Welcome to The Repair Shop,
where cherished family heirlooms are brought back to life.
This is the workshop of dreams.
Home to furniture restorer, Jay Blades.
Nowadays everybody spends a fortune on stuff that, once it's broken,
they just bin it.
But everybody has something that means too much to be thrown away,
and that's where we come in.
Working alongside Jay
will be some of the country's leading crafts people.
Every piece has its own story.
It's amazing to think that some of my work becomes part of that story.
I've always played with things,
I've always repaired things and I just love it.
There is a real pleasure in bringing people's pieces back to life again.
Each with their own unique set of skills....
I can't wait to get started.
...they will resurrect...
..revive... I'm in awe, man.
..and rejuvenate...
..treasured possessions
and irreplaceable pieces of family history.
Wow!
Bringing both the objects...
She's fantastic.
That's just taken me back 50 years.
..and the memories that they hold...
Ah! Oh, yes!
..back to life.
Oh, my God!
In The Repair Shop today,
Suzie and Jay become rather attached to a leather writing case.
If you could hold it, that would be super.
Not there. Otherwise I'd be stuck to it, wouldn't I?
You'd be stuck to it forever.
You'll be carrying this case for the rest of your life. Yeah!
While a vintage music player
has Steve and Tim scratching their heads.
For the life of me, I can't see how it would ever have worked.
At the moment, it doesn't make sense. No.
First to arrive is Carol New from Dorset.
She has a fragile family heirloom needing the attention
of silversmith, Brenton West. Hi.
Hello, Brenton.
You must be Carol, nice to meet you. Yes, nice to meet,
Right, what have you brought me?
Well, I've brought in this mirror
which has been in our family for some time.
OK. It has a sad corner to it.
Oh, dear. It's got teeth missing.
It belonged to my great aunt.
How did she come across this mirror?
She was in service when she was a young girl,
it was part of the family she worked for.
OK. The Lady of the house it belonged to, sadly she passed away.
OK. And then her husband actually married my Aunt Emily.
OK. So therefore, when he passed away, it was all hers.
And the little piece of damage on that, do you know how that happened?
No idea, nobody seems to know.
It is a lot of work because it's very fancy.
Basically, I need to copy another corner,
make all of those little pieces and put them in the right place there.
That would be lovely. If I can.
Otherwise, I'll just paint that corner silver and it'll be all
right, won't it? No, it won't.
OK. Leave it with me and I'll see what I can do.
I really know it will be in safe hands with you.
Thank you. Thank you.
With so much intricate silver detail to repair and replace,
Brenton's got his work cut out
to get the mirror back to gold standard.
So tell me you have figured out how to fix Carol's mirror.
I have figured it out.
OK, good. I'm just working out how I'm going to make all these pieces
because I've got to copy that corner.
I'm going to throw a bit of a spanner in your works.
Go on, then. These are not identical are they? They're all different.
That helps me a lot, though, doesn't it?
As the corners are not the same... Yeah.
..how are you going to do that?
Right. What I'm going to do, first of all,
this is a repeating pattern up here.
So I've got to work out exactly what part of that pattern it is.
I'm going to make, basically, two pieces that go into this corner
and pin it on to here. I'm going to use very thin silver
and I'm going to chase them.
Chase them? Chase them.
That means what? It doesn't mean running around, does it?
Let me show you how it works on a bit of copper.
Will that do? That will do, lovely.
So if you go and you tap it...
..if you turn that over, you've got a raised bit, there.
You've done this before, ain't you?
I've got an award for doing this. That's what I like to hear.
Next to arrive is Michael Quirke and his daughter, Mary.
They have a treasured piece of family history that has sat silent
on a shelf for over 50 years.
Good afternoon to you, by the way.
How are you? I'm Tim. Well, I can guess it's a phonograph.
You've seen one before, haven't you, I dare say?
I have seen one before. One or two maybe, yeah? Yes.
