1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,640 Welcome to the Repair Shop, 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,960 where cherished family heirlooms are brought back to life. 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:08,640 This is the workshop of dreams. 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,840 Home to furniture restorer Jay Blades. 5 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,640 Nowadays everybody spends a fortune on stuff 6 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,640 that once it's broken they just bin it. 7 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:20,040 But everybody has something that means too much to be thrown away. 8 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:21,560 And that's where we come in. 9 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:23,320 Working alongside Jay 10 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:26,400 will be some of the country's leading craftspeople. 11 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,240 Every piece has its own story. 12 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,520 It's amazing to think that some of my work becomes part 13 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:31,640 of that story. 14 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,120 I've always played with things. I've always repaired things. 15 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:36,400 And I just love it. 16 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,320 There is a real pleasure in bringing people's pieces back to life again. 17 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,320 Each with their own unique set of skills. 18 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,400 I can't wait to get started. 19 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,480 They will resurrect... 20 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,080 ..revive... 21 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:50,960 ..and rejuvenate... 22 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:53,920 ..treasured possessions 23 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,720 and irreplaceable pieces of family history. 24 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,480 Wow! 25 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:00,160 Bringing both the objects... 26 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,600 She's fantastic! That's just taken me back 50 years. 27 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,440 ..and the memories that they hold... 28 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,760 SHE GASPS Oh, yes! 29 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:09,080 ..back to life. 30 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:10,480 Oh, my God! 31 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,120 In the Repair Shop today, an unlikely visitor 32 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,040 in the shape of a Roman deity. 33 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,240 So it takes two of you to fix Hercules? 34 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,160 Cor blimey. I thought you guys were stronger than this guy. 35 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,480 What's going on? This is a really, really, really clever fix. 36 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,920 And the upholstery gods are smiling on Susie and Sonnaz. 37 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:48,880 Ooh, look at that! 38 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,440 That was lucky. 39 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:52,600 End of the bobbin. 40 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,080 First through the doors of the Repair Shop 41 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,840 is Jane Maddy from Lincolnshire with an unusual package. 42 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,240 Hi there. Please come over. 43 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,000 She's hoping furniture restorer Will Kirk 44 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,120 will cast his expert eye over its contents. 45 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,680 What's in the box? It's a smoker's stand. 46 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,560 A smoker's stand. 47 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,120 I don't think we've actually ever had a smoker's stand in before. 48 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,920 So what can you tell me about this? 49 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:31,920 It's always been around. It belonged to my grandparents. 50 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:34,080 My grandfather's, he always smoked a pipe. 51 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,800 I've got memories of it with pipes all the way along there 52 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,440 right from being little. 53 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:41,760 It seems to be in pretty good condition apart from 54 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,120 obviously the missing leg, which you say is in here. It's there. 55 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,920 What are these pieces here? Just bits that fit in the top. 56 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:49,720 I presume that's for... 57 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,040 I presume it's where they tap their tobacco. 58 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,600 Gosh. It's very fancy. 59 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,480 Are you a pipe smoker yourself? 60 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,360 Not recently! No, I can't say I have ever smoked a pipe. 61 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,880 And I think that one was for matches. Matches, probably, yeah. 62 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,240 And then that's your little striking plate. 63 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:09,920 How clever. To strike matches on. 64 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:12,800 I actually smoked a pipe for a year when I was at art school. 65 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:14,920 Did you? I thought it was trendy. 66 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:17,160 It probably wasn't very trendy. 67 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,960 But yeah, I definitely didn't have anything like this. 68 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,880 So you inherited this from your grandfather. He died many years ago. 69 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,080 I was brought up by my grandparents. 70 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,400 He was a cobbler. I've got great memories 71 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,440 of being in the shop from very young 72 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,040 and just stood watching my grandad. 73 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:38,280 Well, it seemed like hours at the time, just mending the shoes. 74 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,760 Was he smoking a pipe whilst mending them? 75 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,160 I think he did do, yes, yes. 76 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,480 It's probably one of the only reminders I've got 77 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:46,600 of my grandparents. 78 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,320 I know it's only a little thing, but to me 79 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,800 it absolutely means the world, so I'd like it really fixed 80 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,760 so that I can have it on display in my house again. 81 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,960 I will do everything I can. 82 00:03:57,960 --> 00:03:59,280 That would be wonderful. 83 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,480 Well, I'll let you know how we get on. Brilliant. 84 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:03,000 It's really nice to meet you. 85 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,240 Thank you very much. Thank you for coming in. 86 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:14,400 I'm quite nervous about leaving my grandfather's smoking stand behind. 87 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,440 The stand has a lot of nice memories for me. 88 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:24,120 Memories of my grandad sat there, puffing on his pipe. 89 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,240 And the smell of tobacco brings that back as well. 90 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,800 And my grandma busily probably Hoovering round it and polishing it, 91 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,480 and telling him off for smoking too much. 92 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,600 How are we doing, Will? 93 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:44,520 This is Jane's smoking stand, eh? 94 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,800 If I had a pipe right now, I'd be resting my pipe 95 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,320 upon the top. Well, not literally, 96 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,680 but in these holes here. 97 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,000 So it's missing a leg. Oh, you've got the leg. 98 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,320 I have the leg here. So the leg's broken off. 99 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:58,440 Well, the wood's broken off underneath, 100 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:00,040 and then the leg's popped out. 101 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,520 So I need to patch that wood back in and glue that back in. 102 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,200 So what about these bits here? They're missing as well. 103 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,160 I didn't even notice that. 104 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:11,720 Are they...? That's brass. That could actually be brass. 