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Special thanks to David Mathias for bringing this to my attention.

From: Ben Hendricks

Hobbyist or Professional: Hobbyist

Project Name: Powermatic 66 Rebuild

I picked up this old timer from an old timer who was no longer able to make sawdust.The man was selling his whole shop, and under a pile of boxes was the green beast. I could see the base and the label. Powermatic Model 66. The serial number date code shows it?s a 1967 make. While I don?t know the exact history of this particular saw, it?s likely it once resided in a high school wood shop class. Given the shape of the cast iron top, I?d bet on it.

This was my first attempt at a rebuild. I?ve done a few hand planes and small things, but never anything of this capacity. The adventure started like you would think. I stripped it down. Ziploc bags and a Sharpie helped keep all the nuts and bolts organized. This was vital on the reassemble. I had it in my head it should only take a few weeks to complete; it took two months! However, the majority of the time was waiting for paint to dry.

Once everything was in pieces, I sanded and painted the cabinet with rattle can, which did not work well. It?s impossible to keep a ?wet? edge with spray paint on such a large area. I did not find out how bad it was until I went to put the saw back together. Every time I would bump the cabinet, the paint would chip off. So I had to back up and punt. I tried to sand it back down to no avail. I ended up taking it to get sand blasted to raw metal. The best 60 bucks I could have spent. Once I had the saw properly prepped, I had to get the proper paint. I ended up using Sherwin Williams DTM oil base. It is a very good paint, but it takes a good two weeks to cure. The guts of the saw were painted with Rustoleum Hammered in the quart can. I used a dabbing technique with a brush to get the coverage needed. The 3hp Leeson motor got a quick coat of black spray paint just to help it match the rest of the saw.

Every piece of machined metal and the nuts and bolts where polished with a 3 step buffing compound. As an added step of rust protection, I applied a light coat of shellac to help seal the metal from moisture. I don?t know if this step really did anything, but it made me feel better! The top was sanded from 60 ? 2000 grit. There are several hammer dents in the top, and a bad dip next to the throat plate (about 25thous). I thought about having the top re-ground, but decided to roll with it and see how it performs.

I?ve now got the saw in use. With a new Forrest blade, it cuts like a dream. The dip near the throat plate does not affect the cut whatsoever. I do have a few tips for anyone thinking about attempting such a rebuild.

1. Prep-Prep-Prep.
If you have to have it perfect (like me), sand blast everything with paint on it. The finished product is so much better when you start from scratch.

2. Be ready to spend some money.
I?ve got around 500.00 wrapped up in the saw rebuild (not counting the saw). Don?t go into it thinking you can do something like this for next to nothing. Bearings, belts, paint, sandpaper, nuts, bolts, etc? it all adds up.

3. Take your time and make it perfect.
Your work will be much better for it.

It was a very fun project. I am a ?tool guy? as much as a woodworker. Some would say I?m more the tool guy. I now have a mid 60?s Powermatic 141 14? bandsaw waiting to be put back into action.

When an antique furniture piece is restored, it often loses all value. This is a very hard concept for many people to understand. As our current generation adds or subtracts from the original work from a master crafts person, this is like painting a neon mustache onto the Mona Lisa painting that Leonardo da Vinci created during the 16th century. Our current neon paint may be fashionable, but it would change the work of a master.

True antique furniture pieces were created over a 100 years ago. The wood was taken from very old trees and will show a different pattern than our quick-growth varieties today. Furniture finishes were created through different processes than our mass produced varieties on the marketplace today. As an example, when a real fruit finish is removed from an 1820?s Duncan Phyfe table, it can never be replaced. A new finish will always be a neon mustache where the old patina of an aged fruit finish should be.

Refinishing

The art of restoration includes consideration towards the act of preservation. Everything that we do to a treasured piece of antique wood furniture today should be of a nature that is easy for a future generation to reverse. Refinishing wood is not an act of restoration or preservation; this is a permanent change being made to a valuable antique. Refinished wood pieces have their place in an active family home, and this process is fine to attempt on wood furniture that is not designated as an investment or family heirloom to savor.

Missing Parts

Antique furniture pieces with scrolls and inlays will often have missing or broken small parts that must be replaced to restore the original visual beauty. For inlays, the professional restoration services will often try to find vintage materials to use that will match the age of the item. Tiny pieces of period veneers or shells will be carefully shaped to match the other pieces that are still attached to the furniture. These replacement pieces are attached with methods that can be removed easily later when our global technology advances into an era that can recreate the exact pieces that were once on the furniture. Missing scrolled parts are recreated through a mold process. A compound like clay is pressed against an existing scroll that must be duplicated in order to make a mold. This mold is then filled with plaster or a compound that can be used like wood when it is dry. The plaster part is then shipped to a high-quality woodworker for an exact duplicate to be created out of wood. Or, the simulated wood product that comes out of the mold is used on the antique furniture where it is needed.