Tim Weeks has dedicated many decades
to repairing all manner of music-making machines.
What's the story behind this? Have you had this for long?
I got it about 1967 or '68.
My mother's sister lived in a small town.
My aunt was very musical.
My mother was as well and the back end of the last century, I suppose,
this thing used to have that playing.
That was her music.
This is an Edison Gem phonograph. The model started in about 1897.
Do you remember actually hearing this played?
I heard it once. I was very, very young, I'd say I was about seven
or eight years of age, something like that.
I heard it once, she had it working then.
I'd love to get her going to listen to it again.
I'll go as far as saying, if it's fixed again,
I wouldn't think much of walking back down here for it.
It means that much to me. Well, that is quite a challenge,
and I'll take the challenge.
So if you go home and polish your walking boots up,
I'll see what I can do with this.
All right? Thanks very much.
Lovely to meet you. See you later on.
Lovely to meet you.
Tell me you've got a tune out of this, have you?
We will get a tune out of it.
OK. We will get a tune out of it, but not immediately.
Right. Phonographs, which is what this is, an Edison phonograph.
Yeah. This is the first form of record player.
Oh, is it? Yes.
There are a number of faults that Edison phonographs are prone to,
and this one has got just about all of them.
The major problem is, if you go to wind it up...
That's not moving, is it? The handle flies back and smacks you across the knuckles.
So we've got to take the motor out, sort out the spring.
This, which is the reproducer, should be sliding along that bar
up-and-down, up-and-down, up-and-down.
At the moment, you can't even... It don't move, no.
You can't even shift it.
So the reproducer actually plays the record, then?
The reproducer plays the record
by using a diamond stylus.
Can you see that, that thing there? That is the diamond stylus.
OK. So who was the first person that figured out to use a diamond?
Well, Edison. Oh, was he?
Thomas Edison, when he invented the whole process.
He's a clever guy. I'm impressed.
I'll be even more impressed when you get that done.
I'll leave you to it, but thank you for the history lesson.
Cheers, Jay. Right...
Another piece of history is being brought to The Repair Shop
by Sally and David Taylor.
Hello there. Hello. I'm Suzie.
They're hoping that leather expert, Suzie Fletcher,
can return a cherished possession to its former glory.
It looks like a briefcase.
It's a little writing case but, unfortunately, it's a bit worn.
It had all my papers and envelopes in
when I went away to boarding school, and it was given to me
by my grandfather as a sort of good luck present.
How long ago would that have been? That was 1962.
We weren't allowed to ring home
and so letters were the main form of communication.
It does mean a lot to me in that respect because I had
letters that my grandparents wrote to me, or my parents wrote to me.
It would just be lovely to use it again.
I use e-mails, but it's also nice to receive a letter, isn't it?
It's lovely. It really is lovely to get a letter.
But, no, I would definitely fill it up and, you know, use it again.
Well, I look forward to getting started on it. Thank you.
So I'll be in touch once it's ready for you to come and collect.
Thank you, wonderful. Thank you very much, Suzie. Thank you, Sally.
So lovely to meet you. And you. Bye.
It has a couple of things that really need major attention.
The first being the underside panel, here.
The main area that's concerning me at the moment is this large bare
section here, but I do have the leather that's just peeled back.
I think I'll be able to piece it back and then cover this with a leather
corner that will glue over the three sides.
The first thing I need to do
is to glue down this panel, here.
MUSIC PLAYS
Out in the metal workshop,
Brenton is preparing the new metal for the silver mirror,
ready to start recreating the intricate pattern
using the ancient craft of chasing.
So this is my pitch bowl. This is quite a specialised item.
It's used for chasing and repousse.
It holds the metal where you want it.
It's like a good glue, which is only held by heat and it has enough give
for the silver to become indented on it, but it doesn't crack.
So I've decided to stick my tracing on top of the piece of silver.
The most important thing,
I've got to be really, really accurate with this.
So there's a small selection of chasing tools I've got here.