105 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,240 Is it? Do you think so? Yeah, I think so. Maybe. 106 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,200 Oh, this is loose as well. Right. 107 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,600 Well, that's another thing on my list. Sorry. 108 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,040 And then a general clean and a wax. 109 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,080 Yeah. But not going to clean out that, are we? No. 110 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,320 Cos that's her grandfather's tobacco. 111 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,000 Yeah. No, we've got that in there. 112 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,840 So once you've done this, what you should do is just take it over 113 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:34,400 to Steve, see if he can make those. 114 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:36,720 I'm sure he's going to help you out with that. 115 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:38,240 Have a good one. Cheers, Jay. 116 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,040 Next to arrive at the workshop - Carl Sebastian and his dad Jeff. 117 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,240 They've brought with them a piece of classic '60s furniture 118 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,360 for the attention of master saddle maker 119 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,320 and leather expert Suzie Fletcher. 120 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,320 Hi, I'm Suzie. I'm Jeff. Nice to meet you, Jeff. 121 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,600 Carl. Nice to meet you. Carl, nice to meet you too. 122 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:08,800 My word, what is this? 123 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:10,560 It's a leaf chair. 124 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:14,280 I've never seen anything like it, it's just from my nan's house. 125 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:15,720 So this belongs to your nan? 126 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,120 Yeah, it used to. We call her Nonna. Nonna? Yeah, she's Italian. 127 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,640 When my grandad passed away, 128 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,360 she was downsizing and she didn't have enough room to put it 129 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,240 in her new house, 130 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:28,680 so she called me straightaway, 131 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,680 since I know how much she loved the chair, and she gave it to me. 132 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,480 So this belonged to your nan. Yeah. 133 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,040 So, was Nonna into the swinging '60s? I'd say so. 134 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:40,920 Yeah, she's pretty cool. 135 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,520 This was set up by the record player. 136 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:45,640 Right. 137 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,640 So Tony, Carl's grandad, 138 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,840 used to lie in here and listen to the music. 139 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,760 Every time I went to my nan's house, yeah, from a baby, 140 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,920 I'd always...everyone would race to sit in the chair. Oh, really? 141 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,560 Could more than one of you sit in it? 142 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,760 Yeah, yeah, we could. We used to pretend it's a boat. 143 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,360 So what does it feel like to sit in? 144 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,440 Lovely. Amazing, yeah. It is? You'd fall asleep in it. 145 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:09,840 Oh, really? 146 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,640 So how exactly did it end up in this state? 147 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,520 Well, basically, Carl, his sisters and his cousins, 148 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,240 they all used to sit in the chair. 149 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,960 And then it got to a stage where this is getting tighter 150 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,240 and tighter and brittle 151 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,200 and Carl's cousin sat on it one day, 152 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,000 and it just split, it just gave way. 153 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,960 That's after all the kids had been sitting on it. Wow. 154 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,080 Well, we'll have to see what I can do here. 155 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,800 But looking at this grain here, 156 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,520 I believe this is buffalo hide. 157 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,600 OK. Very, very strong and it has a very prominent grain. 158 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:51,240 So my plan is to use as close to the original leather 159 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:52,600 as possible. 160 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,440 Thank you so much, Carl, for bringing it in 161 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,320 and putting your trust in me. 162 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,400 Thank you. And I can't wait to get started. So we'll be in touch. 163 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,280 We'll leave it with you. Looking forward to it. Thank you. 164 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:05,960 Thank you. Bye. Bye. 165 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,280 Yeah, it would mean a lot to have it repaired. 166 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:13,800 Thinking back, the way it used to be, 167 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,360 seeing the kids playing on the chair. 168 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,520 It's always been, like, a feature 169 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,320 in the sitting room. You know, it'd be good to, 170 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,320 once it's repaired, to be able to use it 171 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,520 and, yeah, make the most of it again 172 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,120 and probably bring back the memories I had as a child in the chair. 173 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,840 Based on the shape of a leaf, 174 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:39,440 the chair's design dates back to 1967 and was originally available 175 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:41,600 in other fabrics as well as leather. 176 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,520 Hanging chairs reached the peak of their popularity 177 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,520 in the swinging '60s, 178 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,800 but this leaf chair is still highly collectible. 179 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,960 So now I've got a chance to look at this leaf chair that Carl left 180 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,000 with me, and... 181 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,080 ..I am scratching my head a little bit. 182 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,880 I'm concerned because it has many angles to it... 183 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:13,920 ..which create this overall shape that literally just cradles 184 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,000 the body when it's lying in there, 185 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:17,040 and... 186 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,440 ..I've never done anything like this before. So, uh, 187 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,880 perhaps, Sonnaz, if you're available, 188 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,640 could I ask you to come and have a look at this for me, please? Sure. 189 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:32,840 Sonnaz Nooranvary is an expert in furniture restoration, 190 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:38,160 both traditional and modern. So you can see how badly damaged this is. 191 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,920 Wow. And... It's had a lot of use, hasn't it? 192 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:47,160 My quandary is making a pattern... Yep. ..for this that... 193 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,800 ..it creates this bowl shape. 194 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,320 I think that we need to make a pattern somehow. 195 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,520 It might be a good idea... 196 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,120 ..to maybe use calico? 197 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,440 Calico is just a really... 198 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:04,160 ..cheap fabric, like a cotton. 199 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,280 So, we make three patterns. Yeah. 200 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:08,880 Stick them together. Yeah. 201 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,880 Offer them up to the frame to see where we're at. Yep. 202 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:13,520 Perfect. OK, sounds like a plan. 203 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:15,400 So I just need to take this leather off, then. 204 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,240 Do you need any help with that or...? Yeah, that'd be great. OK. 205 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,320 Over in the carpentry corner, Will is getting to grips 206 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:36,920 with the legless smoker's stand. 