Nostalgia

[CHJ]

A couple of days ago I finally succumbed to deconstructing some unwanted pieces of Oak furniture.

Looking at some of the wood today trying to asses which to clean up and possible reuse in something for the family it dawned on me that the last time these joints saw the light of day was when my Father assembled them approx. 100 years ago.

 

[Steve Maskery]

That looks like very clean, proper, joinery. Didn't he have a Domino?
Ah, nostalgia. It isn't what it used to be.
Well, someone had to say it.
S

 

[Dr.Al]

Ah, nostalgia. It isn't what it used to be.
Well, someone had to say it.

They really didn't.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

They really didn't.

Ba boom, ching!

 

[AndyT]

Ah well, better to reuse the wood than dispose of it. It looks like he was good at selecting stock, as well as cutting tidy joints.

I have a little table made out of wood from my parents' bedroom suite, not home made but given to them when their London home was bombed. It doesn't look any different to other people, but I can see its history and I am sure that the same will apply to whatever you decide to make.

 

[Raymedullary]

No "self taughts" need apply.









2

 

[Cabinetman]

And it still has the pencil lines he drew, yes nostalgic.

 

[Mike G]

No "self taughts" need apply.

Interesting. Why not?

 

[Mike G]

Looking at some of the wood today trying to asses which to clean up and possible reuse in something for the family it dawned on me that the last time these joints saw the light of day was when my Father assembled them approx. 100 years ago.

It's always great to see proper joints, well made. How many of the bits of furniture people buy today will still be around in 100 years time, one wonders.

 

[Alasdair]

Not many Mike, not many at all.

My Mum has a set of chairs that are 114 years old made from fine old mahogany, we know the age as my Great Grandfather made them as part of the furniture stock for the Titanic. He was a commercial cabinet maker and as far as we can tell a lot of the furniture was lobbed over the factory fence for assembly later in the garden shed. I spoke to the curator of a Titanic exhibition a few years ago and she was able to confirm not only the factory but the pattern as well.

 

[Lons]

............... lot of the furniture was lobbed over the factory fence for assembly later in the garden shed...............

I've heard of lunch box planes but lunch box chairs is a new one on me.
It's brilliant they are still here and being used.

 

[Alasdair]

I've heard of lunch box planes but lunch box chairs is a new one on me.
It's brilliant they are still here and being used.

I think the practice was more widespread than you think

 

[AndyP]

Nowhere near as old but just as nostalgic is a a glass fronted bookcase made by my maternal grandfather for my paternal grandfather on his retirement in 1970. I have always known this but was surprised to find, when we were clearing out the contents, to find the card my GF wrote confirming the bookcase was made by him and polished by my grandmother. One piece of furniture that will not be part of the general house clearance.

 

[Raymedullary]

Its nice to reuse and repurpose timber from inherited pieces. I currently have a satinwood occasional table, a Honduras mahogany dining table (made in Carisbrooke) and a teak cupboard inherited from family members so my plan is to turn them into smaller usable items and distribute amongst family members. The Carisbrooke connection stems from my families Huguenot connections and a definite identifiable link to Jupe the cabinet maker who patented the Jupe expanding table. An Uncle of mine was a Jupe who was a Carpenter in the 1940's and I use several of his tools.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

I spoke to the curator of a Titanic exhibition a few years ago and she was able to confirm not only the factory but the pattern as well.

I lived, and worked, in proximity to Harland and Wolff for 40 years. I can then, with confidence, clarify the "fence" was more widely known as "Gate Ten"...if you know anything of the geography of the yard, this should tickle your humour buds.

 

[Cabinetman]

I lived, and worked, in proximity to Harland and Wolff for 40 years. I can then, with confidence, clarify the "fence" was more widely known as "Gate Ten"...if you know anything of the geography of the yard, this should tickle your humour buds.

there was a ghost train on the Fish Docks in Grimsby, so called because officially it didn’t exist, incorrect destination on the doors and all the filleted fish going to customers just miraculously disappeared.

 

[AJB Temple]

Part of the issue these days is young people are not interested in brown furniture or antiques. We have a large table that dates from about 1530. To put that in context Henry VIII died in 1547. We have a fairly large oak coffer dated 1580. These things are capable of lasting pretty much forever. The table is slightly lower than modern day ones, but is easy enough to put on blocks if we wanted to. It's very simple: three wide and very thick planks, nailed onto rough hewn cross members.

