Welcome to RetroRefit, a place where we share some of the highlights and experiences of restoring and refitting some of the finer vintage furniture pieces to extend their life, beauty, and usefulness for another 50+ years!
We have had enormous fun for 12 years, and have had tens of thousands of viewers from 84 countries visit us. Hopefully you’ll find a posting here that will be helpful as you try to give your vintage furniture a second life, or maybe help answer a vexing question, or, on occasion, even seeing how you can turn a $5 rummage sale item into a $50+ treasure.
(Updated in 2023: I’m afraid that the husband in this dynamic duo has passed away. I’m going to leave this site up, and honor his memory by leaving these beautiful words he wrote, below. Sending You Love, My Love of my Life.)
We are a couple that enjoys working together. We complement each other’s skills: she’s creative, intuitive, bright, visionary, and the penultimate bargain hunter. Also, she is unbelievable with stains and finishes and an expert on Danish mid-century furniture. The true brains of our efforts!
On the other hand, I’m detail-oriented, inventive, and maybe too much of a perfectionist. If I have to make anything more complex than a rough cut, I’ll make a detailed shop drawing, complete with photos and measurements, to a tolerance of .005″ on the metal items. I work with both metal and wood, and have the basic basic tools (and a few unique ones) required to do many things. So I’m her collaborator and the one to put form to wood and metal.
As I hope is your experience, we are incredibly gratified when we can refurbish a not so great looking piece of mid-century furniture and give it new life, an updated look, a new set of reproduction knobs, or a restoration to its original finish or function.
This is our hobby which provides much pleasure, work with our hands as well as our heads, and enjoyment of the final product. A lot of what you will see is still part of our home furnishing or those of friends. We want to share the information and insight we’ve gained through the years in the hope that we can help you save the piece that you treasure.
For the sake of having a common understanding in our discussions, here are some of words or phrases we’ll be using occasionally in this blog:
Refit: to make something ready for use again, especially by adding new parts. We love the furniture and furnishings of the 50’s and 60’s, and that’s where we came up with…
Retrorefit: making the style of an earlier time ready again for use again by refitting, restoring, repairing, and/or refurbishing it.
Refurbish: to repair and make improvements.
Restore: to return something to an earlier or original condition by repairing it, cleaning it, refinishing it, etc.
Retro / Vintage: for out purposes, “retro” or “vintage” will refer to furniture and other items from the Danish Modern era (now Danish Mid-Century”) in the 50’s through the 1980’s. Items posted will usually have the following characteristics:They will generally be built well and constructed of quality components: specific hardwoods, metals and period appropriate joinery define eras.
- The design will be unique or represent a revolution in style, an example being the George Nelson Omni Wall System.
- Item detail that is typical or iconic, helping place the piece in time.
- Restoration is the preferred option for furniture, however refinishing and refurbishing is often necessary on pieces where veneer, basic hardware, or some structural components have been damaged, are missing, or no longer perform their original function.
Please enjoy our posts, subscribe to automatically receive new posts, or by all means, please ask us a question!
Thanks for visiting RetroRefit!
Hi! A question: I need to replace the teak drawer pulls on an old Danish modern desk. The desk has just one left. Does anyone carry them? Is there anyone with a lathe who could replacate them? I’m in Maine, USA.
Thanks!
Charlie
Hi Charlie!
Could you send me a photo of the knob? I have a lathe duplicator that can copy an original. With the photo and dimensions from you I can check out the price of the wood and give you a price. By the way, what kind of desk is it?
8-))
Retro –
Thanks for the quick response. The desk is from Drexel’s Parallel line, model 980-101-2, photo attached. The knob is teak, 1 1/16″ long and 3/4″ wide. It’s drilled through and has a brass binder post like these:
http://monsterfastener.com/item/bpa-080?gclid=CjkKEQjw-uubBRDs6rqExIXy7ZsBEiQACq4FqewgddM0unPdcMqNxCs5eFFeZSagUZldx2jfuAw4x6Dw_wcB
The head of the binder post is 1/2″ across and is inset into the front of the knob.