207 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,040 Before patching the base with a new piece of wood, 208 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,760 he's first cutting away any damaged timber. 209 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:46,480 Sometimes when working on a piece like this, it can be really hard 210 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,720 to know how much wood to remove. 211 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,880 There's always the risk of going too far, taking out more wood 212 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,120 than you need to. 213 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,080 It has to be structurally sound, 214 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,040 so I think I've gone to the right level here. 215 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:08,760 It's not a bad fit, actually. 216 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,640 It doesn't look flush with the surface now, but once that's dried, 217 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,760 then I can chisel and plane it down nice and smooth. 218 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:31,160 That's nice and flush now. 219 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:35,920 I'm now going to drill out a new hole for the leg to go back in. 220 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,520 So I'm just trying to work out 221 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:40,640 the direction of the leg. 222 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,880 I'll make sure I drill it out the first time... 223 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:44,120 ..spot on. 224 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:56,040 That feels like a tight fit. Even without the glue, 225 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,160 I am that certain that's going to be strong enough to hold it, 226 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,120 I'm actually going to turn it round now. 227 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,720 Perfect! I'm really pleased with that. 228 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,320 Now the smoker's stand stands again. 229 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:16,960 Back on three legs, 230 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,200 it's time for Will to call in a favour from clockmaker Steve. 231 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:24,480 Steve... What on earth is that? 232 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,120 That, my friend, is a pipe stand. 233 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:29,520 A pipe stand? Yeah. 234 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,600 How many pipes could you get in that? Ten pipes. 235 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,120 For the pipe enthusiast. Right, OK. 236 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,240 There's some brass rings on the top, here. 237 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,880 And I seem to be missing one, two, three of them. 238 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,600 Is there any way that you can make up three more? 239 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,000 Does that come off? 240 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,440 I don't think... 241 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,800 Well, now! WILL LAUGHS 242 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,200 Well done. That was easy. Yeah. 243 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:55,760 I think it would be a nice touch 244 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:57,600 because Jane won't be expecting that. 245 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,440 It'll be like a nice sort of... Oh, right, OK. ..finishing touch. 246 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,080 Yeah. So I'll leave you with that. 247 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,680 I'll get on to polishing this. And let me know when you're ready. 248 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:06,400 Thanks, Steve. 249 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,240 Many of the items that arrive at the Repair Shop are treasured 250 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,600 family pieces passed on from one generation to the next. 251 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,560 But others have meaning to a wider community. 252 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:25,480 Liz Argent from the Westbury Heritage Society 253 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:26,880 in Wiltshire 254 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,920 has a heavenly body in need of some emergency surgery. 255 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:32,800 Hello, I'm Steve. 256 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,160 Hello, I'm Liz. Hello. Hi, Liz, I'm Matthew. 257 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:36,800 Hello, nice to meet you. 258 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,320 Liz has brought in a 30-kilo cast-iron statue 259 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:42,320 of the Roman god Hercules 260 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:47,400 to test the strength of Steve and metal conservator Matt Boultwood. 261 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,480 What a wonderful statue this is. Thank you. 262 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,160 Thank you. Tell me about it. 263 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:54,760 He's about 160 years old. 264 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,640 And he was in one of the mills in our town. 265 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,120 Westbury's got a tradition of cloth-making 266 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,640 going back, oh, 500 years or so. 267 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,200 So it's an important industry in the town. 268 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:08,720 Why Hercules? 269 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,720 Well, he's a symbol of strength 270 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:12,360 and he was on a beam engine, 271 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,800 which is a very powerful machine. 272 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,840 It powered the whole mill. 273 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,920 He was standing on the front of this huge cylinder, 274 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,320 but it was quite an interesting setting. 275 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,120 It looked like a classical Greek or Roman temple because there were 276 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:27,760 pillars on either side and a pediment above it all. 277 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:31,080 But when the mill converted to mains electricity, 278 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,840 Hercules lost his place of honour in the factory. 279 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:38,360 He was destined for the scrap yard until, in 1969, he was rescued 280 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,960 by factory worker Jack Ingram. 281 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,280 Eventually, he made his way through various owners in the town. 282 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:46,960 He came to the Westbury Heritage Society 283 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:48,480 in the end, about 25 years ago. 284 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,240 And he had an accident, and he lost his club. 285 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,360 Oh, right, that's what he's supposed to be holding. 286 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,080 That's what's missing, yes, yeah, yes. 287 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,360 Shall I have a look at the...? 288 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:58,880 So what actually happened? 289 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,080 Somebody was trying to move him, 290 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,440 and it toppled over, and his club came off. 291 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,560 So he's actually fractured at that join, here. Yes, yeah. 292 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:08,720 Is that easy to repair? 293 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,560 Um, cast iron is notoriously difficult to weld. 294 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,200 But I can see here there's actually like a mechanical fixing, 295 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,040 which we can take a look at, 296 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,240 to separate and see how best to repair it. 297 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:22,720 I mean, you can weld it, 298 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,480 but you will disturb the finish, the patina. Yes. 299 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,440 Which is something we'd have to be quite careful of. 300 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:33,040 When Matt has worked his magic on this statue, 301 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:34,120 what is the plan? 302 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,880 Oh, we'll put him back on display in the Heritage Centre. 