Handles and Fittings
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Items commonly repaired or needing replacement are:

Handles, or parts of handles

Locks, keys, and keyhole escutcheons

Castors, or parts of castors

Table forks and clamps

Hinges, cabinet door hinges, card table hinges, drop leaf hinges

 

Fittings of other materials such as wood, bone, ivory, mother of pearl, etc. can also be accurately matched for replacements,  responsible substitutes for ivory fittings  etc. are available.

  

Often decorative fittings, especially handles, get broken and parts lost or a set changed to keep up with fashion. Although often, like this piece opposite the outline of the originals can be made out and an almost exact correct set found, trial fitted here, holes from later replacements needing to be patched.

Opposite shows a typical example of the marks left by changes of handles over the years. The originals being a circular ring handle with central back plate.

A replacement handle fitted to replace an inappropriate set. Aged to suit the piece. Clues of the original style are often left as marks on the wood or polish surface, in addition to understanding the correct style for the pieced and period.

Suppliers of quality cast period fittings are used for some of the metalwork but occasionally an exact copy needs to be made by hand, here fretted out of brass sheet and pommels turned by lathe.

Broken fittings, especially if original are worth repairing and can be done so quite effectively, as shown here on this hinge from a Tea table.

Missing fittings such as this catch and the hinge below can be made up in a number of ways, here just simply cut from solid brass.

Here a replacement for a tea pot lid knob is turned from a blank of black buffalo horn, shown fitted below

A tiny ivory knob from an internal drawer of a secretaire here being copied; turned on a lathe from a blank of ivorite (an ivory substitute

Opposite is shown a credenza door with missing and damaged Boulle work and mounts.

The same door fully restored.

Replacement keys can be cut.

Locks can usually be repaired and if missing can be replaced sometimes with originals if available, or copies, or non functioning blanks if costs are an issue.