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2 - Antique Shoppe - www.antiqueshoppefl.com
Questions &
Common Sense Answers
with Fred Taylor
I have recently been given a bed frame from a friend of my
Q. who says that this was her great grandfathers bed when he
was a young man. I am guessing it’s quite old since my friend is 29
years old. It is a single bed frame, the back of the frame is stamped
with Wm. Hengerer Co., Buffalo, N.Y. It is a dark colored wood and it
is still shellacked. Can you give me any information about this bed?
How old? Is it worth anything? I am attaching a photo of the bed.
Thank you! Julie H.
Julie – The bed is from the late
A. 1920s to mid 1930s. It is made
with a variety of woods and veneers. The
headboard has a crown of quarter cut oak
as does the footboard. The headboard
panel is stump cut walnut veneer as is
the outside of the footboard. Stump
cut walnut was the primary decorative
veneer of the Depression era. The inside
of the footboard is striped mahogany. The
original finish is probably lacquer rather
than shellac. The bed is not quite that old. This bed, made mostly of walnut veneer with oak trim,
Lacquer became the furniture finish of was sold in the Depression era by the Wm. Hengerer Co.,
a department store in Buffalo, NY.
choice in the late 1920s. It is more water
and scuff resistant than shellac.
The rule of thumb in furniture is the owner’s age, in this case 29,
plus 25 years for each generation said to have owned the piece. That
would make the bed 29 + 25 (father) + 25 (grandfather) + 25 (great
grandfather) for a total of 104 years, dating the bed to the early
1900s which is too far back. Maybe it could have been grandpa’s bed
instead of great grandpa’s.
The Wm. Hengerer Co. was a high end department store in
Buffalo and not a manufacturer. Here is an interesting web sites on
the company that shows its building in downtown Buffalo. It was in
business under its own name until 1981.
http://wnyheritagepress.org/photosofweek/hengerers.htm
In its current condition the bed would sell at auction for around
$100. Thanks for writing and thanks for the photos.
I found something you had written regarding darkening oak
Q. chairs while I was researching my own project. I have four
honey colored oak dining room chairs I would like to darken to match
my dining room table. In the answer to a reader you said, “Your best
bet is to try some gel stain over the existing finish. This relatively new
product can be applied selectively to different areas to produce an
even color. It can be successfully layered to produce deeper colors,
unlike conventional wiping stains. Just be sure to let each application
of color dry overnight before proceeding to the next layer. After you
have the desired color you can then clear coat your project in your
favorite finish.”
What I don’t understand is the last part, “clear coat your project in
your favorite finish.” What kind of clear coat and is the finish referred
to a color? And isn’t the gel stain a color to begin with? Sorry to be
so dense about this but I’ve never done it before. Thanks, Katherine
Katherine – A piece of furniture basically has three
A. components – the wood, the color and the finish. After a
piece is built from the wood, the color of the wood is often deepened
or even changed completely by the application of a “stain” – i.e. the
color. After the desired color is achieved, a protective coating – the
“finish” - is applied over the surface. Depending on when that piece
was made the coating may be tung oil, shellac, varnish, lacquer, oil
based urethane, oil based polyurethane or any of the water borne
lacquers or urethanes which are relatively new to the market.
A stain also is traditionally made of three components – the pigment,
the binder and the vehicle. The pigment, the color component of the
stain, is usually made of some type of ground earth. The binder holds
the pigment together and keeps it from scattering randomly in the
solution. In oil based stains (the most common) the binder is linseed
oil or the equivalent. The vehicle is the liquid bulk of any stain and is
the solvent used to disperse the pigment
in some orderly fashion. The solvent then
evaporates (as does the binder eventually)
and leaves a uniform coat of color on and
in the surface. Oil stain generally uses
some variation of mineral spirits as the
vehicle. Since traditional stain does not
have any protective finish built into it,
when you attempt to restain a piece with
another coat of oil stain to darken the
color, the solvent dissolves the first layer
as you apply the second layer and you get
no darker result.
However, the vehicle used in gel stain is
not mineral spirits but a type of oil based
urethane. In effect the “color” and a type of “finish” are combined
in one product. But the concentration of urethane in gel stain is not
enough to act as a final finish on a piece of furniture. It is designed
only to hold the “color” in place while it dries. Since urethane is a
reactive finish the addition of another coat of the same stain will not
dissolve the first coat of stain as it would with oil stain, resulting in
a more intense color. After using a gel stain another clear coat (or
several) should be applied over the color to protect the final result.
Since gel stain has a urethane component it is most happy being
clear coated with another urethane type product. However, other
finishes can be used over gel stain as long as you experiment with
the compatibility of the stain and the finish. For example, most
urethane products do not like to be coated with lacquer because
the high powered solvents in lacquer can make the urethane lift or
wrinkle.
I hope this helps. Since you are new to the subject I strongly
recommend that you spend less than $20 and invest in Bob Flexner’s
excellent manual “UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING”. It is a
marvelous way to start. It is available at most major bookstores.
Send your comments, questions and pictures to me at PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL
34423 or email them to me at info@furnituredetective.com
Visit Fred’s website at www.furnituredetective.com and check out the downloadable
“Common Sense Antiques” columns in .pdf format. His book “HOW TO BE A FURNITURE
DETECTIVE” is now available for $18.95 plus $3.00 shipping. Send check or money
order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423
Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, “IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE”,
($17.00 + $3.00 S&H) are also available at the same address. For more information
call (800) 387-6377 (9AM-4PM Eastern, M-F only), fax 352-563-2916, or e-mail info@
furnituredetective.com. All items are also available directly from the website,
www.furnituredetective.com