303 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,360 He's got a plinth that he normally stands on, but he's one of our main 304 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,520 exhibits because he represents the industrial heritage of the town. 305 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,240 Right, OK. So I guess it's over to you, Matt. 306 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:49,480 Yeah, we'll see what we can do. OK. 307 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,040 Thank you, Liz, for bringing him in. Leave it with us. 308 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,040 Thank you very much. OK. Thank you very much. 309 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,840 Thank you. Nice to meet you. Bye now. Bye-bye. 310 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,560 I'm really hopeful that Hercules will soon be repaired 311 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:05,280 and back in Westbury. 312 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:10,280 He's been broken for ten years now, and it's also the 25th anniversary 313 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:12,920 of the founding of the Westbury Heritage Society, 314 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,760 so to have Hercules 315 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,640 put back together again would be a great achievement 316 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:18,680 this year. 317 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:22,520 So, 318 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:24,080 how are you going to fix this? 319 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:25,520 Are you going to weld this up? 320 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,920 I think, as it's got such a lovely patina to it, 321 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:30,960 I'm probably going to try 322 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:35,320 and avoid using any hot welding or anything that would disturb this. 323 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,240 There's so much weight in the piece of club, 324 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,400 glue is just not going to be able to hold it. 325 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,640 But if we put another pin and then use that as a Roman joint 326 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,600 to hold it together, we should be able to make 327 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,440 a nice, almost invisible repair. 328 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:48,880 A Roman joint? 329 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,120 Roman joints were used a lot on bronze sculptures, 330 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:53,160 where you wanted to join two parts 331 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,400 or two separate castings together. 332 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,320 It brings them together and clamps the pieces. Oh, excellent. 333 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,520 Yeah. Love that. That's fantastic. 334 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,680 Let's get it all over to your bench, and you can get cracking. 335 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,440 Do you want to pick that up and give me a hand with this? 336 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,920 Give you a hand. Yeah. It's quite heavy. Cor, it is, isn't it? 337 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,520 It really is heavy. 338 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:13,600 There we go. 339 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,000 Here we go. 340 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:23,720 Suzie and Sonnaz have joined forces to repair and restore 341 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:25,480 the classic 1960s leaf chair. 342 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,920 Their biggest challenge is to recreate the fitted leather seat. 343 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,480 First, they've created a template from calico. 344 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:41,400 Now, Suzie is going to see if it will fit the frame of the chair. 345 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:42,600 How you doing, Suzie? Hello. 346 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,840 You look a bit stuck there, girl. You all right? Yeah, well.. Yes. 347 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,160 It's a little bit of a challenge because I'm trying 348 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,880 to suspend my calico pattern 349 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:52,080 for the leaf chair... 350 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:56,520 OK. ..on to the frame, and I started off with the tape on the calico, 351 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:57,840 and it keeps sticking to me. 352 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,320 So I've put all the little pieces all the way around, ready to... 353 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,080 Oh, so this tape is to be stuck on there. Yes, yes. OK. 354 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,040 And this one needs to... If you could... Stick on there? 355 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,320 What, go round? Yeah, just down a little bit. Just down. 356 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,200 There we go, super. Yep. 357 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:18,160 And now I'm just going to go around the curve here and here. 358 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:20,600 So if you'd like to maybe do that side. OK. 359 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,880 So this is to see whether the pattern fits, then, 360 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,120 that you've created. Yeah. 361 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:30,120 Now, this seams... It doesn't want to be tight. 362 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,800 So you want that like that, stuck on there? Brilliant. 363 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:33,920 Yes. 364 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:35,600 You've done a good job there. 365 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:36,960 It's working out. 366 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,880 My famous last words! The kiss of death there, huh? 367 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,920 So, Sonnaz, have we got this right, then? 368 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:44,760 Have you seen this? 369 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,560 Oh, she's going to come over. Oh, yes. 370 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,160 She's going to inspect our work. 371 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,640 Stand by your bunks. It's awesome. 372 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,280 Is that cool? Yeah, really cool. I'm liking this. Remember? 373 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,520 We were worried about how this was going to lay. 374 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:58,680 Yeah, no, that looks great, doesn't it? Yeah. 375 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:00,840 I'm really relieved. I'm pleasantly surprised. 376 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,760 That seam is perfect, cos that's where your lowest 377 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,480 point of weight is going to sit, cos your bum's going to be there. 378 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,320 Yep, yep, yep. Yeah. Yeah, fabulous. So there's going to be eyelets 379 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,680 all the way up here? Yeah. How's it going to be attached? 380 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,840 We're not using tape, are we? We're going to go a little bit hi-tech, aren't we? 381 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:17,560 Well, we're thinking maybe it might be... 382 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,880 Might be string? Elastic bands? 383 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,240 Yeah. So it'll be leather belting going all the way around. OK. 384 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,440 Which is Suzie's department. Cool. 385 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,240 I like the sound of that. Yeah. 386 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,440 But, no, that looks awesome. Yeah. I'm really happy with it. 387 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,040 Confident the calico test sample has been a success, 388 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:43,920 Suzie can now go hell for leather with the real thing. 389 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:45,480 This is a full-grain hide, 390 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,200 which means this is the strongest part, 391 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,040 the top layer of the hide. 392 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,000 And I want to make sure 393 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,360 any area or any seam that's going to take a great deal 394 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,480 of stress, we maximise 395 00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,840 those tougher areas of the hide. 396 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:04,880 I'm really very confident that this is going to look quite lovely 397 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:06,200 when I'm finished. 398 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,800 Will has recruited Steve to help 399 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:24,160 with the brass work on the smoker's stand. 400 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,240 Before replacing the missing pipe rings, 401 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:28,560 he's giving the old ones 402 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:29,880 a bit of a polish. 403 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,080 I think it was obviously very, very well used 404 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:34,440 once upon a time. 405 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,440 Someone very proud of their pipe smoking, I think. 