Perhaps we will re-evaluate the tendency for everything to be disposable these days. It affects everything - clothes being a major culprit. Cars are another. None of us need a new iPhone every year. My offspring only realised that when they reached their early twenties.

 

[Woodbloke]

...tendency for everything to be disposable these days. It affects everything - clothes being a major culprit. Cars are another. None of us need a new iPhone every year.

Cars, I think are a slightly different kettle of worms in that yes, lots of folk like to change their motors after twelve months, even though it's not necessary, but I recollect with 'delight' the hideous vehicles made in the 70's that rusted before your very eyes and really did need to be replaced every year or so. I was the proud owner of a Hillman Imp and an original, proper BMC mini where it was a continuous job to keep the rust at bay on the coachwork. Perhaps the worst of the lot were Lancia. I was motoring past a deanship near Ascot in the late 70's and spotted one of these (same colour) on the forecourt, priced at £1400:





...which was at the time just about the sexiest motor on the road. I even blagged my way into getting a test drive but I realised that a) as a student I couldn't afford it b) it would probably have rusted away before I got it back to college - Rob

 

[duke]

Cars, I think are a slightly different kettle of worms in that yes, lots of folk like to change their motors after twelve months, even though it's not necessary, but I recollect with 'delight' the hideous vehicles made in the 70's that rusted before your very eyes and really did need to be replaced every year or so. I was the proud owner of a Hillman Imp and an original, proper BMC mini where it was a continuous job to keep the rust at bay on the coachwork. Perhaps the worst of the lot were Lancia. I was motoring past a deanship near Ascot in the late 70's and spotted one of these (same colour) on the forecourt, priced at £1400:

View attachment 35245

View attachment 35246

...which was at the time just about the sexiest motor on the road. I even blagged my way into getting a test drive but I realised that a) as a student I couldn't afford it b) it would probably have rusted away before I got it back to college - Rob

Talk about rust buckets, how about the Lada. I remember a dealer in Markham ON introduced these in the mid seventies, they close up within 7 years.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Talk about rust buckets, how about the Lada. I remember a dealer in Markham ON introduced these in the mid seventies, they close up within 7 years.

The later (1980's/90's) ones were legendary. Basic, tough (modelled on a tank chassis perhaps) spares were cheap, paint and anti-rust treatments on them finally came into the 21st Century....'course, by then their reputation was, as Duke rightly alludes, shot. Shame. I knew a lot of outdoors types that raved about them, piled them.high with ropes, krabs, climbing wires, canoes, slept in them on trips, practically sacrificed small organisms to them. One even used his as his daughter's Wedding Car.

 

[Dr.Al]

Lada's were firmly in the butt-of-all-jokes category when I was young...

Why do Lada's have heated rear windscreens? To keep your hands warm while you push them.

What do you call a Lada with two exhaust pipes? A wheelbarrow

What do you call a Lada on top of a hill? A miracle.

How do you reverse a Lada? Walk round to the front & push from that end instead.

etc etc etc

 

[Alasdair]

Lada's were firmly in the butt-of-all-jokes category when I was young...

Why do Lada's have heated rear windscreens? To keep your hands warm while you push them.

What do you call a Lada with two exhaust pipes? A wheelbarrow

What do you call a Lada on top of a hill? A miracle.

How do you reverse a Lada? Walk round to the front & push from that end instead.

etc etc etc

I had a mate in the late 80s and he loved his Lada Riva, he moved onto them when his the front hub fell off his Austin Ambassador. As skint youngsters we drove round most of Scotland in that Lada only pushing it when it broke down (usually daily)

 

[wallace]

Lada's were firmly in the butt-of-all-jokes category when I was young...

Why do Lada's have heated rear windscreens? To keep your hands warm while you push them.

What do you call a Lada with two exhaust pipes? A wheelbarrow

What do you call a Lada on top of a hill? A miracle.

How do you reverse a Lada? Walk round to the front & push from that end instead.

etc etc etc

During my youth it was the same jokes but with skoda

 

[RogerS]

During my youth it was the same jokes but with skoda

Yup

What do you call a convertible Skoda ?

A skip