I inhearted a Haywood Wakefield desk from my Grandmother and I'm working on refinishing it. I have most of it sanded but there are some areas that concern me.

Along the sides where the pieces of wood were glued before they were planed, the bottom of the where the pieces meet are coming apart. Not a lot and not something that's a structural issue, just that there's a gap there.

There's a couple of other gaps where the back pieces meet the side pieces and I tightened the screws on the inside that hold all that together but there's still a bit of a gap.

I thought of filling the smaller gaps w/ wood putty but I don't know if that would lower the value of the desk, as they are now in demand from what I've read on the internet. There larger gaps I don't know what to do with (for all I know, it may have been built that way).


Also, where can I get the correct shade of the 'wheat' stain?

Warren

 

I make mission furniture as a hobby and there two things I try very hard to avoid.

Mechanical fasterns
Wood filler

If you can, get a bar or pipe clamp and use it to glue the pieces back togeather. Superglue is great for this as it really seeps into cracks and voids, drys quickly and hold strong. Just becareful to avoid getting it on anything you going to put a finish on. If you do get glue some place you don't want it, you can scrape it off.

Oh, and make sure you put a piece of soft wood between the jaws of the clamp and whatever you clapming. The steel jaws of the clap will dent the wood.

 

good luck. my grandparents moved recently and told me to go into the basement and take anything i wanted. i found a really neat pie safe which was quite disheveled. after finding out it was worthing nothing (which was a relief in many ways) i sanded and refinished it in a cream and mint green color. it looks great and i get innumerable compliments on it.

 

I would stay away from wood filler. The gaps may not have been there from the get go but as the wood ages, it dries out and shrinks so this may be what is causing the gaps. I wouldn't worry too much about them, unless they are really unsightly. Consider it 'character'. I ususally use minwax stains, wide variety of shades, consistent quality and good performance. Post pics when you are done!