406 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:42,000 The smell of old smoke when I'm doing this is incredible. 407 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,760 Just put the final touches on. 408 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:49,200 For the new rings to fit perfectly and to match the old ones, 409 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,040 Steve has no room for error. 410 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,200 13. I think that'll be all right. I'll give that a whirl. 411 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:01,800 So I'm going to turn this out of the solid bar. 412 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:06,200 It does seem a very large piece of brass to be... 413 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,360 ..turning just for those three pieces, 414 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,760 but it's the only way I can do it. 415 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,200 I'm almost there. 416 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:28,040 Right, that should be deep enough for... 417 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,600 ..three of those units. 418 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,640 But all Steve's efforts will be wasted 419 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,120 if Will doesn't get the woodwork finished on time. 420 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,920 So I've actually taken this back off of Steve's bench, glued it back on. 421 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,480 So I've just finished polishing everything else. I'm just now 422 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:45,760 going to polish this last piece here. 423 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:50,240 And hopefully, then Steve be ready with the brass hoops, but this 424 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,320 is going out the door very soon, 425 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,600 and I'm starting to get quite worried about the time. 426 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:11,840 I keep checking - the last thing I want to do is turn it too small. 427 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:14,280 It's very frustrating when you do that. 428 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,760 So now that the polish is dried, I don't want this to look blingy, 429 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,440 so I'm just using the soft wire wool to take that... 430 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,920 ..the edge off that shine. 431 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,000 I don't want it to like it's been dipped in honey. 432 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,320 HE CHUCKLES 433 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:43,320 The next process is I've got to shape the front of this 434 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,200 and make it rounded, like the original inserts. 435 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,600 Good, that's done. So... 436 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:05,800 That's how they came off the lathe. That's how they 437 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,400 turned up. And hopefully, they'll slip in nicely. 438 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:22,720 On the other side of the workshop, 439 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:25,560 the statue of Hercules is testing the mettle 440 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:27,560 of conservator Matt. 441 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,360 This is quite nerve-racking cos I do only get one go to get 442 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,520 this hole in the right place. 443 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,840 His plan to reattach Hercules' broken club 444 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:44,640 relies entirely on Matt drilling through the 160-year-old iron 445 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:46,640 in exactly the right place. 446 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:48,800 Nice clean hole through there. 447 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,640 Now, the trick with this kind of joint is that we actually want 448 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,200 the hole in the structure inside to be slightly out of line, 449 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,440 so that when you hammer a pin through it, it clamps the two pieces 450 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,160 together. I just need to drill through here slightly lower, 451 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,080 so that when the pin goes through, it gives it a nice firm fit. 452 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,240 This offset fixing is known in the trade as a Roman joint. 453 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,840 The technique is believed to have first been used 454 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,520 by ancient Roman craftsmen. 455 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:28,600 Just biting on that last bit. 456 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:33,360 And we're through. 457 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:35,000 Moment of truth. 458 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:39,680 And that is almost perfect. 459 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,520 You can just see half of the edge of the hole inside, 460 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:45,320 so when the pin goes through, that should clamp that up quite nicely. 461 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,160 Right, Matt, how are you getting on? 462 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,560 Not too bad. 463 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:51,920 Just cutting the pin off 464 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,040 that will make the final joint for the club. 465 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:55,840 This is the Roman joint, is it? 466 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:57,160 This is the Roman joint. 467 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,000 I love learning about things like that. 468 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,520 I'm going to use that in things that I make as well. 469 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,360 That's fantastic. 470 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:05,480 So it takes two of you to fix Hercules, yeah? 471 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,160 THEY LAUGH 472 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,200 Cor, blimey. I thought you guys were stronger than this guy. No, no. 473 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,720 This is a really, really, really clever fix. 474 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,440 So there's nothing I could do to this? 475 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,800 You could put the pin in if you want. I could do the honours? 476 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,040 You could. Can I just ask a question? 477 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,520 Is there any danger in it splitting the cast iron? 478 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,880 Because if you're pulling it in, 479 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,040 if the holes are out of line too much, 480 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:30,240 it would then crack it, wouldn't it? That is a possibility. 481 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:32,280 So we've just got to hope that we've... 482 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,720 ..got the right preparation. Now you tell me! 483 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,400 Just put a little bit of pressure on me, haven't you? 484 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,640 I'm just saying that this isn't plain sailing, this is 485 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,400 a very skilful job. If it really doesn't go, stop. OK. 486 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:46,920 Cos then we could pull it back out. Yeah. 487 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,400 Careful. Yeah, yeah, I am watching. 488 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,720 Can I just...? Can I just...? 489 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,880 Is that all right? I'm actually seeing. I'm just checking. 490 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,760 It is a little bit... Off? Off, yeah. 491 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,080 So what we could do is knock it back out, yeah? 492 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,040 One of them. OK. 493 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,760 There we are. Thanks, Steve. 494 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,160 A quick job with a file should sort that out. 495 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,160 Have you got the pin? Course I have. 496 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:33,360 Yep. 497 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:36,880 It's going. 498 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:38,440 It's come through. There we are. 499 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,240 And you can see it coming out at, like, an angle. 500 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:43,840 We've actually sort of used the pin as a spring almost 501 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,160 to pull the two bits together. Pull them together. 