Little Old Chair

[cogar]

Hosman, if they are "square shaped" then those "pins" are most probably "cut" finishing nails that were driven in to prevent the tenon from coming loose. 

And "cut" nails haven't been commonly used since the late 1880's ...... except for people like me who keep a "selection" of them on-hand to be used at my descretion. 

Now maybe that "sticky" finish is because the seller "wiped" it down with something before he shipped it to you. Old English oil sometimes takes a day or so to dry good if the excess isn't wiped off good.

And then, sometimes "you get a chemical reaction" if you apply a new type oil/finish to something that has a really old type finish on it ....... resulting in a "sticky" finish that won't dry.

Linseed and tung oil takes a couple days to dry really good but then they are as hard as varnish. That is if it is "boiled" linseed oil. Pure unboiled linseed oil takes at least 3 days to dry.

[hosman321]

Thanks for the input, cogar.
Here's one of the nail sites that I found. My nails look pretty darn close to the ones they describe as being mid 1700's-early 1800's. Maybe the seller was accurate. Some nails are exposed, maybe I'll take pics of them later today. But, of course, they used them up until the late 1800's so that doesn't help much. I looked at the appraisers at the show, wonder if they even have experience in wood items...
http://www.harpgallery.com/library/nails.htm

http://www.palmerwirfs.com/html/p_p05_evalate_id.html

[wendy177]

 hosman321 I can see why you purchased this chair!!! ruff shape but very cute. IMO I am leaning more to a child's chair due to the size & not so much for dolls (they creep me out also and I have probably 500 dolls in storage YUK) Tried to pick the hubby's brain but he is not into antiques but does makes furniture and has made children's chairs for our son. I also think this was made by a father for his child and does seem to have age.  I would take it to the show and for $5.00 see what they say, couldn't hurt. again so so cute keep us posted on what you discover

[waywardangler]

The pinning I meant was with wood dowels which I think you found out.  The pinning in your chair is actually nailing which was done much later than the time of construction.  Very common for non-original owners to do because they used what was on hand and usually have no idea how to stabilize joints.  The wedged tenon method is good but those wedges should be flush cut with the leg surface.  The ones in your pic look pretty rough so they were probably added or replaced later.  You probably have an old chair with many repairs done to it from subsequent owners.  If they are period repairs, I would leave them.  If they are modern repairs and you want to preserve the primitiveness of the original maker, then I would try to 'fix' it appropriately.  I would defintely take off those metal "L" brackets and see how strong the joint is.  But if this is just for display and you like the present look, it would be much easier to leave it alone. If you enjoy it, that is what counts.

[fancypants]

Cool chair/stool , hosman321 .

Maybe the red clay mat'l is really just red clay/mud ?
Since it's been mentioned that there might have been footstool use with this item :
Perhaps it was used as a footstool/step/'custom' bucket seat for a cart .... specifically a donkey or horse/mule cart (for tourists , passengers & such) as have been common south of the border .

Seems like it's had plenty of skruin' with & if it were in my little paws , I'd just de-gloss & clean the finish (in a smallish 'test area' first) with a couple of grades of steel wool & 90% isopropyl alcohol & if the finish was still sticky afterwards , I'd move on to a stronger solvent like denatured alcohol .
A coat of oil &/or wax after that & I'd call it good enough for me .

I'm going to guess that the 90 degree steel braces on your wonderful & well used item were installed in the 20th century , since rather common oval-head screws were used to attach them .
Dark areas in the wood indicate rust from nails (stool/chair was used outdoors?) , in some of the images from Ebay .

I'm curious to know if there is much wear on the back of the top of your item ...

Anyway , there's my 2 cents to muddy the mix .

I'd have to guess 1860-1890's on it , from images only .

[D&b antiques]

Chair has Art's & Craft's construction 1920's maybe 1930's. mending bracket's would have to go. nails likely added later. crest rail is a bolster which is and oddity.

[hosman321]

I was definitely thinking mission/arts and crafts too, D&B. I just didn't want to believe it. It's throwing me off with all the repairs, square nails and the crude varnish. But, if some guy in his barn was making this 100 years ago, that would explain the lack of experience. I think I'm just going to tell myself that this was made around 1890. Those square nails are the only reason. D&B is the furniture man though, and knows more than me. I'll take it with me in November, it's only 5 bucks and maybe they have some ideas, too.

Also, some of the wedges are very flat and flush while some poke out a bit. I think some of those have been repaired, too. And the two L brackets are holding the top on because it was completely broken off, not at a joint. So that'd be fun to try to repair. Probaby just wood glue but it looks like pieces of wood came off when it broke, it'd look funny unless I filled it in. Just not that ambitious with this little thing yet.

