Painted satinwood ladies writing bureau from around 1780-1790

You can see the base was about to collapse

This bureau came to me because it had a very fragile base. You can see just how far it was leaning and if it had collapsed it might have been a costlier job to repair it so the brief was to strengthen the base as much as possible. Also there were a few veneers missing and some cockbeading around the edges of the drawers. The bottom drawer was catching on the lip of the base so I would add a little platform for it to sit on. This would give the base more strength and raise the top section. It is a new addition to the bureau but I attached it so it could be removed easily if someone wanted it to be 100% genuine.

Taking the base apart carefully labelling the sections so everything goes back in the right place.

I use a little bit of meths to loosen the animal glue. This helps to release the joints.

Cramping up

By adding the board it also raised the level of the bureau and now the bottom drawer wasn’t catching on the front lip of the base. It also spreads the weight.

Some missing veneers

New satinwood veneers cut in

All repairs coloured out to match and a light wax

Another happy customer!