502 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,440 That's incredible. What are you trying to do, break it? 503 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:49,600 No, no. It's not coming off. 504 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:51,800 What you're going to do is chop off the ends. Yeah, 505 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,840 we'll cut those down and then darken them up. 506 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,000 OK. Oh, well done. So you don't see it. Yeah. 507 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,800 I look forward to seeing that. No, well done. It's nice. 508 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:00,240 Thank you. 509 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,640 With Jane due back any moment, 510 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,600 Will is finishing the repairs to the smoker's stand. 511 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,480 He's just waiting for Steve to give him a ring. Or three. 512 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:19,040 Hopefully, 513 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:20,480 by the time I've buffed this up, 514 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:22,640 if Steve has finished the brass rings, 515 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,840 he'll be putting those finishing touches, the cherry on the top, 516 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:27,520 and we can hand it back to Jane. 517 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,640 Here they are. Yes! I'll push those in. 518 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,320 They look absolutely amazing, Steve. 519 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,120 Would you like to tuck them in? 520 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:40,800 Go on, Steve. 521 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,720 I'll hold it to make sure it doesn't move. Ready? Yeah. 522 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:48,400 Oh. 523 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,320 Ow. OK... 524 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:57,520 This is broken. 525 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,200 How did you manage to do that? 526 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:01,680 WILL LAUGHS 527 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:04,760 Don't start, Steve, please. 528 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:06,840 Take that out, I'll turn it off 529 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,520 while you glue it. There you go. 530 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:12,080 It's really annoying. 531 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:13,600 HE LAUGHS 532 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,600 I didn't take into account 533 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,120 the fact that the grain of the wood is running this way. 534 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,680 So this is actually going to be quite a weak point here. 535 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,520 So we've been tapping it too hard, 536 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:27,760 and it's broken. 537 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,480 Steve's gone back over to his bench. 538 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,800 He's making the brass hoops slightly narrower 539 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:34,160 so they'll fit a lot better. 540 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,240 And in the meantime, I've got to find some glue. 541 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:45,240 They'll probably be too loose now. 542 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,960 Hopefully, that's the right size now. 543 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,160 So I'm using a really speedy glue. 544 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:15,560 Are you having to hold it? Yeah, I'm having to hold it, 545 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,520 clamp it with my hands. Can I put the one in here? 546 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,800 I'll put this one in, Steve, cos I don't trust you to touch anything. 547 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,400 Not on this... OK! I know. STEVE LAUGHS 548 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:25,640 There you go. Good. 549 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,640 If you want something done right the first time... 550 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,000 Stop it. ..don't ask Steve. 551 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:32,520 THEY LAUGH No, I'm joking. 552 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,240 With the family heirloom 553 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,320 finally back in one piece, 554 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,480 it's almost time to hand it back to owner Jane. 555 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,280 Really, the smoker's stand, in essence, it's just wood. 556 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,320 But to me, it's a lot more than just wood. 557 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,080 It was always there. 558 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,800 It was something that your grandparents had actually touched 559 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:55,920 and used. 560 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,080 So to me, it's not just piece of wood, 561 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,840 it's a piece of my childhood. 562 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,440 Hello. Hello. Nice to see you again. 563 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:07,960 And you, yes. 564 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,880 So... HE CHUCKLES 565 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,160 It's a bit of a giveaway, the fact that it's standing upright. 566 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,600 Yes. Shall we take a look? 567 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:17,440 Yes, please. 568 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:21,840 Oh, wow. 569 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,200 That is fantastic. 570 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,920 It looks absolutely wonderful. 571 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:29,960 Thank you so much. 572 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:32,360 It's beautiful. 573 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,640 I'm speechless. Thank you so much. 574 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,440 I don't think it's ever looked good. 575 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:38,960 Never. 576 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:40,120 So if I show you the top, 577 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,480 turned out that you're actually missing three 578 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:44,320 of the brass hoops here. 579 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,240 Oh, right! And our in-house wizard, Steve, 580 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,920 was able to make some new ones. 581 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,680 And the leg, look at the bottom. Yep. 582 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,560 You can't even see where it was, cos there was a big hole 583 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,600 and a gap there. Yeah. You're a genius. 584 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,600 It brings back some lovely, lovely memories. 585 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,680 It really does. 586 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,400 And over the last week, when I've been thinking about them, 587 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,800 those memories have been rolling down my face a little bit. 588 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:12,920 Really? Yeah, yeah. 589 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,360 So how do you think your grandfather would feel if he could see it 590 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,720 on its three legs now? He would be amazed, absolutely amazed. 591 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,200 And he'd probably have it filled with pipes already. 592 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:23,880 THEY LAUGH 593 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,320 It's over to you to treasure for many more years to come. 594 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,440 And I will do. Thank you so much. 595 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:31,080 Thanks for coming down. Thank you. 596 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:32,400 Thanks, bye-bye. Bye-bye. 597 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:41,120 During the last week, I've been thinking about the smoker's stand. 598 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:46,320 And it made me quite emotional and quite tearful at times. 599 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,120 I can't believe how beautiful it looks. 600 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,800 And I think both my grandma and grandad would be really proud 601 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:56,960 that it looks like it does now and that it's been mended. 602 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,680 Suzie is making headway with the leather-work 603 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,440 for the leaf chair. 604 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,400 The seams are sewn, the excess leather has been trimmed. 605 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,920 Now she's calling on the upholstery skills of Sonnaz 606 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,520 to help piece together the three separate sections. 607 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:23,240 So... This is the exciting bit. Yes. 608 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,120 I'm actually going to start sewing from here because this section 609 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,960 is far too thick... Right. ..for this machine to go through. 