Edwardian Music Cabinet Stabilization and Refresh
This music cabinet came to me from a client what wanted to bring back its functionality and to…sing…again.
When people say “they don’t make them like they used to,” sometimes that’s not a good thing. While the piece is of a very high quality and extremely dear to the client as a family heirloom, the casters were causing significant stress on the structure and creating failures.
Consulting with the client, we decided that the casters were not doing the cabinet any good. It was my job to remove the remaining casters, rebuild the footing structure to ensure this beauty could sing for another century.
I also performed veneer repairs, fixed the seized lock mechanism and did an overall refresh of the finish without stripping the historic finish.
The original structure of the front turreted feet. The glue block does not transfer mass to the case, but just floated there.
A prior caster failure. As you can see, it was just screwed in and at the joint of the corner glue block and the bottom skirt.
The break also caused a failure of part of the apron.
Stress was also causing veneer issues.
The top is an outstanding burl walnut. But needed a little refresh. Wouldn't you after a century?
Minor, expected wear on the front apron.
Rubbing from the door. Discovered a missing screw to the hinge. Replacing it solved this issue.
Finish was fading in some areas.
Fabricated new corner blocks out of one solid piece of oak. Large enough that it would transfer the load to the case, but terminating on the floor with a profile to fit the piece.
My concept for transferring load on the projecting front feet to the case. A triangular block that transversed the case structure and then sitting the new corner blocks on top of that.
Fun clamp up.
The final result. I added an additional pad to provide some profile lift lost from removing the casters.
Did a modified French polish on the top to bring back the depth. It didn't need a refinish and sanding could have damaged the delicate inlay.
Repaired veneer to the apron. and broken areas addressed.
She's got style and presence.
Front apron all consolidated. Profile retained and this piece is conserved for future generations to enjoy.