The client had bought some later seventeenth century oak panelling (2 sections) from an antique dealer and wanted it fitted to a wall in his bedroom of his C18th farmhouse.
Had to knock it apart (pegged joints) to get it into the farmhouse, then re-peg it back together. I was able to use almost all the original pegs and only had to make three replacements.
Fortuitously the panelling was virtually the same height as the room (!), only needing a little shave in two places to account for the uneven floor and ceiling.
The two sections weren’t long enough to fully fit the width of the room but the dealer had thrown in a narrow section of shorter panelling of the same mouldings and another piece of similar panelling, so I was able to make up a 22″ section to fit the gap using the spare parts and only having to make a 36″ section of upright from new oak.
I scratched to mouldings in to the new section with my home-made scratch stock using a blade I had filed to the shape of the original moulding. That’s how they would have done it originally.
Put everything up, then cleaned it all, stained the new piece to match and sealed it, then oiled it all with boiled linseed oil, let it oxidise for a few days then built a wax finish. This preserved the patina and brought out the rich colouring and beauty of the old oak.
