Bill Roberts's Discussions

FREE Mid-Century Cupboards
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Started this discussion. Last reply by Kurt Anderson Aug 11, 2010.

Window Replacement???
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Started this discussion. Last reply by Josh Stone Sep 21, 2011.

"Artificial Stone" - concrete block
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Started this discussion. Last reply by Francene Grewe Aug 30, 2009.

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Josh Stone replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'Window Replacement???'

Give Seal-Rite Windows a call and talk to Josh Stone or Chris Crane 816-941-7004

Sep 21, 2011

Kurt Anderson replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'FREE Mid-Century Cupboards'

Hey Bill, No need to apologize, but that is too bad, and poor timing. I guess there's not much interest in them here, but there are people interested in them. It wouldn't be practical for me to get them, but I was going to offer help in…

Aug 11, 2010

Bill Roberts replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'FREE Mid-Century Cupboards'

Hi Kurt, I'm sorry but I had no response through the summer, so they went to the scrap yard earlier this week . . . Bill

Aug 11, 2010

Kurt Anderson replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'FREE Mid-Century Cupboards'

Hi, Are these still available? Is the one on the far right in the cupboards001 picture a cupboard or a base cabinet? Thanks, Kurt

Aug 10, 2010

Phil replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'FREE Mid-Century Cupboards'

I love that chrome bull nose look. Good friends of mine had one in their kitchen until a couple of years ago (a civil war house, though, with a 50s kitchen. To the best of my knowledge, where I live there are no people trying to preserve/restore 50s…

Apr 12, 2010

Bill Roberts replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'FREE Mid-Century Cupboards'

Hi Phil, Thanks for the comment. I hope the cupboards can find their way to mid-century ranch that needs a period kitchen -- as I have so many fond memories of growing-up around this set! To answer your question: the original counters were a…

Apr 12, 2010

Phil replied to Bill Roberts's discussion 'FREE Mid-Century Cupboards'

These are not a match for the style of my house, but I applaud you to be looking for a reuse on these very sharp cupboards. I have a question, though. What were the original counters that went with these? Were they porcelain steel like a stove top?…

Apr 11, 2010

FREE Mid-Century Cupboards

I have a complete set of "Youngstown Kitchens by Mullins" cupboards (c. 1955) that I am offering for FREE to a good home -- preferably a mid-century home that is in need of an original kitchen. These cupboards, which formed a "U-shaped" kitchen, came out of the house my parents built in 1955 and are in fair to good condition. The original finish has been painted over, but all the hinges are in working order and all of the original hardware is intact. There is some minor corrosion, but no…See More

Discussion posted by Bill Roberts Apr 11, 2010

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Tell us about yourself:: I am a special education teacher who has had a fascination with historic preservation and architectural history since childhood. I have been a subscriber to OHJ since my teens and have every issue (my folks purchased back issues for me in the mid-70s as a birthday present) ever printed stored in the attic of my 1899 Victorian -- which distresses my wife to a great degree when trying to organize our attic!

Tell us about your old-house experiences and dreams:: The first house I restored was an 1885 stick style cottage in the mid 1980s. In 1996, I was able to purchase my great-grandparents', and subsequently my grandparents', 1899 vernacular Italianate home that my wife and I are continuing to restore. I also own a 1911 farmhouse that has an interesting mix of late Victorian and Arts & Crafts design elements that my wife and I are working to restore as a retirement home.

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Help w/ scorch marks?

Does anyone have an easy way to remove scorch marks from a shellac base finish? When our granddaughter was baptized in front of the fireplace in our parlor, heat from two candles scorched the finish on the underside of the over-mantle and we are hoping that someone out there has a better solution to lightening the dark spots (about 1.5" in diameter) than stripping the entire underside of the over-mantle.

Posted on February 23, 2009 at 11:32am — 12 Comments

Comment Wall (1 comment)

At 4:08pm on December 30, 2008, Barbara Rhines said…: Hi Bill,
It sounds like an interesting chair. I wish I could say the paint and decals serve as protective layers, like the dust on my furniture, but it sounds like careful stripping is in order. (I've heard that a heat gun can get through the paint to the original finish below but there is a scorching risk.) Bruce Johnson, the organizer of the Grove Park Inn's annual Arts and Crafts conference comes to mind as a good resource -- both for recreating or saving Arts and Crafts-era finishes and as an expert on Roycroft furniture. He wrote a book a while back called The Weekend Refinisher, which gives a great overview of furniture stripping and refinishing, with emphasis on A&C finishes. He also knows Roycroft furniture quite well because the Roycroft Shops made furniture for the Grove Park Inn (GPI). He's written a new book on the history of the GPI. You may want to check out the GPI A&C Conference Web site for contact information.

Roycroft furniture is very well made and rather rare. The exception is the Little Journeys bookstand which is fairly common (I have one). It was mailed flat and assembled at home (pre-IKEA). A chair would be valuable and worth treating well. You may also want to check out the Web sites of the Roycrofters in East Aurora, including the Roycrofters-at-Large Association

Barb