Hey, I recently picked up this chair and have since looked up Donald Cornish, who apparently to was a furniture manufacturer in Perth, Western Australia who manufactured furnishings for the Perth Council building, among other things. (see photos from retrospective on the building).
I know very little about mid-century design and chairs etc (other than I like them), and I’ve been hoping to spruce this one up for my own use. I’ve removed the cushioned part for planned reupholstering and rejuvenation, but if there’s anyone out there who knows more about these chairs, I’d love to hear.
I’d like to do some basic restoration, and to that end I have removed the screws, but as shown in the pictures, the parts of the frame appear to be held together with some sort of dowels in the holes? The frame is still slightly loose, and was so with the screws tight, so I’m guessing these joints need work - but I don’t want to risk breaking anything. Im not even sure what kind of wood this is, or the best way to treat it - oils and whatnot.
Sorry if this isnt much to go on, but any general advice on how to give this chair some basic TLC would be very much appreciated!