Authentic Victorian hardware in good condition is very rare and many people in South Africa do not know the real value of that painted blob behind their doors and windows. Restoration of especially locks is one of our biggest departments and in our business a well-looked after lock is seldom found. Below is a restored […]
Author Archives: Francois van Zyl
Lighting is a recent addition to our business and although the market is flooded with different designs and materials, it is still very good business. We prefer not to get on the same bandwagon and only concentrate on custom-made lamps for customers with specific requirements. We also recently added the restoration of the traditional oil […]
This beautiful oil lamp belongs to Dr Erwin Coetzee of Calvinia and his wife Alta. They have given me five lamps, all in parts, for restoration. My enthusiasm continuously grew as I made progress on this lamp. The only outstanding part is the glass dome on top. To get this far, we first serviced the […]
The Steenberg Heritage – Page 164 In the shade of Constantiaberg lies the well-known Steenberg, a Cape Dutch farmstead and five-star Hotel., where I have been commissioned to manufacture and restore various pieces of hardware. This was my second project for Graham Beck Wines and one of my biggest at that stage. Under the […]
One of our discerning clients Visser Architects in Cape Town, often come up with the most interesting ideas. In this case, for example, replicas of old-fashioned door and window furniture were used in modern homes. The products are manufactured in brass to avoid rust. The espagnolette on the right (pictured here before plating) and the […]
A request for cellar door hinges and additional door furniture often come our way, but the requirements for size and finishing are never the same. On the left below are two hinges requested by a private cellar. The hinges on the top and bottom carry the weight of the doors easily, but to improve the […]
From ‘Junk’ to Gem – page 94 In the beginning of 2006 I was contacted by a respected craftsman and restorer Craig Blease of Swellendam. Craig was restoring this very interesting little handmade box made of English walnut and which, according to him, could date back more than four centuries. He pulled me in to […]
Metalworker – page 47. Thanks to our friends and client Pier and Jo-Marie Rabe I got a write-up in this wonderful magazine. It was at the beginning of my business and every bit of advertising was important. Even today, six years later, I still get calls resulting from this little article. Advertising in the […]
It is not often that you will find an old Bible in a workshop were brass hardware is made, unless you are very religious and can understand Dutch! However, here are two examples of old Dutch Bibles we worked on. On the left is a Bible dating from 1818, the brasswork of which we have […]
Hierdie ou mynlanterns is vandag redelik skaars. Hier en daar sal jy miskien een by n oudhedewinkel opspoor. My kliënt wou graag vier gehad het wat eenders lyk en in ‘n werkende toestand is aangesien hy dit wil gebruik. Hy het ‘n voorbeeld by n vriend geleen wat ek moes naboots. Mynlanterns Daar is […]