Oh, and the red clay stuff seems a lot like sand mixed with something. It's like...plastered into the joints (to make them stronger?) and not just enviornmental residue. It's very hardened, I'm curious about it. Is there red sand plaster? One of the pics I posted shows it under the chair.

Also, the wood on the back looks kind of...rippled? I don't know if these are cut marks or saw marks or what. I'll try to get a good pic. The spacing between the ripples is irregular, so it may just be the wood. Thanks for all the input! I'm fairly heartbroken this thing isn't from the 1700's, but I will just look at it as a learning tool, like so many other things I have. At least I didn't spend a fortune.

[fancypants]

Thanks for all the additional info .

Perhaps the 'red clay' is Bondo , or perhaps some other epoxy & sand mix ?

Maybe someone slipped/tipped while standing on this item & snapped-off the back .

[talesofthesevenseas]

The "wedges" not being flush might well be from expanding/contracting with age. I have an old Chinese cabinet with mortise and tenon construction and some of them are slightly "popped out".

[cogar]

And the two L brackets are holding the top on because it was completely broken off,

As rusty as that L-bracket is it will be tricky to get off. Like drilling the screws out ….. and then the rusting L-bracket will have discolored the wood underneath it. And to “fix it” you will have to drill it and put wood dowel pins in.
 

Oh, and the red clay stuff seems a lot like sand mixed with something

If it is not purchased “wood putty” then it could be just a mixture of “sawdust & glue”. I only ever used that “wood putty” out of a can once or twice and gave up on it because you can never get it to match.

Thus I have ever since made my own “putty” by using scrapings or sawdust from the same wood I’m repairing. Mix the sawdust with glue, pack it into the hole or crack being repaired and then sprinkle or tenderly rub some more sawdust on top of the “wet” mixture (but don't let any glue get on top of that sawdust) and let it dry. That way the “color” of your patch will match the color of the wood being repaired.

And if you are going to apply stain, that patch will "take" the stain ........ but it might be a wee darker.

[hosman321]

Ok, this thing is driving me crazy. I've been sitting here twirling it and twirling it looking for more signs. I chipped away a tiny piece of the finish accidentally. Where it chipped, I found a different type of nail. So, I got out the magnifying glass and found more of them under the finish and chipped those areas away. These nails are different than the square ones (later repairs??) that are everywhere. They appear to be iron (unlike the square ones that appear to be cut steel) and are...what's the word? Pitted? Crude? Rusty? I don't know, not smooth. Some are roundish, some are square-ish. They are definitely older than the cut nails and were very hidden, they kind of blended into the wood. A few of them are even a little confusing because they are round-ish and they chip away like wood, maybe they are wood pegs??
I'm starting to think it's older than 1890's and definitely not 1920's-1930's. Who would construct something with wood pegs, square head nails and crude iron nails in the 20's? Am I wrong or is it possible they did?  I'm leaning toward it being repaired in the 1890's-1900 with the square nails, brackets and ugly finish. But was made much earlier.
I put red circles around the nails but they are kinda hard to see.

[hosman321]

Also, the large chunks missing from the underneath are a result of worms tunneling rather than just reclaimed beat-up wood. I just can't figure out if they tunneled while the tree was alive or afterward. It's under the "newer" (top layer) of finish.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Quite a mystery chair you've got their Hosman! I have to say, I like it too!

[KC]

Do you have a museum  or reputable woodworker/antique refurbisher near you?  I really think this is one a "hands on" needs to be seen and figure out the time line.

Believe there have been lots of repairs made with made do items!   

If only it could talk!!!!!!!!

[waywardangler]

I agree with KC this needs to be looked at in person.  There are blacksmith cut nails and machine cut nails.  Nails were expensive years ago.  Wood peg joints denote age or were less expensive than buying nails.  The worm tunnels are only on the underside of this chair and shows some roundness so this tells me these boards were the bark side (closer to the outside of the tree) of the board. This also tells me this was an inexpensive piece.  Worm tunnels are common on every tree and are right under the bark and in the bark especially in an older tree. A good craftsman would have culled these boards out of his finished furniture and used better quality boards. The flats of these boards should show hand planing.  If they are real smooth, I would expect a power planer was used. For this chair to be as old as you suspect, I would expect all pieces of the chair to show hand tool marks and no circular saw marks.  All planing should be done with hand planes so some waviness or even tool chatter should be apparent, especially in board surfaces that are not on the finished side.  Finished sides would have been hand scraped to the desired smooth finish.