Maintenance

Whenever possible, simply give your antique furniture piece a good cleaning and a rub with a light-oil based product. The older furniture can still be lovely to use with all of the original character flaws showing. With the older pieces of antique furniture, it is always better to leave everything alone if retaining value is an important issue in your family.

About the Author: Kay Davenport writes for Antique Furniture, her personal hobby blog focused on experiences related to antique furniture restoration. She helps her family and friends to learn how to restore and evaluate their antique pieces.

“I am currently repairing an old family washstand for a friend of mine and I would appreciate your input on what kind of finish to put on it that would not diminish it’s value or character. My favorite finish is wipe-on poly, but I don’t know if that would be the correct finish or not on such a cherished piece. Thanks”.

And Adam’s response:
You touched on two very important things that I will point out. First, is value. Unless your friend’s washstand bears the name Sheraton, Chippendale, or has at least a 250 year history, there won’t be much monetary value to it. Since it is a family piece there is a great amount of emotional value. I’m guessing that’s what led to the idea of restoring it in the first place; preserving memories. Second, is character. The perceived character of a piece does come from age, construction, finish”¦but if it needs attention and is better served by being repaired and refinished, then your restoration of the piece will bring its own character to it. Thereby, adding your touch to your friend’s family history and heritage of the piece.

Historically we see shellac, primitive varnish, and early forms of lacquer showing up on washstands from the 16th century all the way into the early 20th century. I’m guessing that your friend’s washstand is anywhere between 75 and 150 years old since these are the most commonly found age ranges of washstands. So it more than likely had orange shellac or a simple varnish as an original finish. Wipe on poly is easy to use, but it won’t quite duplicate the “character” you get form shellac as it ages. So, my choice would be to use either an orange or super blonde shellac. Super blonde simply because you can tint it with any color you like to age the piece. I would mix a 1lb cut and then dilute that in half with denatured alcohol to produce a padding shellac. Put that in a plastic ketchup bottle, like the one’s at your favorite burger joint, and you can easily squeeze the shellac on to a rag and wipe it on in long strokes. This mixture dries quickly so you can apply many layers in a matter of hours. Also, if needed, you can alternate layers of shellac and color to reach a desired antique effect. I hope this helps and be sure to post some photos when you’re done.

Be sure to check out Adam’s website at AdamKingStudio.com and if you are a Twitter user, you can follow him at Twitter.com/AdamKingStudio.

And this was my response:
Hey Kyle. From what I have seen, there are definitely two types of refinishing out there. You have the utilitarian version, which I am familiar with, which simply takes an old beat up piece of furniture and makes it serviceable and beautiful. This includes doing any necessary repairs, stripping off the old finish, possibly re-staining, and of course, applying a new finish of choice. The second type of refinishing is actually true “restoration”. This is a much more involved process that requires careful attention to detail and a boat-load of know-how. While I can’t tell you exactly how to maintain the value of an antique, I am sure it has a lot to do with keeping the original finish intact and doing spot repairs with period-accurate materials. Anyone in that industry could probably recite a long list of do’s and dont’s.

So at a point like this, you have a few questions to ask yourself (and your mother). Is this piece ever going to be sold? Is it highly valued by your mom simply because its “valuable” or is it an emotional attachment by virtue of its service in your family for so long? Also, it might be nice to know if the piece even has substantial value as an antique. Perhaps you should have it appraised before making a final call. You see Kyle, you could refinish that piece and make it look better than it did on the day it was created, but as a result you may very well (and most likely will) destroy its value as an antique.

As an aside, I will tell you that out of all of my videos (over 60 now), the one that I receive the most complaints and corrections about is the refinishing series. I suppose its my fault for not explicitly stating that this was not meant to be “Antique Restoration 101″. I had explicit instructions from the owners of that table and I did exactly what they wanted. An old decrepit table was pulled out of the back of a garage and was restored for sentimental value. The table would never be sold or even appraised. The customer simply wanted the table to match the color scheme of her current decor so that she could enjoy the same table her mother had enjoyed for so many years before her. Monetary value was irrelevant.

So really, this is a personal decision for you and your family. But to answer your question directly, even a beautiful refinishing job can completely destroy the value of an antique. Hope that helps.