it if you replace the whole end piece. So, are the measurements you gave 90x30x9 enough or would you need a larger piece?

Richard, I have more Mahogany than you could possibly imagine! If you could post a photo of the damaged area I'm sure I can find a matching piece for you.

Perhaps what you are after is fish glue. It has all the properties of hide glue but it is used cold ( in the winter it does need warming in a bowl of hot water) It has a shelf life of 10 years too. It also has a very long open time so very good for complicated glue ups. I get mine from this...

Hi Andrew. If you are wanting to try shellac as a finish I really wouldn’t bother mixing your own from flakes. There are several manufacturers in this country that make excellent shellac, they all use isopropyl so no problems with a purple tinge! Flakes do not stay fresher either, they also...

I have always associated elm with the smell of a cow shed. Box on the other hand smells like digestive biscuits

Where about in Africa were you? One dealer I know who trades in new African works of art gets most of his stock from Tanzania, where he says produces the best quality pieces. I restore tribal artefacts for a couple of dealers and the hardest thing to recreate is the surface markings, I have a...

I make scrapers out of glass for one off projects, they do leave a slightly textured surface that needs finishing with sandpaper but for accuracy cheapness and speed you can’t beat them. If you have a drawn outline of the curve simply place a piece of 2 or 3 mm glass over it and score the glass...

Looks a bit like sweet chestnut to me!

Your post prompted me to look at the motor on my 14s-5 something I have never done all the time I have owned it. It turns out my one has a replacement 1hp motor. I mostly cut small pieces of timber but occasionally large logs and 8" lumps of oak. It has never struggled to cut anything I have put...

Hi Skinny B It seems your 14s5 with the welding attachment is called the 'Volant', I have scanned a few pages from the Butt Welder section of the manual and emailed it to you.