Victorian Dingle Balls

So much for slacking on the couch. I was so close to finishing the stripping of the stairs I decided to just do it. There were 2 small boards that needed to have the shellac stripped off and then I needed to oil the wood. After that came parts replacement.

The methyl chloride based strippers work so well on shellac you are basically left with bare wood. Today I went over everything with #1 steel wool first. By this time, a week or more after the last of the majority of the stripping, any residue of the stripper is crunchy and comes off easily with steel wool. This is really only the occasional thin streak. After that I essentially wash the wood with boiled linseed oil and turpentine. I wipe down the wood with a rung out sponge and then quickly wipe it down with a paper towel.



Next came putting on what are really just the Victorian version of dingle balls. I still can't figure out why so many are missing. I had to pry one off to take it to the mill when I had the missing ones reproduced. They were each put on with 4, two and a half inch finish nails. It took effort to get it off without breaking it. My working theory is that they were all removed by the same person who had some sort of necrotic obsession with them. I was left with 3 originals.

Once on, the stairs look so much better.