Good Question: Repairing a shipped table

Sharon writes, I need your help please. I scored the dining table of my dreams only to have UPS damage it during shipping. I'm wondering if you or any of your readers have a recommendation for a good furniture restorer in L.A. I don't see how it can be restored to it's previous condition... at this point I'm just hoping to keep the damage from getting worse. I'm afraid things will snag on the rough veneer and pull more of it up. Is there any way of sealing it to keep that from happening?

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It's so heartbreaking to see such a beautiful, pristine example of mid-century design get banged up like this, but I'm trying to keep things in perspective and remember it is just a table. But it's hard!

Thanks,
Sharon

We have also had issue with an Ebay purchase [a similar side of table issue], but fortunately the piece of wood was not what we had purchased the table for, but rather the base, and we just lived with the character that UPS so nicely added. We did a little snooping around the web and found this answer from How Stuff Works that says that the veneer can be patched by replacing it with a matching veneer. It sounds like a bit of work, but potentially could be solved with a fair amount of homework. Another source of help would be to go to a local vintage shop that you admire. They generally are very savvy on repairs and might be able to do it for you or give you the name of someone who can help.

Comments (3)

theres a shop in Pasadena called Funnel-- they specialize in MCM and also make the most amazing custom couches. their work is impeccable and i would trust them with most anything. my friend had them make his couch and they are re-finishing his old MCM one.

anyhow, i know they refinish pieces to sell them, so you might want to give them a call and see if they'd refinish your table. the two guys who own it are super nice. if they cant do it, i would trust whoever they reccommend.

FUNNEL
2540 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107
(626) 395-0141

posted by my little apartment on May 14th 2007 at 10:16am
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On HGTV shows like "Design on a Dime", "Designed to Sell", etc, they're always showing the replacing of veneer on the edges of a table. They'll take unfinished veneer, wrap it around the outside of the table, use an ordinary iron to activate the glue, then stain to match.

You can get pre-finished edge-veneer for about 5 bucks for an 8-foot strip :

http://www.woodzone.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=edge_veneer

Google for "edge veneer" and you'll find a ton of other sources and advice.

Get a scrap piece of wood and more veneer than you need, to practice with if you want to try DIY.

Where I live, refinishers charge $75 an hour so that's something to keep in mind too.

posted by boomer on May 14th 2007 at 11:38am
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Futurama on La Brea!!!! My boyfriend and I had all of his furniture custom made there for a really GREAT price. Included was a cut of monkey pod, his grandfather brought back from the war. We had it made into a coffee table... The store is closing soon, however, its worth the effort to check it out ASAP. If its not for you, then you can still look into other options. Hope it works out for you.
Address:
446 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA
90036
Phone: (323) 937-4522

Cross Street:
Rosewood Avenue

posted by AMMO on May 14th 2007 at 11:50am
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