610 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,360 OK. So I'll finish it off by hand. OK. 611 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,760 This width of the foot here 612 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,560 is what I'm going to line up to the turn. Yep. 613 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,120 So as I'm going along, I'm just going to keep pulling it. 614 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,720 OK. And if you feel like I'm pulling too much, 615 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,280 just tell me, "Stop." OK. Safe word - stop. OK. 616 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:50,760 Cool. LAUGHS: OK. 617 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,640 So this is the face stitch, which is - 618 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:55,800 just before you start - 619 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:57,280 the most crucial stitch. 620 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,440 It's going to help form the spine. 621 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:01,760 Yeah. But also it's very visible. 622 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:05,240 So the goal is to... 623 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,040 ..to make sure it looks really beautiful, 624 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,360 and I'm going to go really, really slow. OK. 625 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,080 Every stitch counts, doesn't it? 626 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:19,400 Yeah, I think we'll just go in incremental stages, and then... 627 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,840 ..reposition... Every now and then. 628 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,640 That line looks amazing. Does it? Yeah. 629 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,240 Cos you can see it, I can't. No, you keep going. 630 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:32,960 It looks great. 631 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:35,040 That's why I need your eyes. Yeah. 632 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:37,560 Great! Yes! All right. 633 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:39,920 Shall I pull it? Let's pull this puppy up. Yep. 634 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:41,760 Oh, look at that! Oh! 635 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:44,400 That was lucky. 636 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,280 End of the bobbin. 637 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:49,040 I could have swore... How lucky was that? That was a full bobbin 638 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,480 that I had on. That's so lucky. 639 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,200 Could you imagine if that was somewhere in the middle? 640 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,720 Tears. No, I would have been quite upset. Absolutely. 641 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,520 That's upholstery gods watching. Thank God. Yeah. 642 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:15,320 Now Hercules has been reunited with his broken club, 643 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,920 Matt is striving to make the join as seamless as possible. 644 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,200 So we've cut the pins off 645 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,800 flat with the surface, so that they're a nice snug fit. 646 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,920 So I've just got to file back the last of the raised surface 647 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:34,560 so it's really nice and flush with the original, 648 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:36,320 and then I have a 649 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:40,120 patinating solution that will darken the surface and hopefully make 650 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,560 those heads invisible. 651 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:47,120 Patinating solution is a mix of phosphoric and tannic acids 652 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,360 which act on shiny new metal to give it an aged appearance. 653 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:56,120 It starts off white, but it dries purply black. 654 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:59,880 Should match in with the rest of Hercules. 655 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:02,600 It's changing colour already. It works really quickly. 656 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,880 And once we've got some wax over that, 657 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,000 it should be a really nice repair. 658 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,680 I mean, you've still got some of the evidence of the damage, 659 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:11,600 but that's part of the object's history. 660 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:13,760 Should be good for another 150 years now. 661 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:18,760 Looking good. Are you finished? 662 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,360 Yeah, done. 663 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:23,280 Cracking job. 664 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,320 The break was so perfect, it just got back together. 665 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:28,920 Brilliant. 666 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:30,840 Buffed to perfection, 667 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,800 all that remains is to return Hercules to the Wiltshire community, 668 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:40,400 where Heritage Society secretary Liz is awaiting the finished result. 669 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:44,600 Oh, we wanted to get Hercules restored because he's the only thing 670 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,880 left of the beam engine from Bitham Mill. 671 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:53,400 It will be a reminder for the people of Westbury of the legacy 672 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:55,680 of the cloth mills in the town. 673 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:58,320 I'm really looking forward to seeing what he looks like. 674 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,320 Hello. Are you all right? Good morning. 675 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,800 Word has spread about the strong man's restoration, 676 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,240 and a crowd is gathering to witness his return. 677 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:11,320 Among them is Sue Robinson, the daughter of former factory 678 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:12,880 employee Jack Ingram. 679 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,240 My father started working at the mill in 1936. 680 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,400 He was the maintenance engineer. 681 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,440 After Laverton's closed down in 1969, 682 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:27,040 he rescued Hercules because I think he was going to go for scrap. 683 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:28,520 He'd be thrilled to bits that, 684 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,000 you know, that he was being properly looked after. 685 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,280 Right, let's see what he looks like. 686 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,080 Oh, there he is. Oh, wow! 687 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:41,520 You can't see where it was broken, can you? No. 688 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,440 You can't see a join at all. 689 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:45,440 Oh, fantastic job. 690 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:47,600 Good as new. Back to one piece now. 691 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,880 Isn't that...? That is really good. 692 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:51,440 Well done. 693 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,120 Great! 694 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:55,800 What do you think, Sue? 695 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,640 I think he's brilliant. He's absolutely amazing. Yeah. 696 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:02,960 I think we were a little bit concerned how the repair 697 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:04,560 would actually look. 698 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,360 But he's as good as new, and we're really pleased about that. 699 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,480 He looks absolutely brilliant. 700 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:20,920 I'm really, really pleased. 701 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:22,720 I can come look at him at any time, 702 00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:25,800 and be reminded of my dad. 703 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,600 Well, to have Hercules back, repaired, is really wonderful. 704 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,640 It gives us a lovely... 705 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,840 ..piece of art to display in the Heritage Centre. 706 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:38,480 And now that he's back, 707 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,920 we're going to have to look after him very carefully. Absolutely. 708 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:52,800 Back at the workshop, 709 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:56,600 Suzie and Sonnaz have carefully cut out the challenging leather pattern 710 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:58,320 for the leaf chair 711 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,600 and are moulding it into shape. 