Meet Tim! The newest addition to our team

After doing repairs for the last 25 years with knowledge learned from his father, Tim joined the team a few weeks ago and has dove head first into our world of repair!

While attending college in Oklahoma, Tim was given the project of restoring a baby grand piano, a task that would serve as a catalyst for a life of furniture repair. The piano was a gift from a friend given to Tim’s dad, who decided to pass the project on to his son. Since Tim had limited woodworking skills and zero piano restoration experience, he knew that he would need some help. So, he enlisted John, a 91 year-old man who used to live in Chicago and built and tuned pianos as a young man. The two connected through a friend and became a dream team for this restoration project. John had everything that Tim and his dad would need to fix up the old baby grand, even a vintage Star Piano Company decal in his garage. Along with replacement dampers and key veneers, Tim was regaled with stories about fishing and John’s life. John even told Tim the story of how he tuned Al Capone’s piano, and was then invited to join him and his gang for some bathtub gin. The project of restoring the baby grand piano may have come to a close, but John’s influence would remain with Tim all throughout his career.

Now, years later, Tim still finds himself reaching for John’s hand-rubbed finishing formula for his own projects. One part tung oil, one part mineral spirits, and one part polyurethane. Apply. Buff clean. Let dry overnight, scuff with steel wool and repeat at least five or six times. John’s legacy lives on in this product, and in every repair piece that Tim tackles.

Later in his life, Tim worked as a freelance window display artist in Manhattan. He discovered a passion for furniture design and fabrication after being granted several furniture commissions when in this role. He came to appreciate the craftsmanship of woodworking and lasting joinery, and now is able to combine all his past knowledge and express it in the pieces that he gives new life to every day. His modern customizations are handled with the same respect and sympathy for the original piece as any restoration project would be. Just like the old piano, your projects done through Found and Fixed can be brought back to life with the help of Tim and the rest of our team.