PATINA July 13, 2025 Meeting featuring Chris Swan, senior conservator at Williamsburg
The July 2025 in-person CLUB meeting in McLean VA, will be SUNDAY July 13. Start time is 9:00am.
The guest Speaker will be Chris Swan, senior conservator at Williamsburg, who will present a discussion on tool preservation.
Chris is a furniture and wooden artifacts Conservator at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia where he has been since February 1999, and where he also completed his third-year graduate internship, and a Getty post-graduate internship from 1994-1996. In between positions in Williamsburg, he served two years as the Mellon Fellow and then as Assistant Conservator in Furniture Conservation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Chris is a 1985 graduate of the University of Dallas, and a 1995 graduate of the Buffalo State College Art Conservation Master’s Degree Program.
The idea to invite Chris was sparked after reading various tool forums where so many guys were asking if they should clean a tool, or how to clean it, and the responses were often conflicting and unclear. Chris supported the CW exhibit “Tools, Working Wood in 18th Century America” that was led by Jay Gaynor. CW also houses the largest collection of Cesar Chelor and Nicholson planes so Chris is well aware of our passion and care for antique tools.
Join us for slides and a discussion on caring for tools from a Museum Objects Conservator’s perspective. Examples of museum and collecting applications will be illustrated alongside practical recommendations for hand tools –whether for collecting or use.
Some questions we’ll explore are:
What’s the difference between cleaning and polishing and when should they be employed?
What are some options for cleaning or converting rusted iron?
How should I polish brass?
Does Electrolysis work?
Can I replate lost metal?
We’ll break down some basic concepts, learn to identify and differentiate some treatments, and dispel some old wives’ tales.
We have invited the Washington Woodworker’s Guild to join us for this event, and we hope to record the content for posting on our websites.
Please bring visitors, spouses, and any guests!
Location: American Legion Post 270, 1355 Balls Hill Rd, McLean VA.
The tailgating begins around 9AM and the indoor meeting will commence at 11:00 with a mini-auction which we have not held recently. Bring some good stuff that you no longer need. No fee.
As always, we will use the upper lot only for tailgating. Please park in the lower lot if you are not planning to set up a table. Start time: 9:00am for tailgating.