Repairing an antique mirror

[KelsiP]

I have a nice antique mirror I got from my grandmother, and I'm not looking to alter it (not fond of the trend of painting gorgeous solid wood pieces tbh) but there are two issues: 1) the arms are loose and 2) it's not actually adjustable and the mirror itself just swings freely on the frame unless you stick something between it and the wall.
What steps should I take toward fixing either of these issues?

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Hi and welcome.


It depends whether you want to restore it or repair it.
Repairing it is the easier fix.


It's difficult to see, but it looks as if those brass wing nuts might close up or loosen clamps on either side of the pivot.
Can you get the mirror out of the clamp by completely unscrewing the wing nuts?

It maybe that the pivots on which the mirror swings have worn over time andare not beig clamped sufficiently by tightening the wing nut.
It might be just a case off replacing the pivots with something thicker that would offer more resistance.

 

[KelsiP]

Repair is really all I'm going for; I realize restoration is pretty extensive. The wing nuts won't budge; tried using some penetrating oil on them, but it didn't help.

 

[Silentrunning]

First of all- thank you, thank you, thank you for not wanting to paint over that beautiful wood finish. If you are just looking for a quick fix to make it usable without altering the originality Try some wood glue. Apply it out of sight and very sparingly so this can still be disassembled in the future. Someday you may want to do a full restoration on it. It would be well worth it.

 

[KelsiP]

Oh, there's no question about not painting it. TBH was inspired to finally fix it up after watching some decorating shows on Netflix and I feel a jolt of horror every time they take a gorgeous solid wood piece and then just paint over it. When I first got it I thought it might need to be refinished, but a bit of beeswax polish brought back a gorgeous glow.

I'll keep the full restoration in mind, but until I feel more confident in my abilities I don't want to risk doing anything that might damage the piece.

Current plan is to try removing the plugs at the bottom, clean it up, and add wood glue to secure them before replacing.

 

[KelsiP]

. . . okay, so one plug twisted off neatly; the other one stuck and then splintered. I think it crossed the line from DIY to "contact someone with more experience who can see it directly" territory. It smelled pretty musty, so I think the loose arms were ultimately a sign of hidden issues.

Until a professional can see it, my plan is just to try and clean up the gunk hidden under the arms and at least have the base in good condition for future reattachment.