Another Unique Project

[Chrisj CMA]

I have as part of my business the opportunity to repair lots of other peoples furniture.  This time a true antique China Cabinet was terribly damaged.  It had to be fixed there was no living with it the way it was.  The movers punched a hole right through the glass and tried to stick it all back together with gobs of wood putty.  It was a sad thing to see

This is the Cabinet



The door was only damaged in the the top outside corner



The damaged wood had to be removed and new wood patched in and then new glass and putty and paint and stain and epoxy.  But when it was all done it really looked like it went back in time to before it was damaged







Heres the finished door

Back



Front

[0leman]

You do great work. 

[old2soon]

       Lookin like you HAVE the knack for wood and It's repair. I Hope the folks with the now repaired cabinet filed a claim with the moving company. Believe back when I moved furniture professionally it was 90 days to file a claim. And they should have noted it when signing for the load. Again-Nice Work!  RIDE SAFE.

[Chrisj CMA]

You do great work. 

Well, Thank You

[Chrisj CMA]

       Lookin like you HAVE the knack for wood and It's repair. I Hope the folks with the now repaired cabinet filed a claim with the moving company. Believe back when I moved furniture professionally it was 90 days to file a claim. And they should have noted it when signing for the load. Again-Nice Work!  RIDE SAFE.

Claim filed and paid.  She has the money to pay me from the insurance company.  No discounts on this job 

[signart]

Nice save!
Nice to get an insurance job, and get paid what your work is actually worth.

[Patrick]

That looks nice. You sure like that kind of work don't you.

[Fazer]

Beautiful job Chris.  I envy folks that do things like this.

[Jess from VA]

I appreciate all good work that take patience and skill.   

My skills are limited, and patience has never been in me. 

[Farside]

  Oh he's good alright! 

[pais]

    You are quite the craftsmen! 
   
    May I ask how you acquired your skills?

[Chrisj CMA]

   You are quite the craftsmen!  
    
    May I ask how you acquired your skills?

Mostly self taught. Wood shop on school but that’s just the basics. Just do it and you learn. The key is to remember. Lol

But,thanks

[da prez]

  Chris , I envy you. I work with metal. Wood work is just basic with me. I have done some repairs , but the work was not up to what you do.

                                   da prez

[Pappy!]

Always amazed when I see pics of your work. Jealous as well !!
Wish I could produce work like that. Well done, sir!

[Chrisj CMA]

Today I am going to install the repaired door and fix the side of the cabinet. I’ll post the after pics later

[czuch]

That's really nice work.

[Chrisj CMA]

So I tear into this mess



I had to remove way more glass than I thought.  so it took all day and I still have to go back again

After removing the glass and cleaning up the gross putty I pieced in all the glass dividers that were missing.  This end of the cabinet was repaired at least twice



Then I had to re cut all the glass to fit and use some new glass as well so all the individual holes were filled



The last guy that "fixed" this piece goobered in large pieces of glass instead of doing it right like I did



Then putty in the glass the RIGHT way



When I go back on Monday I will only have to stain the wood and paint the filler and clean the glass.  This will be done!

[Chrisj CMA]

Well, all done.  Customer is very happy and the check is in the bank.  this is the inside of the side panel that had all that gooped on white wood filler and the large pieces of glass that just looked horrible

 

The outside of the side



The damaged (now fully restored end)



The whole piece now just as good as new

[Jess from VA]

Nice work Jeff.   

In my early Air Force service, I was made claims officer, twice.  Much (but not all) of that work had to do with claims for damage done to household goods in military moves.  Some stuff we just paid for outright (after depreciation).  Other stuff, with estimates, we paid for repairs. 

Not so much with Jr enlisted and officers, but more senior people, we often had claims for very nice furniture, like your china cabinet, new or often antique quality items.

It occurred to me early on that people in long military service ought not to buy fancy furniture and antiques because it could get banged or smashed up.  I said as much to some of the people I worked for.

After I said this doing an inspection for our 2-star and his wife, the two-star later told me I ought to keep those opinions to myself.  The giant dining room table they had could have come from the Smithsonian.  And we paid a truckload to have it perfectly restored. 

During service, I made sure not to own anything fancy, just heavy duty and functional.  This stuff almost never got smashed up.  Aside from one or two things, I still only own heavy duty functional stuff (like Honda motorcycles).

[Chrisj CMA]

Nice work Jeff.  

