II do a lot of repair and restoration work for some of the area's top refinishers as well as for individuals.  I don't do any refinishing; that is a skill as arcane as cutting dovetails and I leave it to experts, however I often undertake the reconstruction of a piece and deliver it to a finishing shop when my stage of the project is complete.  Most of the images that follow show the work without any finish applied.  That's the way I usually leave it.  I also make and install missing or broken parts.

My approach to a repair depends on the piece at hand.  When dealing with true antiques, I take special care to do nothing to it that is not reversible.  I use only traditional hide glues and carefully copy the original construction methods.  If, on the other hand, I'm facing a recent chair in need of a new stretcher, I reach for the easier to use PVA glue, because that's what was used in the original construction.  

The splat in this dining chair back was badly broken; parts of it were missing.  The job involved removing the crest rail to liberate the fragments.  A new blank was fabricated with a maple core and mahogany veneer, then the scroll work was cut in.  Finally, the chair was reassembled.

Just to show that almost nothing is a lost   cause!  This early 19th Century walnut   tea caddy arrived in a sack.  One of the   top ends was missing, the top back was   in need of replacement.

The ends of the rockers of this pine cradle had been destroyed by gnawing animals.  New ends were scarfed on and shaped to match the existing end, all without dismantling the piece. Each side of this piece was cut from a single board.

The stretcher of this oak arm chair was gone.  A new one was turned to match, then glued in using a floating tenon so that the chair did not have to be disassembled.