I’ll take some pictures of the knob and post soon and email them to you. Where are you located?
Charlie
Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 01:21:35 +0000 To: charliebernstein@hotmail.com
I’m delighted to learn that parts are available for my Omni unit purchased 1967 and still in use. I will be moving the unit again soon and realize I need to replace several Bakelite brackets that fit inside the cabinet openings: 1 Male right, 1 Male left. Are these available at this time and at what cost? I also could use (1) Female bracket when available.
Hi Chris,
I do have just a couple of inside brackets left and will contact you in a separate email. I’m getting closer to making the pole bracket but not quite there yet.
Regards!
Hi- Not sure if this is the right place to contact you, but I just found your website. I, too, have a 1961 drexel parallel desk that I would love to restore- I’ve lost one of the drawer pulls (which is how I found your website)- and need a replacement one. I also need some suggestions on how I might (if possible) repair the pull-out desk-top. It got some severe water damage/lifting of veneer while in storage. Is there any way a mere mortal can fix such a thing (i.e, ‘me”).
Thank you so much. Hope this finds you/doesn’t get lost in the ether…
-Tamara
Hi Tamara!
I think I can help you with your desk. We’ll need to communicate offline about the knob. The knob hardware will be a problem as the standard brass post is much smaller now and sort of gets lost in the old knob’s front counter-bore. I’d need to see your veneer problem to help. It is indeed something you could do as a small project. Let’s communicate via email and you can send me some photos.
Regards,
RetroRefit
I have an original Omni wall unit from, I believe the 1960s, with copper tension poles and fittings. I need some of the black hooks for hanging the cabinets. Are you back to making them? All of my shelves (7) and one cabinet were recently damaged in a flood in my basement. The cabinet can be salvaged, but shelves suffered mold damage and cannot be saved. My options at this point seem to be put the unit up and find some shelves that will work, or try to sell what I have. Any suggestions?
Hi Linda,
I’m so sorry about the flood damage…what a shame. I am working on the hooks and should have some done in the next few weeks. I’ve made about 50 of the wood bases and am working on the aluminum part now.
What you do with the unit depends on how attached you are to it and what use you now want to get out of it. Every once in a while shelves become available on eBay. If you don’t care about original shelves and still have the shelf hardware brackets, you can get new teak veneer shelves made and you’re back in business. I hope you have flood insurance that may cover the costs of new ones.
Selling the individual pieces on eBay will bring you top dollar if you choose to sell. It’s just a pain packaging things like the long poles, but you can get a quote from a local packer/shipper to do that.
Let me know what you decide to do. Thanks for your post.
Retro
Hi: I picked up a Steelcase office/secretary’s chair in really nice shape at an estate sale. Looks like late-’60s vintage. It seems to work great except I can’t figure out how to keep it at the height I’ve raised it to. It’s the kind with a screw pedastal that rises as you screw counterclockwise. I screw it upward all the way only to notice it has settled back down after a few days. I’m probably overlooking something obvious. I’ll guess that the issue I’m having with it isn’t due to a malfunction; it is very clean/original condition and doesn’t appear ever to have been heavily used as it sat for ages in a forgotten basement den of an elderly widow. The model # handwritten on bottom is 275, and in a box below is 1073321. Thank you for any insights.
Hi Dan,
Afraid I have little insight to your problem. The only suggestion I have without being able to take your chair apart is that A lot of the Steelcase chairs use gas cylinders and if yours has been sitting for years without being exercised, the seals might have aged and leak. There are a few videos on YouTube you might check out. If it is the gas cylinder, you can purchase a replacement part on the internet and replace it. Thanks! Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Thanks! You’ve just told me more than I knew! It just might be the issue. I’ll check it out. Thank you so much for your response.
Hi, Love your web page and information. Do you happen to know a source of supply for the oatmeal color tweed/wool fabric that is used on the Mobler Teak dinning room chairs?
