I finished the footstool yesterday that I had posted about earlier. I was just going to add to that post but I couldn't figure out how to add pictures. By the way, Stonecat, how do you paste pictures into your posts and make collages? And how do you add more than one picture to a post that isn't a photo album? I notice most people just post numerous times for additional pictures.

I ended up deciding to add some support below the leather and the padding on the stool since the leather I acquired is soft and pliable and not the thick stiff stuff you are probably supposed to use when there is not any support.

I never did figure out the maker but I am considering buying a chair to go with the footstool that has steam bent horizontal slats in the back. However, though I like a tough project, it is in really bad shape. It has old red paint on it, numerous countersunk repair screws, and a broken arm. Then again, they only want 80$ for it. I think with about 100 hours of work it might look pretty good!

Anyway, here is the footstool.

Excellent, good job, did you refinsh the wood as well?

You can insert pictures in a message if you have them stored on-line with another site (several free ones - Google it) and you copy and paste the 'url address' to the command box that pops up from putting your cursor over the 2nd from the right box over the message area - easy when you get the hang of it. You can attach pics one at a time by clicking on the 'Add attachment' line below the message box and you get a thingy asking where to get them from on your home computer (something like that, obviously I do it the other way), or you do the gallery thing you have just done here. Collages - I make them on my home computer into one picture before uploading them, so its really just one picture, not several. I use various software but MS Paint is pretty simple overall to do a collage.

As far as picking up a chair, factor in how much work you need to do because sometimes it makes more sense to just wait for a good chair and spend a bit more. A chair in good condition will also hold its value better than one that shows lots of repairs, no matter how well you hide them (like those countersunk screws), and oh yeah old paint is a bugger with oak because it gets in to the pores and you need a dental pick to get it out. I totally avoid any painted pieces of oak (unless someday I find a painted Gus piece or something else high-end). On the other hand there can be lots of satisfaction and a good learning experience, fixing stuff up. The best pieces are ones that look like they need a lot of work but don't, and so maybe the dealer has a good price on them.

No, I did not refinish the wood. The finish appears to be original - crackled but not signs of other finish - so I basically just cleaned and waxed it. I used some products I have heard a lot about but never tried. I used Howard's restor-a-finish to clean it. It is super mild and I suppose it rehydrates the wood with the orange oil but personally it doesn't seem like it really "restores" the finish. It doesn't smooth out the crazing - which is good. I then went over the larger scratches with a matching stain color. Finally I applied a good coat of Howard's citrus shield dark oak paste wax. Overall, it is one of the easiest pieces I have done aside from the leather which wasn't all that hard I suppose I just hadn't done it before.

Thanks for the advice on the chair! I usually avoid painted stuff too but this chair seems to have a very light coat of some type of watery paint. You can see the quartersawn grain through the paint quite easily. Good point on the open pores though. I haven't refinished a piece that has been painted without sanding it, which I definitely wouldn't want to do. I would be keeping the chair for myself so the value of it wouldn't really matter. I'll finish my current project - a total stripdown of a quartersawn oak office chair with a unique spring mechanism - and then think about it some more. I am early on in the learning process and on a graduate students budget so maybe a real challenge on a cheap piece isn't too bad of an idea. I'll take pics if I go there again soon.

Does anyone else have restoration stories and before and after pics?

I posted a couple months ago about identifying this footstool. No one seemed to know who made it. There is currently what appears to be the same footstool on Ebay that has been listed for a second time with a starting bid of $750. No takers so far. They claim or hope that it is Stickley Brothers. I doubt that it is SB but do not have the catalogues. Can someone check those catalogues? Seems like a high price. I have about $75 in mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1905-15-STICKLEY-BROTHERS-OAK-MISSI...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

LOL - When surfing eBay the other day I saw this one and thought about the one you had posted a couple months back, as being the same stool. I have the reprint of the 1908 Stickley Bros catalogue and it's not in it. There are reprints for 1912 and 1914 out there as well I think. The seller doesn't strike me as an expert and obviously he doesn't have any of the catalogues, if you know what I mean. The irony is he starts his write-up with "In regards to fraud....someone is trying to scam you". hahaha

Even if it was Stickley Bros, 750 would be a tad high. Ahhh, the joys of eBay.

EDIT - locking this thread because a spam crawler thingy keeps spamming it (seems to be a problem with the photo gallery messages)