As seen in The Antique Shoppe Newspaper, July 2008

Q. We have an oak Windsor chair which we purchased at an antiques shop. It has a stencil on the bottom with the name "E.P. Rose". It has a plank bottom and looks like the paint is original mustard. The back and legs are loose but it looks like all the parts are there. The bottom stretchers on the sides show wear and the paint is worn off the seat. We would like to know if this chair is from a known cabinetmaker or just some handy man who signed his work and if it has any value. What should we do to preserve the chair.

A. Windsor chairs of this style, with a horizontal crest rail and bamboo turnings, showed up in New England around the turn of the 19th century. Some show the strong Sheraton influences of the period. They followed traditional Windsor construction techniques with a soft wood, single plank seat such as pine or poplar and ash spindles and stretchers. These chairs were frequently reproduced at the end of the 19th century and the into the early 20th century so they warrant careful inspection. While the reproductions will have smooth bottom surfaces on the seats and even perhaps be made of more than one plank, the originals will have a rougher bottom, possibly showing tool marks. Based on the photos of this chair the bottom appears to be a single plank, made of poplar based on the pattern around the brand.  The spindles probably are ash which in many cases is grainy like oak.

Your chair possibly was made by Ebenezer Prout Rose who branded his chairs "E.P. Rose". Nancy Evans, author of "AMERICAN WINDSOR CHAIRS", Hudson Hills Press and The Henry Francis du Pont Wintethur Museum, 1996, calls the style a "square-back Windsor" side chair.

Rose worked in Trenton, NJ. Evans dates the style c.1805 - 1815. Rose started his chair business in 1807 and worked until 1836. An armchair version of your chair is pictured in Evans' book.

Now to the question of preservation. Since it appears that there is a high probability that the chair is coming up on being two hundred years old it is reasonable to assume that it would be loose in many places. Before you do anything at all to the chair my recommendation would be to have it appraised by a licensed antique furniture appraiser who specializes in early 19th century New England pieces. At the very least show it to a reputable dealer in artifacts of the period and try to verify the attribution if possible.

Unless there is something highly unusual about the chair, current price guides suggest a value of $700 -1000, even with the possibility of repaint. That is a nice piece of change for an old chair. For preservation purposes you just need to keep it in a more or less constant environment and keep it clean. I strongly suggest against the use of any oil or wax at this point. My guess is that a professionally done, reversible repair on the major components of the chair to preserve its integrity will not detract from the value of the chair.

Q. My grandmother's antique mahogany dining table finally made its way into my house after all these years. It is somewhat the worse for wear even though it does have a separate case that holds the three extra leaves. It obviously has been abused somewhere down the line. One of the worst problems is where the two table halves meet in the middle. The dowels that join the two pieces were broken out and it looked like the edges had been gnawed by animals. I have disassembled the table and trimmed the edges back to square, good wood but now I need to drill new holes and insert new dowel pins with matching holes but I can't figure out how to do this and make the table halves line up exactly. Help. George C.,

A. Life would have been so much simpler if you had used a small bit and drilled into the existing holes slightly further than you planned to cut the table, thereby automatically locating the matching dowels and holes. However, hindsight being what it is...

What you need now is some type of doweling jig or drill guide. The simplest (and least reliable of course) is called a "dowel center". This is a solid plug the diameter of a dowel that has a protruding point. After you drill the initial hole in one side, you insert the center and bring the two table pieces together - carefully. The point then marks the spot on the other side where the corresponding hole is to be drilled. However, any variation in your alignment technique results in non-matching holes.

Another device, called a drill guide, attaches to your drill and helps keep the alignment. It will even find the center of the edge of a board. Its a little awkward but it does work and will help keep your drill perpendicular for other applications.

Last of all, the most expensive and most reliable, is the vast array of doweling jigs available at any woodworking store, some home stores and many catalogs. These jigs can cost anywhere from under $20.00 to nearly $100.00. Which one to buy depends on how critical you are and how much you plan to use it. Just do your homework and figure out which system will work best for you.

By the way - since you apparently cut quite a bit from the table, don't be surprised if you have to relocate the table slides when you reassemble the table.

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