712 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:03,440 Now Suzie needs to punch holes into the leather 713 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,040 so it can be attached to the metal frame. 714 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:12,320 I've turned the leather over and marked the spots where I need 715 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:16,680 to punch holes for the lacing that's actually going to hold the leather 716 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,920 on to the frame of the chair. 717 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:22,240 It is at a point like this, as with any item 718 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:27,840 that we're working on, that you've put so much into checking, 719 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:32,520 triple checking, quadruple checking that everything's right, 720 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,920 that if you slip up at this stage of the game, 721 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:36,680 that would be a disaster. 722 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,400 So here goes. 723 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:45,880 And there's the hole. 724 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:50,200 So now I'm going to put some of the eyelets in. 725 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:52,560 And what I have is this cylinder, 726 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:56,240 and this sits into this little channel here, 727 00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:00,400 and then we push down the leather around that eyelet 728 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:05,560 so that the tip of this tool goes down, in there. 729 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:09,520 As I hit it, it's going to flange the male part 730 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,040 of that eyelet around that disc that I just put on there. 731 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:18,280 And there we have the eyelet. 732 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:21,720 I think that looks rather beautiful, and that's 733 00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:23,800 going to be all the way around. 734 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,160 It's just really going to 735 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:30,000 highlight the whole style of this chair. 736 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:48,080 That's three done. I've got about 97 more to do. 737 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:51,200 So I'd better get on with it. 738 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:01,360 Dozens of holes and many metres of leather lacing later, 739 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:03,760 the end is finally in sight. 740 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:05,680 Just tidy off the ends and... 741 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:09,120 ..I think we're finished. 742 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:13,120 This tattered and torn 50-year-old chair had been idle and empty 743 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:14,600 for the last decade. 744 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:22,520 Today, its original owner Matilda, Nonna as she's known to her family, 745 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:27,160 has come to the Repair Shop with son-in-law Jeff and grandson Carl 746 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:29,680 to collect their treasured design classic. 747 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:32,440 Hello. Oh, my... 748 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:35,800 Come on in. It's lovely to see you. Come in, Come in. 749 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,520 So, it's been a little while since you've been without your chair. 750 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:41,440 JEFF: Yeah, it has. Yes. 751 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:46,960 And, Nonna, you were the original owner of the chair. 752 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:48,240 Yeah, I was. 753 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:50,400 What attracted you to the chair? 754 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:53,080 Well, it was unusual, something we'd never seen. 755 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:55,880 We used to go to Wales nearly every week, 756 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,480 and we saw it and we thought, "Oh, we'll have that." 757 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,840 But then our house was full of unusual things. 758 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:02,360 Was it? Oh, really? Oh, yeah. 759 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:06,720 And so, Carl, how much have you missed this chair? Quite a bit. 760 00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:10,320 I haven't been able to use it for the last ten years, 761 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:12,480 so I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks. 762 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,080 Yeah, I'm excited to see what it looks like, 763 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:16,960 if it looks like it was before. 764 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:19,440 OK. We ready? Yeah. 765 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:23,640 Oh, wow. 766 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,360 Oh, it's gorgeous. Look at that. 767 00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:28,840 Oh, it's beautiful, it's lovely. What do you think, Nonna? 768 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:30,760 It's absolutely beautiful. 769 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:32,680 It's so nice. 770 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:36,520 Oh, love the leather. It's really nice. It's really nice. 771 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:38,440 I'm sorry I can't have it in my house! 772 00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:40,120 THEY LAUGH 773 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:43,680 I'm pleased that you have it and you enjoy it. Thanks, Nonna. 774 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:46,560 Yeah, that's really nice. Yeah, it's beautiful. 775 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:48,560 Do you want to sit in it, Nonna? 776 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:51,560 Oh, yeah. I don't know whether I can get there. 777 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:54,480 There you are. It's like the old days. Oh, it's wonderful. 778 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:56,960 Yeah. It's lovely, really nice. 779 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:59,280 Is it comfy? Yeah. Oh, yeah. 780 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,120 It's very comfy. I can stay here now! 781 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:05,080 Does it remind you of sitting in it all those...? Oh, yeah, yeah. 782 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,840 In fact, it looks nicer than I thought it would. 783 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:11,360 Oh, well done! Great news! 784 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:13,080 I didn't know, I was a bit apprehensive. 785 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:15,120 I thought it can't look as nice as it was before. 786 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:17,080 Yeah, of course. But it's very nice. 787 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:18,560 You've done really a good job. 788 00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:20,920 I'm really very impressed. Thank you very much. 789 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:29,160 It's beautiful. I hope you enjoy it. I will. 790 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:30,840 I know we did. 791 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:32,360 Well, it was... 792 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:36,640 ..it was a wonderful, wonderful chair to work on. 793 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:39,080 It's in my heart forever now. 794 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:42,600 I'm glad you enjoyed making it as well. I did. 795 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,200 I really, really did. 796 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:45,720 Yeah, I learned a lot. 797 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:48,000 It's really lovely. Thank you, Nonna. 798 00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:53,760 Yeah, I'm really, really pleased with the way it looks. 799 00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:56,080 Can't wait to get in it. 800 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,320 A lot better than I expected as well. 801 00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:01,480 Well, I don't know. I didn't expect anything, 802 00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:04,200 I just wait and see what it looks like, but it's beautiful. 803 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,800 Beautifully done, and I'm glad it's like that. 804 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:10,880 I hope it will serve you. A good thing for many years! 805 00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:12,080 Yeah, yeah, definitely. 806 00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:13,840 Take care of it! I will. Yeah. 807 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:21,720 Join us next time in the Repair Shop 808 00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:24,680 as the doors open to more cherished items... 809 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,360 Gosh, that's just amazing. 810 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:29,560 ..for the team to rescue and bring back to life.