Adam King Studio Fine Furniture & Antique Restoration

The world of furniture restoration can afford many lessons to the novice as well as the veteran. Repairs and restoration typically make up about 60 - 70 percent of my business currently. So, naturally, that would lead one to conclude that I do indeed receive a fair amount of teaching in the course of these repairs. For the most part that is true. Every project presents it's own challenges and unique solutions.

For instance, this afternoon, I was working on a repair that has seen the shop before. Unfortunately, it was not due to additional damage. Instead my previous attempt at a repair had failed. This was clearly lesson number one. The challenge was searching for a solution that provided permanence without sacrificing the historical age and significance of the piece. The use of modern adhesives would be appropriate in this case, but not the inclusion of modern fasteners. So, nails, brads, and screws were out. Finally, after looking at the mechanics of certain joinery combined with the addition of modern epoxy, I had found what appeared to be a solution. (We'll find out in the morning!)

As one spends more and more time around furniture and the workbench, you can't help but develop a kind of intuition or inner voice that references past projects, past failures, and past successes. It begins to logically process information about the working properties of that particular wood species, the pitfalls of using a certain joint, and the possibilities of using this tool over that one. Now, I love research. I love it to the point that I could use all my daylight searching and discovering everything about this craft. Certainly there are great resources for finding solutions to problems, but at what point do you just have to go ahead with the plan and see if it works? For me, there was no time for physical research, so it had to be mental. Just as I was about to give up for a while and work on other things, the solution appeared as clear as day.

My teacher's teacher, Tage Frid, always told his students to train the eye because it's the greatest tool we possess. Well, part of that training is in the mind. So, I say also, train the mind. Train it to think, to reason, to solve. Your intuition is like any muscle or activity. You must exercise it through repetition in order to develop it. It just might end up being the one and only tool at your disposal.