Anri Nutcrackers!

Anri Nutcrackers!

Mar 09

 

Got a big box from Arlene Wagner from the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.

 

It’s chock full of Anri nutcrackers in need of repair.  Nine to be exact, Awesome!

 

 

Stay tuned for updates as I cover each one in more detail as I repair them and get them ready to be sent back to Arlene at the museum to be put on display for visitors to enjoy!

 

—– Brandon

 

 

Missing a Foot

Missing a Foot

Jan 31

 

 

This great piece came in from one of the Nutcracker Club members.

 

This piece had to wait till after the Holidays to come in for repairs because it was on display. The member cleverly hid the missing foot in the display’s snow.

 

Along with the missing left foot, the pin was sticking out the right side a bit so I removed it and reworked it a little to make it fit flush.

 

Here are a few pictures of the piece before the new foot (click on the pictures for a larger view):

 

 

 

Here are pictures of the piece with the new foot carved, stained, and painted to match the original:

 

 

 

 

He’s all fixed up and ready to be displayed with or without snow now.

 

Man with a Hat

Man with a Hat

Dec 19

 

Got the opportunity to repair another really nice screw type nutcracker for a Nutcracker Club member.

 

These club members come up with the nicest stuff. I really have to start looking harder for these treasures!

 

This piece needed some repairs done to the nose, cheek, and base. It also needed a refresh on the finish to bring out the great details.

 

The repairs on this piece came out great. The base looks original and all the small nicks in the hat are gone too.

 

Here are some before pictures:

 

 

Here’s the piece after the repairs:

 

 

 

 

 

Wabbit Season!

Wabbit Season!

Dec 12

 

Yes, I’m a Looney Tunes nerd.

 

Click on the picture to see the Wabbit Season skit

 

Any who… I recently got the opportunity to repair a really nice figural rabbit (A.K.A. – wabbit) nutcracker for a Nutcracker Club member.

 

The rabbit had a big chip at the top of the left ear, an old very obvious repair on the jaw, a broken pin, and basically needed an overall refresh on the aged finish.

 

The repairs on this piece came out great and replacing the pin gave me the opportunity to make it a “hidden pin” which really adds to the overall quality of this piece.

 

Here are some before pictures:

 

 

Here’s how the piece came out:

 

 

Honestly, this was a fun piece to work on. It came out great and the customer was very happy with the work I did.

 

—– Brandon

Many Hats

Many Hats

Nov 24

 

My little workshop has to be flexible and wear many hats.

 

Today was no exception. Today’s task was to convert it to an electronic repair shop to see if I can resurrect an old 22″ Dell monitor they were throwing out at work.

 

I disassembled the monitor, pulled the power board and found 4 bad capacitors which is typical in Dell hardware.

 

– Power board on the bench being diagnosed –

– Bad Capacitors (domed tops) –

So after about 30 minutes of my time and 4 new capacitors (56 cents total), I have a nice large Dell monitor for my home PC. Nice!

 

– It’s Alive! –

This was a nice little project that yielded a nice much larger computer monitor for my home PC for next to nothing.

 

Awesome!

 

BTW – Yes that’s a VCR under the monitor. I use it to transfer VHS tapes to digital media, and the pint glass you see has Thirsty Dog’s 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale in it which I highly recommend. 🙂

 

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

May 12

 

Here’s a rare piece that I just finished recently for the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.

The antique dealer Arlene Wagner (Nutcracker Museum’s curator) bought it from thinks the piece is from around the 1830’s and was made in France.

I only fixed the lower lip and left the rest of the piece’s character intact. When a piece is this old, doing a minimal restoration helps maintain its age and integrity.

 

Before Restoration

 

Before Restoration

 

After Restoration

 

Thanks for looking,

—– Brandon