Stretcher (furniture) Stretcher (furniture) A stretcher is a horizontal support element of a table, chair or other item of furniture; this structure is normally made of exposed wood and ties vertical elements of the piece together. There are numerous styles of the stretcher including circumferential, double and spindle design. This term is sometimes referred to as a stretcher beam. A very common pattern for chairs has each front leg connected to the back by the lateral stretchers, which in turn are connected by a medial stretcher. In the William and Mary period chi (from the Greek letter chi - Χ) stretchers were
Conservation and restoration of wooden furniture Hammond-Harwood House and City of Bowie Museums Collector’s Corner Workshop Series provides a resource on Furniture Cleaning and Care which addresses the tools and techniques of furniture cleaning. The Canadian Conservation Institute recommends that Micro-crystalline wax (a scent- and colour-free white paste wax that is available at specialty tool supply stores) can be used to increase the gloss of the finish, which will make it easier to remove fingerprints. Do this only once a year and only to the surfaces that are handled, being careful to avoid wax build-up around metal fittings. The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute has a graduate-level