Thank you
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
It’s hard to answer your question – Mobler is the Danish word for furniture. Is there a name before the “Mobler” on the chairs? Do you have a photo you might send?
I have a lovely teak arm chair that I bought on ebay – the brackets that the chair back and seat slide into have broken or bent. The pins are still fine. Can the brackets be found still or should I take them to a local machine shop to be reproduced? My chair has no brand or maker name on it, but it is stamped 5001W Made in Denmark and has beautiful lines. Also, can you recommend a material for the replacement brackets – the old ones look to be brass.
Hi Mary, Sounds like your chairs may be Grete Jalk armchairs – the style is indeed beautiful. I’m not familiar with the brackets, but from what I can guess, the brackets would be brass. A local shop may indeed be a good bet to make some new brackets. If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to take a look at some photos of the brackets and let you know more about what they are and how much they might cost. Thanks for your comment!
Here is my repaired chair – the technician in our physics department machined me a new cleat and I put the chair back together. I included a closeup of the red stamped information. It is hard to read, but it says, “5001 W MADE IN DENMARK. Thank you for your encouragement.
Mary Prevo
>
Yes, I think you are right. I have a friend who works in a shop in a physics department who may be able to machine me new brackets. I did some looking around and it is likely a Grete Jalk chair. Thank you for the information.
Hi I recently found your post regarding replacing the brass nuts at the end of a swivel back Arne Vodder chair. Would you be willing to fabricate a few of these for me to purchase from you? I don’t believe any are stripped, just missing, but I will check. If not maybe you could point me in the right direction for a type shop that might be able to help.
Thank you in advance for your help.
-Ryan
Hi Ryan,
I do have some extra Vodder brass nuts. Let me know how many you need, and if you could check the size of your threads on the posts on the chair backs, that would help to ensure I have the right nuts for you. Or if you have a nut, we can arrange for you to send that to me for a standard and I’d send all the brass nuts back to you. Thanks
Retro
I read that you are having the George Nelson cabinet brackets made. I am in need of four of the hooks, mine finally just gave out. Do you sell them?
Hi Dan,
I have less than 10 left and have the materials to make another run. Let me know and I can send you 4.
Regards, Retro
Hi Dan,
I am impressed with your production of the Drexel Parallel series door pull knobs. Wow!
I have a Drexel Declaration credenza with one missing knob. I believe it is the same as those in the Parallel series.
Do you have any more?
Thank you
Hi Dan, if you are still looking, I’m going to be making a run of Drexel knobs.
Hi! I am interested in your George Nelson Omni retrofit brackets – the 3-inch hole ones (bakelite) that attach the components to the poles. My parents had an Omni set from the 60s, and I would like to set it up in my home. I would need 12 of them. Please contact me via email, and I can send you a picture of the unit.
Thank you!
Hi,
After looking at a number of your posts about the George Nelson Omni system, I still have a basic question. Are there installation instruction available? I have a 5 bay unit I plan to set up in a wall to wall situation. This is circa 1962 set originally purchased in Chicago by an engineer, I bought from him about 10 years ago and have put together but after being in storage I have forgotten and rather guessed the first time. I have many extra miscellaneous parts including T nuts and poles. Would be willing to sell.
Thanks,
Shannon
Shannon, I know it’s been a year….but if you still need instructions, you’d find them on the page called PDFs…
Apologies for not replying. My husband fell ill, and sadly, passed away.
Hello. I”m very saddened to hear of your husband’s passing. It looks like you made a great team. Not to bother you, but by any chance do you know if there are any of the wooden Barney Flagg pulls for Drexel’s Parallel line still available to purchase. If not, do you know anyone reproducing them? Deepest condolences, Danny
Danny, thank you SO much. Oh my, I have been remiss in looking at comments here…
Actually, do you still need them? I am gathering up my husband’s boxes of parts and planning to sell them, and it looks like I have a box of the originals and probably some perfect repros too.
Feel free to email directly to mareker3@gmail.com, or call me (Dana) at 408 316 8710