a great local find (or a standard to many)
If you live in Wilmette you hopefully have had the pleasure of meeting the fine folks at Millen’s Hardware. A day never goes by when one of our staff members stops in to purchase something we don’t have on the shelf here (trust me they have it all!).silver cremone bolts | french doors kenilworth
These are some photos from an installation this week. Our staff just returned from re-installing this hardware after the final paint was applied. The silver finish is incredibly warm. Silver (not nickel) was used quite often on homes in formal spaces when America was building fine homes — we have seen a huge comeback to this era of fine craftsmanship.
custom marvin multi-point lock hardware
Here are a couple more photos from a recent installation. This hardware was all machined to fit multi-point hardware (a situation where selection of off the shelf hardware can be very limited).
bellows restoration | shoppe project iron & wax
A bellows was hand cleaned and finished (no plating involved) - it is best to wax iron or oil it to prevent rust. We are also doing a number of exterior iron cremone bolts from France in a ‘french iron’ finish for another home in Winnetka (a suburb on Chicago’s north shore).
fabrication process of oval knobs
These machined parts are for a local project that will be finished in a soft burnished nickel. They are a part of a hardware schedule that involves door, window and mill-work/cabinetry hardware. More photos including the process and final installation will be available soon…
traditional floor stops
These turned brass floor stop tops are for a home in Chicago. We offer several floor stop options from traditional to art deco. These can of course be finished in our shop to match any hardware selection you desire.
Be sure to see the other great pieces of hardware in the background that are available in our showroom.
pocket door hardware | olde nickel
This pair of pocket doors has our cyma flush pulls (being used as a passage set). They have a near zero clearance mounting system with 2 oval screws in the top and bottom of the pull. We provide a template for your installer to mount and fit these in your application.
hardware install {olde nickel finish}
This hardware was fabricated for a home on Chicago’s ‘gold coast’ the finish is old nickel and has been hand finished and waxed. The base material is brass and deron washer/bushings have been used to assist in the smooth operation of the multi-point locking hardware.
We offer multi-point hardware solutions for Marvin, Pella, Tischler doors (just to name a few). These hardware sets are often fabricated to match existing suites of our hardware or to compliment existing hardware in a period home.
polished nickel medicine cabinets
These medicine cabinets were fabricated by our shop for a project in Chicago. The design conceals all screws, seems and exposed hardware. The nickel finish is unsurpased on the solid brass frames fabricated in our shop. The captioned cabinet is almost 4 feet tall and weighs approximatly 100 lbs.
molds for lost wax casting process
This is a photo of some of our molds in our pattern collection of over 500 pieces (relating mostly to hardware and some other miscellaneous projects).? We are working on another entry for this fall that will detail the lost wax process and show patterns being made as well as examples/details of hardware projects.
If you are missing a piece of hardware (even if it is only a cabinet knob) for your restoration project we would be happy to make one for you.
bower-barf historic finish
Bower-Barf is a black rust-resisting finish applied to steel and iron only and is not applicable to non-ferrous metals.? It is named after two men, Mr. Bower and Mr. Barff, who originally developed the process.
?Iron or steel items to be finished are heated in special furnaces to approximately 1700 degrees Fahrenheit, at which temperature they are cherry red in color.? While at this temperature, live steam and volatile hydrocarbon liquids are injected in to the furnace for a period of several minutes.? The chemical action of the heat, water-vapor and hydrocarbon gases on the iron and steel is such that the surface of the items being treated become oxidized and carbonized.? The surface becomes covered and impregnated with a hard, non-porous, grayish-blackish coating.? The surface with this treatment practically becomes impervious to moisture.? After parts are removed they are dipped in a special oil and wiped off.? The finish becomes a dead black and is extremely beautiful and very practical for interior use.
Current Day Finish Option:
We at Al Bar Wilmette have a colder process that is done with a non-volatile process in our shop.? We refer to our finish as the ‘Olde Iron’ finish (though Bower-Barf is certainly more interesting).? We use a oil, wax or acrylic for our final step of the process (depending on what the final location of the hardware/lighting will be).? As with any finish we do the base metal must be extremely clean, have no surface tension, and in the case of iron or steel be finished almost immediately because of how fast surface rust occurs.
historic finishes introduction
This hardware is for a historic building in Chicago we are restoring all the hardware on.? The finish is Bower-Barf — we are in the process?developing a historic finishes resource to assist homeowners, designers?and architects with determination and the historical process of plating and finishing.?
Much of these finishes cannot be done today because of environmental regulations.? However, new technologies and processes allow us to achieve the same final finish with a more advanced and cleaner process.? Unfortunately most of the time the labor involved with even the new process is just the same if not more intense.
old brass | active privacy
These knobs are installed as an active privacy on a pair of doors using our automatic transom bolt in a previous entry.? Always remember to allow for egress (entry to a room from the outside) especially if you have small children running around.
pocket door flush pulls
This is a great example of using the new with the old.? These mirrored pocket doors are a part of a local hardware installation.? The flush pulls are actually about 90 years old and being used with new edge pulls.? Hopefully we will see some more photos from this project soon.
automatic transom bolt
?These photos show our automatic transom bolt installed and in use.? This part is perfect for master bath french doors and other small openings (pairs of doors).? The ball automatically engages the bolt on the inactive door allowing your door latch/lock to function.? No more loud transom bolts or annoying flush bolts (though these have there place in the hardware world).