Can you fix a wobbly wooden screw thread?

It requires a specialist. A restorer will usually bore out the worn internal thread and insert a new hardwood sleeve. Trying to pack out a worn thread with glue rarely holds up.

I have an old stool with a hinged seat but the hinges are loose and the lid shifts sideways when you sit on it. Can I just put bigger screws in?

That depends on how badly the timber is chewed up. If the original screw holes are stripped, larger screws might split the narrow frame of the box. A cabinetmaker will plug the old holes with wooden dowels and drill fresh pilot holes. This lets you use the correct gauge of screw and keeps the seat aligned with the base.

What is the best way to clean them?

Dust the woodwork with a dry cloth. You can feed the timber with a clear microcrystalline wax once a year to protect the polish. Keep the central screw free of heavy grease, which traps grit and wears the thread faster. Just rub a plain wax candle over the thread if it binds.

My piano teacher told me that the tripod base stools are much older than the ones with a square box base and four legs, is that actually correct?

Base shape indicates style rather than a strict timeline. Tripod bases with revolving seats emerged in the late eighteenth century, but makers continued producing them well into the Edwardian era. Box seats on four legs became popular later in the nineteenth century as sheet music ownership increased. Both types were sold side by side in Victorian catalogues.

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Antique Music Stools Dated 1900 - 1920

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Designed to provide a musician with an adjustable seat at the piano, an antique music stool typically features a padded revolving top mounted on a threaded wooden or metal screw, supported by a central pillar or splayed legs.