cnyAntiques: Repair, Restoration, Replacement:
Abend Metal Repair

Owner/proprietor Arlene Abend is a trained, experienced welder and practicing sculptor, working in a newly renovated shop off the basement of her home in the Drumlins area of DeWitt, a suburb East of Syracuse, NY.  Welding restoration work can be done on objects made of brass, bronze, cast iron, steel, stainless steel and aluminum.  Items made of white metal can often be mechanically repaired.  All work is done in such a way that the antique is restored as close as its original condition as possible.  That involves not only welding, but reshaping and matching patina.  She welcomes you to come and see what she can do.

If you are a Mario Rossi fan, you may recognize this B&W photo of Arlene, in an article he wrote some years ago, praising Arlene's work ... "the challenge is of such magnitude it can only be handled by a highly experienced expert, preferably one with a personal background as an artist.  Arlene Abend fits easily in that category, especially since she has developed successful techniques for repairing metal art objects through a combination of welding proficiency and artistic training and learning.  Abend, a recognized painter and sculptor, turned to restoration work about 25 years ago.  Since she has always been interested in metal as an art medium, she decided to specialize in repair and restoration of antiques of brass, bronze, cast iron and steel.  She has developed great skill in restoring the patina of metal objects, her blending and matching work in this area complementing basic repairs.   In the field of replacement, she utilizes her sculpturing talents to furnish pieces for missing items.  When someone picks up a repaired statuette and says, 'I Can't find where it's been fixed,' that's the highest complement the restorer could hope for.  It's the sort of praise Arlene Abend frequently gets - and deserves."   As you can guess, Mario was quite impressed with her work!

Metal Welding Services
    -    Antique Repair & Restoration
    -    Sculpture Repair & Restoration
    -    Custom Welding
    -    General Repair
    -    Commissioned Metal Design
    -    Welded & Cast Sculpture

Additional Services:
    -    Written Repair Estimates
    -    Parts Casting
    -    Patina Restoration

Below is an sample repair of a fine bronze oriental object which was brought to me in many pieces.  A primary objective in the repair was to be sure that there was no visible attachment material, especially where the man's foot sat on the sphere and where the broken garment pieces were reattached.   The patina of the repairs was also a primary concern and took several iterations in coloring.

Below is another example of my work on a bronze statue of Winged Mercury, which had taken a fall.  Note in particular the broken/missing finger and thumb on his right hand (close-up in the third picture).  It required casting new fingers, attaching them and making the patina match so the repair was invisible.  Spent some time looking at my own fingers in that job.  Came out quite nice, if I do say so myself.  The customer was very pleased.

Sometime I must make a new part for one that was lost, or at least missing.  Below to the left is a pull  that had to be duplicated, but not exactly, since the piece was to replace a hand made piece that would not be identical to the other pulls in the piece of furniture.  Sorry, I can't tell you which one is the new pull, neither could the customer.  The claw foot to the right was cast from one provided by a customer.  In both jobs, the patina work, specifically to show the wear that the objects should have shown for their years of use, was of particular attention.

Below is one of my personal favorites.   Someone had converted a beautiful classic bronze into a table lamp, drilling 6 holes in her head and base.  Please, don't try this at home!  I regret not photographing the piece before I started .. I was just too excited with the challenge of returning the piece to what it had once been.  It was a real test of my expertise and it came out beautifully.  The owner was unable to determine where the holes had been .. the true test of a job well done!

References and more photographs of previous work are available by calling Arlene for an appointment.  Visit her shop and I'm sure you'll see objects in stages of restoration.  You may also see an original she has for sale.  Own a beautiful bronze and support a local artist.

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