glass above furniture top

[mm]

I When a glass is put over an expensive dining room table or a buffet, what is supposed to be done between the glass and the top of the piece of furniture?

My mother always used small felt circles. Now my brother has inherited the furniture and his wife uses some sort of clear circle of the same size for the dining room table but the buffet has nothing n-o-t-h-i-ng, between the glass and the wood.

How should it be done?

(There will be no problem with my sil getting mad. She's away and if all I have to do is buy some circles and put them under the glass, she won't mind, but I'd like some confirmation that that would be better for the wood.)

Also

II She has the bedroom dresser in the garage, and would like to get rid of it. I can't object to that, but until she does, I'd like to see my mother's beautiful, expensive stuff protected. My brother doesn't give a darn. So she has a small blanket under a cardboard box and nothing under a big lamp and two enormous candle holders, each with 4 brass legs, which might have had felt glued under the legs but I can just about guarantee the felt is missing from some or all of these old things. Is it enough to put a blanket under the 3 brass things, or should I cut a piece of wood and put it on top of the blanket and put the brass stuff on that. Of course it would be better if nothing were on it, but I understand that she wants to use the space above the dresser and another matching piece of furniture

Thanks a lot.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Fri 09 May 2008 09:15:25p, mm told us...

Either felt disks, pastic disks, or small plastic bumpers will work well between the glass and wood. I've used all three and not had a problem with any of them. A blanket as protection from objects place on wood should offer all the protection you need unless, of course, the the objects have very sharp and/or pointed feet that could penetrate the blanket.

[buffalobill]

tempered [hardened] glass would like to be isolated from vibrations that can cause it to shatter. never rest the glass edge on a concrete floor even when just cleaning it, as the slight motion against the floor surface caused a piece of tempered glass to break into a thousand bits before me. if you have simple window glass or plate glass it is more breakable and will break into unsafe jagged pieces.

[ransley]

I have had glass on wood without anything for years without issues, im not sure why anything is needed, a real fine piece I would wonder if plastic could react with the tables finish and discolor under the disk. Maybe felt disks are to prevent scratching if glass is moved or for air circulation. Maybe google it

[Frank]

Two smooth surfaces placed together may adhere and be difficult to separate. I just prepared an MSDS for an acrylic bead whose use is defined as: INTERLEAVANT(GLASS SEPARATION BEADS) Not for home owners but your felt pads are probably a good idea to use.

[PaPaPeng]

Most of the tables I had seen used a large expensive lace rectangle or oval mats under the glass to display both the lace and the fine wood finish. These lace mats can still be found in Chinese craft shops.

[Norminn]

My mom used small cork circles. I've seen felt, as well.

To protect furniture, I use small dabs of clear silicone caulk on the base of whatever rests on the furniture. Let it cure completely, of course, before putting it back on the furniture. Keeps stuff from sliding, too. If it isn't level, you can shave it a tad with a razor.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Sat 10 May 2008 05:03:49a, ransley told us...

I have used plastic discs on fine wood for years without incident, although the felt discs work just as well, they are ore visible.

[Oren]

A fabric shop may have knitted cloth dollies(?). They are attractive when placed under glass. Various sizes..ovals..rectangular, etc.

I agree the felt pads are best.

[aemeijers]

(snip)

At work, on the big conference tables in officer country, when they ran out of the plastic disks, they used pennies, which I always thought was bizarre.

Really not sure what function the disks serve, since the glass still slides around anyway. (Hello? Glass over waxed smooth wood?) Glass always has fingerprints on it as well, including the underside of the edges. Guess you have to wear cotton gloves and use a crew to clean them.

-- aem sends...

[Norminn]

clipped

If there isn't a spacer, the glass can touch the surface in some places but not others - looks strange. Softer finishes might also stick to glass. Shellac?

[mm]

Thanks a lot to all of you.

I feel a lot better. I'll get more felt circles today, and move those heavy brass things to on top of the blanket, and leave tomorrow.

I can probably arrange it so that both the liquor-carton sized box and the brass things are on the same blanket.

I'll tell you more about this household after I drive back from Texas to Baltimore.