help on restoration of alvar aalto table no70  

thanks for that...
thanks for that fastfwd
...any suggestions would be appreciated

bj
thanks for the...
bj
thanks for the reply.
i should have consulted the forum before i got stuck in. its good to get more than one opinion especially from people who are familiar with these pieces.
the top may have been black originally as you suggest but the top, shelf and legs all have had a black finish applied afterwards which may have led to me mistaking what the original finish was ..there were swirl marks which looked like someone had rubbed a stain on with a rag.

I see further problems
with this piece: the legs, or at least one of them, has become delaminated at the bend. This is visible in the photo. Aside from the open joints between plies, the leg no longer exhibits its correct 90-degree angle -- the inevitable result of the delamination.
It might be possible to repair the leg(s) by injecting adhesive into the open joints, using a hypodermic-type tool, and closing the joints by bending the leg past its final 90-degree angle until the glue sets.
Paint cannot be expected to fill voids, such as open grain or thumb-tack holes.

SDR is right, too.
Your poor table has led a hard life and suffered many an insult. It presents a wonderful opportunity for your furniture class (and teacher) though, to learn some important lessons. Not the least of which would be to determine whether or not your table is rare and valuable before using the top as a dart board.
In fairness to all involved, the thing was a mess to start out with and would make a great student project to restore to some semblance of its former dignity. I don't think rols or his tutor have done anything to devalue the piece further than it had been previously.

Agreed.
...

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The black finish in the first picture does look like the original to me. The Bischofberger book on Aalto design will show you plenty of examples of unrestored black finished Aalto furniture. Would have thought the first lesson in restoration school would have been to leave alone until you know what you are doing, but hey I'm a traditionalist. Forget any ideas of keeping it looking 'period' that ship has sailed. Get it repolished black but for Gods sake get it done by someone good - its a difficult finish to get right and black is very unforgiving of mistakes. The delaminated bends should be done as SDR (?) said - flood or inject the open laminations with wood glue (warmed to make it flow) place the top section flat in a vice (use some wood blocks to cushion it) and add weight (books are good) judiciously to the opposing end to achive a slightly more than 90% bend and leave til fixed. If the finish on the legs is shot remove the old finish with methylated spirit, refinish with cut button polish applied with a polishing mop. Dull with wax and 0000 wire wool.

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oh and leaning it against a radiator (picture 1) is a bad idea too! Good luck!

thanks for the advice folks....
thanks for the advice folks.
2 of the legs did delaminate at the bends. i used a table vice to open the joint slightly in order for me to get some glue between laminations. i used a ratchet strap to get the legs to bend back to 90 degrees which worked well.
I will go ahead with refinishing the top in black and refinish the legs
i have 2 further questions if you could help me with:
1] I have seen many variations on the finishes online. Most show the shelf and top in black like in tkto photo with the spacers and legs in birch.
The shelf for mine looks almost ok in birch.
Does anyone know if there was a black top/ birch shelf table in the finmar catalogue? i have seen one or 2 online...if not i will do the shelf in black.
http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/attributed-to-alvar-aalto,-a-coffe...
2] In the originals does the black extend to cover the underside or just the top and sides?

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Not sure about natural shelf & black top combo - never seen one like that but there are quite a few finish combinations known so not impossible. Underside should be left unfinished.

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Yes, on page 83 of the Aalto Museum monograph is a Swedish retailers advertisement showing that combination.
Not to derail your thread but for anyone interested in these linoloeum surfaces we used to use this stuff at work, it smells really good, cuts easily, absorbs noise, is resilient and would make a good coffee table surface I think, though from memory it's not cheap.
http://www.tnm.com.au/bulletincolour.php

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...wished the previous owners had 'taken notice' before pushing pins into it
thanks again for all the advice...hopefuly i will manage to get the table back to its old self.
r

Good for you, rols, and good luck!
Thanks for posting. The dilemmas you face in attempting restoration raise interesting questions. Please post pics of your results. It would be great to see your table (and this thread) brought to a happy state!

Table
Just to clarify my rant was directed at your tutor not you. Carry on.

Hi
Since we all like a...
Hi
Since we all like a happy ending i thought i would upload some pics of the table. The dirt on the legs was not going anywhere so i have left them as 'patina'. Just french polished the top with mop and rubber. Still need to give it a coat of wax and dull top with wirewool but pleased with how it turned out so far. No museum piece but will find a nice place in our flat.
Thanks for all your advice
rols
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rols_rols/6864496975/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rols_rols/6864500211/

great to see the final...
great to see the final result, rols, thanks for posting.
indeed, buffing the top seems apropriate as to match it with the 'weathered' character of the other wood.