Oak vs. Mahogany

[gramophone78]

Here are some pages from one of my period A & C catalogs. This should give you a better idea. See how the "Tiger" stripes pop out. Just wonderful....

[BwanaJoe]

Now I'm a bit confused here. It was quarter sawed oak but that was the veneer wasn't it? They were using that much veneer that the cost jumped substantially? What was the base wood by the way?

Cool catalog page. What is A & C? Mine looks fumed in person.

[Couch Potato]

Excellent fuming examples earlier in this thread thank you for posting them. I have done small pieces too but with household over many days and gotten simliar results. Thing with leaving it many days is the wood tends to get pretty moisture logged so has to dry for a number days afterward and as that occurs it lightens in color somewhat. Had good success fuming to age wood at least with small pieces like Victor III columns and when stained and finished match the older parts of the cabinet really closely.

It is somewhat of a lost art. I remember back in the 70's and 80's shellac was not to well liked anymore and fell by the wayside, but gosh it so much better then the pastic finishes that are so popular. At least you can reverse it.

So many processes do get lost. I remember when they restored the state capitol in Austin they took the statue off the top to recast a replica using a helicopter to remove it and to put the new one back on top. Putting it back took days because it kept swinging back and and forth. The workers said it was almost impossible and no one involved had any clue how the orginal had been up up back in the 1880's and there certaily weren't any helicopters to help. Ah but it had been done with some method lost to time.

[gramophone78]

Now I'm a bit confused here. It was quarter sawed oak but that was the veneer wasn't it? They were using that much veneer that the cost jumped substantially? What was the base wood by the way?

Cool catalog page. What is A & C? Mine looks fumed in person.

There is quartered oak veneer. The secondary wood could be anything. I have dismantled a mahogany L door Victrola and the

secondary wood was oak..... .However, parts like legs,motor board,etc....are generally made from solid wood of what the main wood is.

A & C stands for Arts & Crafts. Furniture that was made from solid quartered oak.

[BwanaJoe]

Now I'm a bit confused here. It was quarter sawed oak but that was the veneer wasn't it? They were using that much veneer that the cost jumped substantially? What was the base wood by the way?

Cool catalog page. What is A & C? Mine looks fumed in person.

There is quartered oak veneer. The secondary wood could be anything. I have dismantled a mahogany L door Victrola and the secondary wood was oak..... .However, parts like legs,motor board,etc....are generally made from solid wood of what the main wood is.

A & C stands for Arts & Crafts. Furniture that was made from solid quartered oak.

Thanks for the info and pictures.

[EarlH]

Here's a couple of machines I had 10-15 years ago. The Victrola is one I bought off a front porch and had to re-veneer one side of it. It had the remains of gold leaf on the legs so I put that back on it when I got it done. But this is how a piano finish should look on mahogany when it's done. It takes about 3-4 months to do, but does look nice. You can't get rubbing varnish anymore since the green folks don't like it for whatever reason.
The VTLA came from Minneapolis and I just cleaned it up, and probably waxed it. It is a very nice and I guess scarce machine in oak. And the other two or three I've seen have been almost black in color. Everyone says they used white quarter sawn oak for the cabinets, but I'm not always so sure on that since the flake has always been considered to be nicer in quarter sawn red oak and they knew ways to manipulate the wood to get the red color out of it. Some of that is very confusing with that stuff and they certainly weren't publishing books on what they did, only in general. Also, in reality, very little fumed oak was sold because of all the problems they found they had with repairing the finish if it got damaged. I would almost be willing to bet after the L-door era they just stained it to look like it was fumed oak. The piano companies got away from that one right away because the cabinet's almost always had to go back to the factory for repair if that finish was damaged. Victor even mentions that in some of their literature as well. Plus it's hard to predict how the wood is going to take the fuming process. The ammonia they used for that is more on the order of anhydrous so you probably don't want to be around it. I have a book that explains how to do it (1906 style) for woodwork in fine homes, and you were to have your young assistant go through the house uncovering the containers of ammonia. Tie a rope securely around him and have him do the upstairs first. All windows carefully sealed and do it on a still day. Do the upstairs first so in the event he should be "overcome" you can pull him out and he will appreciate you not dragging him down the staircase! I forget how long they say to leave it exposed, but it will eventually turn the oak almost black.
Anyway, I think you can see why mahogany was as popular as it was. Especially back when people really didn't consider oak to be a fine wood the same way they would have looked at Mahogany or Walnut. And in a musical instrument too yet.

[Andersun]

I like oak too, but mahogany was more popular back in the day. Buyers back then were trying to match their furniture and oak was considered old-fashioned. In the late 20s walnut seemed to take over. One thing about mahogany though is that, more than oak, time has not been kind to its finish. And mahogany I hear is tougher to restore than oak. I have a Pathé Actuelle model J in mahogany and the exterior looks terrible. But when you look at the finish inside the lid, it is a gorgeous smooth reddish brown mahogany finish. If I can only make the outside look like that it would be stunning.

You can! Just find a professional piano refinisher and they can refinish the exterior saving the interior.