Unlocking The "Demon-Port": 1870s Burl Walnut Desk Final Reveal!
The Golden Past
8,802 views
Welcome to the grand finale! Today, we are bringing our rare 150-year-old English Victorian Burl Walnut Davenport writing desk across the finish line—or as one of our brilliant viewers aptly nicknamed it in the comments: The "Demon-Port. "After the eerie bat face veneer on the front. This episode is a deep-dive masterclass into advanced traditional finishing and conservation techniques. Watch as we use 150-year-old materials and hand-burnishing to unleash an incredible, deep optical depth that honors the incredible heritage of this Victorian treasure. What we execute in this final episode:• The Art of Grain Painting: Blending our new 150-year-old aged veneer patch seamlessly into the surrounding figured walnut border. We touch up a past amateur bird's-eye maple repair using Van Dyke crystals, then meticulously hand-paint the historic walnut grain lines using raw burnt umber powder mixed with shellac.• The Brush & Hand-Burnish Finish: Building up spectacular optical depth using a premium, hand-mixed orange flake shellac. Watch as our signature brush-on and hand-burnish technique feeds the dry, thirsty burl timber and coaxes out that spectacular, haunting book-matched "Bat Face" pattern.• Hidden Veneer Rescues: Injecting traditional warm hide glue deep under newly discovered loose veneers and clamping them flat mid-polish.• Traditional Brass Cleaning: Restoring the original ornate brass gallery using an old-school, non-chemical recipe of vinegar, salt, and flour paste.• The Grand Reveal: Fitting out the base with a matching set of authentic antique brass and porcelain reproduction castors, re-mounting the gallery, and stepping back under natural daylight to see this breathtaking, unique Gothic masterpiece glowing like it's alive and on fire!"Years of light and wear just cannot be faked." Our mission is to respect the incredible life story of this furniture, saving its rare, sun-faded golden patina while ensuring it stands solid for another century. If you love traditional hand tools, historical hidden-drawer engineering, and beautiful, classy antique transformations, please hit Subscribe, leave a comment, and join the journey as we revive the golden past!Find more of my restoration work here:👉@thegoldenpastrestoration #Woodworking #TheGoldenPast #BurlWalnut #DavenportDesk #DemonPort #FurnitureRepair #ShellacFinish #Beeswax #TraditionalCrafts #SatisfyingAsmr #GothicAesthetic #GrainPainting #EwbankNails
00:00 - Grain Painting & Tinting the 150yo Walnut Veneer Patch02:22 - Brushing the First Shellac Coat: Watching the Burl Pop!04:12 - Hand-Burnishing the Timber with 0-Grade Steel Wool06:02 - Building the Depth: Adding and Burnishing Shellac Layers10:15 - Demonstrating Traditional Shellac Viscosity & Flow10:25 - Mid-Polish Glue Repairs: Injecting Hide Glue & Clamping12:28 - More Shellac Coats & Hunting for Loose Veneers16:40 - The Traditional Waxing Process for Antique Wood18:04 - Cleaning the Brass Gallery with a Vinegar, Salt & Flour Paste18:39 - Installing New Antique Brass & Porcelain Castors19:32 - Re-mounting the Restored Brass Gallery to the Top20:17 - The Grand daylight Reveal: The "Demon-Port" on Fire!
20 Comments
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Simply the best Artistic Alchemyst 🧙 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Thanks for sharing your great teachings as you go. { the use of shellac as a pore filler answered my suspicions on some antiques i've seen, AND the use of wax shellac working in harmony with the Liberon steel wool 🙏} I'm always amazed with walnut furniture all around the world, as this wood seems to be a chameleon of the lumber industry. 300 years old to modern day, the color and grain patterns are so different on furniture pieces. { Since computer monitors color values are sometimes questionable, could you say how this walnut color compares to the color of the Brisbane cedar furniture, as the color looks alike for me.}
On the topic of the back being finished. These desks were mostly used in business rather than one for home use, where the back was actually the front...as in perspective from a customer's point of view. These desks allow the employee to work while at the same time the worker can be ready to greet the customer when they walk in. With that said, the work seat was set higher to necessitate the seated worker be at eye level with the standing customer, {where a regular desk height the worker would be lower making them have to look up...Not good manners in the Victorian days} Also, a little tid-bit fact, these desks were produced to have the drawers on the left or the right for the buyers needs.
Unlocking The "Demon-Port": 1870s Burl Walnut Desk Final Reveal!
The Golden Past
8,802 views
Welcome to the grand finale! Today, we are bringing our rare 150-year-old English Victorian Burl Walnut Davenport writing desk across the finish line—or as one of our brilliant viewers aptly nicknamed it in the comments: The "Demon-Port. "After the eerie bat face veneer on the front. This episode is a deep-dive masterclass into advanced traditional finishing and conservation techniques. Watch as we use 150-year-old materials and hand-burnishing to unleash an incredible, deep optical depth that honors the incredible heritage of this Victorian treasure. What we execute in this final episode:• The Art of Grain Painting: Blending our new 150-year-old aged veneer patch seamlessly into the surrounding figured walnut border. We touch up a past amateur bird's-eye maple repair using Van Dyke crystals, then meticulously hand-paint the historic walnut grain lines using raw burnt umber powder mixed with shellac.• The Brush & Hand-Burnish Finish: Building up spectacular optical depth using a premium, hand-mixed orange flake shellac. Watch as our signature brush-on and hand-burnish technique feeds the dry, thirsty burl timber and coaxes out that spectacular, haunting book-matched "Bat Face" pattern.• Hidden Veneer Rescues: Injecting traditional warm hide glue deep under newly discovered loose veneers and clamping them flat mid-polish.• Traditional Brass Cleaning: Restoring the original ornate brass gallery using an old-school, non-chemical recipe of vinegar, salt, and flour paste.• The Grand Reveal: Fitting out the base with a matching set of authentic antique brass and porcelain reproduction castors, re-mounting the gallery, and stepping back under natural daylight to see this breathtaking, unique Gothic masterpiece glowing like it's alive and on fire!"Years of light and wear just cannot be faked." Our mission is to respect the incredible life story of this furniture, saving its rare, sun-faded golden patina while ensuring it stands solid for another century. If you love traditional hand tools, historical hidden-drawer engineering, and beautiful, classy antique transformations, please hit Subscribe, leave a comment, and join the journey as we revive the golden past!Find more of my restoration work here:👉@thegoldenpastrestoration #Woodworking #TheGoldenPast #BurlWalnut #DavenportDesk #DemonPort #FurnitureRepair #ShellacFinish #Beeswax #TraditionalCrafts #SatisfyingAsmr #GothicAesthetic #GrainPainting #EwbankNails
00:00 - Grain Painting & Tinting the 150yo Walnut Veneer Patch02:22 - Brushing the First Shellac Coat: Watching the Burl Pop!04:12 - Hand-Burnishing the Timber with 0-Grade Steel Wool06:02 - Building the Depth: Adding and Burnishing Shellac Layers10:15 - Demonstrating Traditional Shellac Viscosity & Flow10:25 - Mid-Polish Glue Repairs: Injecting Hide Glue & Clamping12:28 - More Shellac Coats & Hunting for Loose Veneers16:40 - The Traditional Waxing Process for Antique Wood18:04 - Cleaning the Brass Gallery with a Vinegar, Salt & Flour Paste18:39 - Installing New Antique Brass & Porcelain Castors19:32 - Re-mounting the Restored Brass Gallery to the Top20:17 - The Grand daylight Reveal: The "Demon-Port" on Fire!