In my early Air Force service, I was made claims officer, twice.  Much (but not all) of that work had to do with claims for damage done to household goods in military moves.  Some stuff we just paid for outright (after depreciation).  Other stuff, with estimates, we paid for repairs.  

Not so much with Jr enlisted and officers, but more senior people, we often had claims for very nice furniture, like your china cabinet, new or often antique quality items.

It occurred to me early on that people in long military service ought not to buy fancy furniture and antiques because it could get banged or smashed up.  I said as much to some of the people I worked for.

After I said this doing an inspection for our 2-star and his wife, the two-star later told me I ought to keep those opinions to myself.  The giant dining room table they had could have come from the Smithsonian.  And we paid a truckload to have it perfectly restored.  

During service, I made sure not to own anything fancy, just heavy duty and functional.  This stuff almost never got smashed up.  Aside from one or two things, I still only own heavy duty functional stuff (like Honda motorcycles).

I agree with you Jess.  I just wish the people that do buy cheap throwaway furniture wouldn't pretend its great furniture when it gets damaged.  I feel bad for them sometimes when I mark something irreparable because its mostly cardboard and particle board.  The claims people never pay full value so they feel like they get screwed.  Sometimes you just cant win

[scooperhsd]

That was our thought when we bought furniture as we were getting married. Most of our furniture is from This End Up - inspired from packing crates. Never worried about claims for damages from moves because, well - how are you going to find it ? And besides - it gave it more "character" .

[Chrisj CMA]

That was our thought when we bought furniture as we were getting married. Most of our furniture is from This End Up - inspired from packing crates. Never worried about claims for damages from moves because, well - how are you going to find it ? And besides - it gave it more "character" .

you had the right frame of mind.  I work with people that want their particle board fixed like new.  I dont fix paper and sawdust

[Jess from VA]

Nice work Jeff.  

In my early Air Force service, I was made claims officer, twice.  Much (but not all) of that work had to do with claims for damage done to household goods in military moves.  Some stuff we just paid for outright (after depreciation).  Other stuff, with estimates, we paid for repairs.  

Not so much with Jr enlisted and officers, but more senior people, we often had claims for very nice furniture, like your china cabinet, new or often antique quality items.

It occurred to me early on that people in long military service ought not to buy fancy furniture and antiques because it could get banged or smashed up.  I said as much to some of the people I worked for.

After I said this doing an inspection for our 2-star and his wife, the two-star later told me I ought to keep those opinions to myself.  The giant dining room table they had could have come from the Smithsonian.  And we paid a truckload to have it perfectly restored.  

During service, I made sure not to own anything fancy, just heavy duty and functional.  This stuff almost never got smashed up.  Aside from one or two things, I still only own heavy duty functional stuff (like Honda motorcycles).

I agree with you Jess.  I just wish the people that do buy cheap throwaway furniture wouldn't pretend its great furniture when it gets damaged.  I feel bad for them sometimes when I mark something irreparable because its mostly cardboard and particle board.  The claims people never pay full value so they feel like they get screwed.  Sometimes you just cant win

Yes, and the two retired chiefs who taught me the claims business at Maxwell AFB told me to watch out for fraudulent claims (for junk, and all manner of things).

It's one thing when the damaged item is there for all to see and evaluate, and another thing when the items are lost entirely.

One day in Turkey my claims SSgt came in and said he had something to show me.  It was a Kmart box of ultra cheapo fiber shelves, never assembled.  It had the little blue tag on it, and from that he had pulled the claims folder it belonged to.  It seems the owner had claimed his lost shelving unit was of solid oak and nearly new, and we had paid accordingly.  The tag and file made it clear that the Kmart box before me was what it really was.  This guy was a top notch NCO paralegal. 

I went to my Col and asked what he wanted to do, and he said we wouldn't kill the man (court martial or even Art15, but I was to put the fear of military justice in him, and get our money back). 

So when Sr Airman Cheater appeared at my office, the Kmart box was on my desk, and I asked him if he recognized it.  At first he didn't but then he turned white in apparent recognition.  I told him not to speak (yet), and showed him his claims folder, and what had been claimed and paid.  The sale price tag still on the box was not a fifth of that.  I explained that his fate had been saved by our compassionate Col who didn't have time to court martial small potatoes (in our very small overseas location), and as long as we got our money back, he was a free man. 

When he came in later that day to pay us back, he couldn't get out of there fast enough, but I had to stop and remind him that the box of Kmart shelves was rightfully his, and he should take it with him.

Had this happened stateside, it would not have gone so well for him.