I have made a start today on the restoring of the Oak fire surround. You can read about part 1 here.
When i took a closer look at the surround i could see that it was constructed in two main parts – the surround and the mantle.
On putting it up on the bench the top parted from the surround slightly and i could see a wooden dowel pin between them and there were steel screws in the back which gave me the thought that i should try and part these two pieces to make it easier for me to manage and which in turn would make it easier to deal with each component as an individual piece – however i did question myself if this was a wise thought, but i made a decision to do it anyway – i must be brave !
The steel screws were completely bound in the oak with rust and couldn’t be moved at all, this will always happen due to the tannins in the oak corroding the steel and even if brass screws were used they too would bind and in the effort to free them they would break as brass is a soft metal and easy to shear, so that is why steel was used at this time to give superior strength and i suppose it was never a thought it would ever be taken apart ?
Anyway i decided that i would do it and i managed to get the two outer screws removed easily but the other four screws were not not budging at all so i took a wooden wedge and a small crowbar and slowly and very carefully parted the two components enough to get a hacksaw blade in between them to cut through the steel screws – wow did they go off with a bang when i went through under the tension of the wedge
I managed to get them all cut and the two components were finally separated – this did make me pause to think that this must have been the first time they were apart after it had been made – i wonder how long they have been together ?
I got the screws heads out with a punch and a tap with the hammer and will drill out the screw part still left in the wood at a later time
I hoovered off the years of built up dust and cob webs and I then got my gloves on and poured out some Liberon wax and polish remover into a bowl, used wire wool and an old toothbrush to remove the dirt and old wax finish on one leg of the surround, this took quite a lot of work and very careful care when cleaning the carvings but it was like Christmas seeing the wood start to be shown through the layers of dirt etc – the colours and grain being uncovered were absolutely amazing
There is going to be a lot of work in this piece before i can even start on repairing the damage and missing parts but it is so rewarding seeing it being done and coming to life again
I will keep you posted 🙂