That one there is for doing curves.
That one there is for doing the lines.
Basically, if you haven't got a tool that will make a particular profile
or a particular shape, then you make one.
It just takes time and patience.
People have been doing this sort of technique for thousands of years.
If you look at Inca gold and Colombian gold, this is a method
people have been doing
probably as long as there's been metal and people working on it.
So you can see my marks on there.
So this is the back and these lines now give me a guide to where to
punch from behind. Quite simply, inside the lines.
It's a bit like painting by numbers, tapping by lines I like to call it.
MUSIC PLAYS
At Suzie's bench, she's getting to grips with one of the trickiest
parts of the writing case restoration.
She has to match the colour of the old leather
which, inside the workshop, has been proving problematic.
Indoor light can cast all sorts of different shadows and shades and as
time was going on, it was going from this blue down to more of a green
and then to a blacky blue.
So I decided, come outside, natural light,
I can see exactly the colour that it is.
I have been dyeing the discs to make the coverings for the corner.
It's a little frustrating because I've got one that's actually come
out a really close match to it,
but do you think I can emulate it on the others?
Not a chance. So I'm thinking that I shall apply some stain and just see
if that gives me the different depth of colour that I'm trying to achieve here.
That's so much better.
Yes.
Really happy with that, the effect is so much better.
Fingers crossed, I think it's going to turn out quite nice.
MUSIC PLAYS
Once back inside, Jay's checking on Suzie's progress.
Hello. So how is this writing case?
Where I'm at is the corners of the cases are worn out.
Yeah. I think it would be really nice to repair the corners
using the leather discs.
The first thing I do is to put a slit in it to allow me to
wrap around that corner.
So in upholstery, what we would do, is cut that that bit off.
Like cut a little triangle, so that sits a little bit better.
It is another way of doing it.
I like the fact that I've got some extra material to work with that's
going to strengthen the base to the sides because it's going to have
some weight on it. Yeah.
I've got this one that I think is going to be tacky enough.
If you could hold it, that would be super.
Not there. Otherwise I'd be stuck it, wouldn't I?
You'd be stuck to it forever.
You'll be carrying this case for the rest of your life.
She can't have me, it's not going to happen.
OK. So, here we go.
You've got a one-shot deal at this because it's compact cement.
Yeah. Ready? Yes.
Are you sure? I am.
OK. I'm just going to pull it down here.
That's lovely.
So now we have to wait for that to become tacky to do that side,
turn it over and then repeat the process eight times.
Eight times. Wow.
All right, I think I've got some e-mails to send.
I'll leave you to it. OK, thanks so much.
Gramophone specialist, Tim Weeks, has taken on an early phonograph
designed by Thomas Edison.
It hasn't made a sound for over 50 years and it's looking like this job
could be an uphill struggle.
We take the motor out and we can see more clearly...
..what the actual problem is in here.
Well, there's the ratchet spring.
So we've got a broken end there and the other broken end of it there.
So I think that tells us quite a lot about what we need to know.
The whole function of this ratchet is to stop the spring, the handle,
just sort of flying back,
as you wind it up and smacking you across the knuckles.
Luckily, on hand for a second opinion,
is The Repair Shop clockwork expert. Steve!
You may have some views on this.
You see, it's meant to wind up
by turning that and then the ratchet goes in there.
Oh, right, OK. Obviously, this ratchet springs loose.
But for the life of me, I can't see how it would ever have worked.
Have you got any thoughts?
At the moment it doesn't make sense.
No. Oh, right.
Usually things just make immediate sense to me, and this one doesn't.
Do you think someone has had a look at this and played with it and tried
to get it going? Yeah, I think that's what's happened.
You see, look, somebody has had a bash at filing it.
Can you see there are some stripes across there? Yes.
Somebody's been in there.
OK, I'll wait until you've taken it apart
and then I'll have another look.
So a previous repair attempt may be the culprit.
