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I am often asked if I do furniture repair. Two answers... yes ... and ... no
If you have an armoire that you used for an entertainment center in the bedroom, and now want to use to store crystal in the dining room, I can probably help with a modification of the furniture. Replacing the ventilation and cable holes with a new back, and building new shelves or drawers to fit inside the unit, finished in a manner compatible with the rest of the unit, is straightforward for my equipment and skills.
If you have a desk where the drawers are falling apart, or a chest of drawers with drawers that don't slide any more, I would be glad to build replacement drawer glides, or reinforce or replace the drawer boxes, or other internal repairs to get the pieces working again.
If you love Grandma's kitchen table, but don't have a place for a kitchen table, we may be able to modify the furniture - make it into a desk or coffee table or something else you would like and use. I can use some or all of the material in the original table. Sometimes it would be cheaper to use new wood for part of the new piece, but you decide if it is more important to have the original material or the lowest cost. We would have to agree on exactly what would be done before I start. If we are going to shorten the legs, for example, there is no going back or saying "oops."
If a burglar smashed the corner of your favorite buffet, so a new side and leg has to be built and the finish must exactly match the entire dining room set, the answer is no. I am good at building new furniture, but am not an expert at matching the details, carvings, inlays, finish, and replicating the natural aging of both the wood and finish, of an existing piece. There are people who specialize in these techniques, but not me. In Austin, I suggest you consider Merritt Kaufman of Live Oak Furniture Repair, phone 512-912-6011. I have seen one piece Merritt did, and it looked great. I have not seen the work of Lockhart Woodworks, Inc., 512-844-0039, but someone suggested them to me, and they look good from their web site. Another person suggested Guradsman Furniturepro on 8863 Anderson Mill Rd in Austin, phone 512-257-8208. I would appreciate additional recommendations, as well as reports from anyone using any of these.
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