posted 12-21-2005 06:08 PM            

Hi all,

I find that I am a sucker for silver that comes in a fitted case, weather it is a ladle, youth set, or a set of knives.

I have also noticed that a vast majority of silver stored in fitted cases remains in better condition then silver stored loose in drawers.

While I know it is a sin to over polish silver, what about fixing up the sometimes battered boxes that the silver came in, like this case? Is a poor repair job better than no repair at all? Or do we turn to our friends in the furniture business and ask for help?

A topic to talk about..

Marc

posted 12-22-2005 11:25 AM            

A 'brown' wood glue (yellowish, really) is stronger for such work than white glue, and would probably be my first choice, but a cement or epoxy could also be chosen. If you still don't trust the join, small nails ("wire brads") could be -- carefully -- added, preferably using a tack hammer or other very lightweight hammer, or just pushed in firmly, or glued into small pre-drilled holes. Gaps could be filled with commercial putty, or you can mix your own with sawdust and glue.

Conservation/archival concerns would encourage the home mix, since one never knows what chemicals might be in a commercial putty. Professional conservators also shy away from the big commercial brand of glue because the manufacturer won't divulge the ingredients list, but most believe that the famous brand of white glue really is no different than the archival versions that cost much more. I believe the brown version is equally stable, but if you really want to play it safe use archival quality white glue. Either can also be thinned with water to get the consistency you need. Cement would be the biggest problem in terms of possible chemicals released; I'd avoid epoxy for that reason as well, although in principle it should be fairly stable once set.

If you need to reconstruct a piece it's a matter of trial and error to get the exact fit. Start with something like basswood (available from art and crafts stores in a variety of shapes), reasonably light and strong. Again for conservation reasons, avoid plywood -- the glues can outgas. You can rough it to shape with a saw and/or rasp, then finish with a knife and sandpaper.

If all the fabric is there it can then be tacked down. I like gluesticks since they're pretty stable chemically, easy to apply, don't soak through the fabric, and can generally be reversed easily with water (conservators like repairs that can be easily undone). If some of the fabric is missing you could try for an exact match in a fabric store, but you're not likely to find it and my preference would be to go for something close in color but obviously enough different to show that a repair has been made. Stick to natural fibers if you can, although rayon is a pretty safe synthetic.

My caveat: I am not trained as a professional conservator, although I have worked with several. I write from my own experience repairing things, with an effort to balance conservation concerns with practicality -- few people want to spend a few hundred dollars to repair a box worth considerably less, just as a laser weld repair on a $6 spoon isn't very practical, unless there's some overriding interest. If you work carefully and thoughtfully you can do a pretty decent job, pretty easily.

posted 12-22-2005 01:51 PM            

Thanks for the guidence. I have very minimal woodworking skills. but since you detail the process enough, I will be restoring / mending this box. Yes, the fabric is all there and is in pretty good condition, so that will make it fairly easy to do.

I will post the results when I am done, if I am satisfied.

Thanks much.

Marc

posted 12-23-2005 10:43 AM            

If a repair involves replacing part of the fabric I tend to follow the lead I learned originally from book conservators, and use a distinct but sympathetic fabric. So, for example on the box shown here, if I had to add a strip I might use a dark blue cotton or rayon, so it didn't clash but also was still clearly a repair.

(The chemical safety of fabric dyes is a question I tend to ignore, since I haven't had much option, but when I have the choice I'll use vintage fabric so that at least if it's going to release gases over time it's already had a chance to do so -- damaged vintage clothes, from a thrift store or vintage dealer, can be a good source. Archivist supply houses do sell chemically neutral fabric, but if you're not working on a fairly large scale that's impractical.)

If I were working on a museum-quality piece (which I wouldn't; if I had such I'd pay a professional to do it) I would probably go to lengths to get matching fabric, or get something very close and recover the entire box so it would be consistent.

As to cleaning, I seldom do anything more than mechanical cleaning. Anything from a soft brush, for lint, to a dry toothbrush. A small amount of moisture should be safe on a wood box, but could wreak havoc with a papier mâché one -- and might cause color bleeding in any case. Same with chemical spot removers. If you need to go that far it might be worth a try, but with the recognition that you may then need to recover the entire box.

I've never done an entire box, but in principle it's a sort of combination of the methods outlined here and furniture re-upholstery. If I had spare time I'd try one for an experiment, but in any case the guidelines I'd use going into it would be to carefully disassemble the old covering, keeping the pieces as intact as possible to use as a pattern, and to work slowly and carefully, thinking through each step. Generally the lining pieces come out first (and thus go back in last), and if you're lucky the outer covering will be glued down only at the edge where it rolls over inside the box; if it's glued onto the entire surface it would be a real pain to remove. Dentists' tools and artists' small palette knives can be most useful in removal.

Marc, your box does look like a relatively straightforward job -- so good luck with it, and we'll look forward to seeing the results!

posted 12-23-2005 11:06 AM            

It won't make pretty, but if you need to get rid of mildew just to stabilize the surface and make it safe to keep, I've had really good results with wiping down with bleach. In the past I just used pure bleach on a cotton rag, but last winter I tried the commercial disinfecting wipes and they worked, too -- although they tended to leave a bit more lint behind. Just dampen the rag (not sopping wet) and rub into the mildewy fabric. It WILL change the color, and leave ugly spots, but it will kill the mold and mildew so you can safely use the item again. In the case of a book, it then needs to be pressed, preferably in a bookpress but a weighty stack of books or furniture may do in a pinch.