It's not long before Tim lays his hands on a clue
which may solve the mystery of the malfunctioning ratchet.
Well... Have you got another one? Yes, I've got another one
from my commodious collection of spare parts.
Oh, it's the wrong way round. Yeah.
Someone's put it on backwards, haven't they?
But...
What is interesting,
why I've even bothered to bring it over and show it to you,
is you can see that little slit in the end
where there must have been a spring...
Oh, same as that one. ..fixed in there.
So that is meant to be there,
but not flapping around like that it isn't.
Can you hold that? Yep. And hold it tight on to the plate.
Yes. I'm going to turn that, so it would work like that.
Oh, yeah.
Do you want to push that and we'll get a centre pop.
OK. There we go.
That's made them up.
OK, so I'm going to drill in there and put a pin in.
You're a hero.
Across the workshop, Suzie is in sight of the finishing line
with the restoration of the 1960s writing case.
After touching up the last few frayed edges with acrylic paint,
she's replacing the worn leather handle with a brand-new one.
So I'm now at the point where
I'm going to mount the handle onto the case.
The first thing I need to do is just to thread the 'D' through and the
loop that I made here.
I just need to get my pliers and squeeze the two ends together.
And there we have it. That's one handle mounted.
I'm very happy with it,
I'm hoping that Sally will be very happy with the overall effect.
Sally is back to see the case that holds so many memories
of her schooldays and of her grandfather.
Hello, Sally.
Hello. How are you doing?
I'm very well thank you. It's good to see you again, Sally.
How are you doing, David? Hi, there. Are you all right?
Well, we won't hold you in suspense any longer.
Oh, good.
Wow! Oh, gosh.
Oh, Suzie, that's fantastic.
Thank you so much.
Brilliant. Look at the handle and everything.
Can I touch it?
Of course you can. Oh, wow.
I promised I wouldn't say, "Wow," but that is really amazing.
Oh, you're so clever. Thank you so much.
She is, isn't she? That's wonderful.
I managed to put your leather corners on because they were all,
if you remember... Yes, they were dreadful.
They were completely blown out.
That's such a good idea, I never thought of that, corners.
So lovely. The other challenge that I had was the colour match.
Yes. Because this case, I swear, is a chameleon.
Every time I thought I got the colour match right, it changed.
Whether it's chameleon or not, it's perfect.
So this case now, what are you going to do with it?
I'm going to take it home and fill it full of envelopes,
stamps and writing paper and a pen.
Maybe we might receive a letter?
Well, you might do.
If we're lucky. There's a good chance.
We'll let you be on your travels then.
Oh, go out like Paddington Bear.
Yes, thank you very much indeed.
Thank you. Thank you so much, Suzie.
You're very welcome, Sally.
Really, really pleased, thank you very much. Thank you.
MUSIC PLAYS
Silversmith, Brenton, has spent many hours recreating the missing corner
for the silver mirror, but he's not finished yet.
Obviously this is a solid piece of silver and we need the holes so that
the blue velvet shows through.
So I'm just putting the blade through a hole in the silver,
so I can cut this diamond shape hole
out of this little bit of lattice work.
I've got to do that with all of these holes and then I can fit that
onto the mirror.
OK. So I'm just going to try this piece in I've made.
It's slightly larger than it needs to be.
I'm going to put it underneath the original silver
which is quite firm on here.
It should just slip underneath and, like that,
and that's the new corner in.
I'd say that's pretty much indistinguishable from the original.
For decades the mirror had been
an ornate jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece.
Now it's whole again, this treasured looking glass
is ready to be returned to owner, Carol.
Hi, Carol. Nice to see you again.
How are you, all right? How did you get on?
It's been very challenging.
Was it? Very challenging. I'm not surprised.
Do you want to have a look?
I'm dying to have a look. OK.
Oh, my gosh!
That is absolutely marvellous, Brenton.
Well done. That's all right.
It's taken my breath away.
Do you know, this is like Christmas for me.
Brilliant. I'm glad that stirs that emotion in you.
Well, you know, it's whole again, isn't it?
You know, pardon the pun, you can't see the join, can you?
You're not meant to. It's amazing.
I really do appreciate it.
That's a great piece of history, isn't it?
I just can't wait to show my mother.
What do you think she'll think of it?
It will bring back so many memories, when she actually sees it again.
She really will be thrilled.
Tim and Steve have joined forces
to take on a phonograph that refuses to play a note.
Clock restorer, Steve, has been putting all his clockwork knowledge
to use on the troublesome ratchet.
Oh.
RATCHET CLICKS
Ah! Music to your ears?
Music, music.
There will be soon. You are a prince among antique restorers,
do you know that? Oh, that is beautiful.
Is that all right? Yes, that's what's supposed to be happening.
I'll listen out for the music.
Listen out for it and you'll hear it.
Thank you. Right, now, to business.
Now, Tim just needs to put the machine back together.
One of these jobs that basically needs...
..three hands.
Hold on, what's going on there?
Ah!
Now, there.
Right. We've got the motor back in,
a bit of a fiddle, but we've done it.
We've wound it up and it's staying wound-up,
thanks to Steve's new ratchet.
So what remains is the acid test, put a cylinder on, see if it goes.
The moment of truth.
MACHINE: Edison record... Wow.
MUSIC PLAYS
Wow! That is great, isn't it?
It is. Really good.
This was entertainment in 19...
I was about to say, is this what music was like in the olden days?
HE LAUGHS
It's just a lovely, lovely piece of equipment.
Michael is going to be so happy with this.
He is going to be absolutely made up.
Well, there is a bit of fine tuning to do to it yet
before it goes back to him.
But if he's not heard this go since he was eight years old...
Yeah, well done you.
That is fantastic. What do we do now?
Go down the pub, I think.
Yeah.
Good. See you later.
Michael Quirke inherited the phonograph
from his aunt in the 1960s.
It evokes many memories of his boyhood back in rural Ireland.
Now his long wait to hear it play again is over.
Tim is personally delivering this labour of love.
Hello. I've been waiting for this minute for a long time.
When you left this with me at The Repair Shop...
Yes. ..you said if we could get it going again,
you'd walk all the way down there to get it. Yeah.
I've had a look at the weather forecast and I didn't think
I'd make you walk all that way.
There we are. That's great.
It takes a lot of winding, doesn't it?
Well, yeah, it's a brand-new spring in here now, of course.
Of course, the horn pops on there.
And the most important bit is to put a cylinder on.
We've tried to come up with an appropriate tune for you.
MUSIC PLAYS
What do you think? That's great, Tim.
Unbelievable, isn't it?
Feel free to join in. Yeah, it's lovely.
MUSIC PLAYS
God, I remember the sound, I never hear this.
# It's a long way to Tipperary
# It's a long way to go... #
Been a while. Yes, I know it now.
Yeah?
Well, I can nearly see you sitting on the table at home with my aunt.
No, it's beautiful. Lovely.
What's it like to hear that again after all these years?
To be honest with you, I didn't think it could be done.
Oh. It brings back some memories, Tim.
It does, yes. Everything can be done.
Everything can be done with a little bit of thought
and a bit of elbow grease.
It's a family treasure.
It is, yes. There's a few cylinders there,
you can have a recital and invite your friends round.
That's great, Tim. That's great is that.
I do appreciate how much you've done.
You'll never know what it means to me, Tim.
Oh, it's a pleasure. It's a pleasure, Michael.
It's great. Mary. Thank you very much.
It means an awful lot to me,
to have that working and bring back memories of my family,
plus the fact that I can pass it on to my daughter,
who I know will treasure it.
And hopefully, it'll be there for generations to come.
# But my heart's right there. #
Join us next time, as more precious pieces are rescued...
Wow, look at that.
..and their cherished memories restored, in The Repair Shop.
Oh, that's brilliant.