Repair

[Naga Sasra]

Jason and Shahrial.

I did not have any of the broken off chunks, what you see in the "before" photos is what I had to start out with.

From what I understand the restoration started with separating or breaking apart the old glued pieces, which took weeks in miscellaneous solvents of kinds, once they came apart completely clean the existing surfaces of old gluing material, then reglue the surfaces. (Sort of like resetting a broken bone that grew together the wrong way)
Then small pieces of matching wood pieces were carved to form and replace the missing chunks (like marquetry) once glued into place the repaired surface was finely sanded and polished.

My explanation is no doubt very simplistic in nature, as I was not there. The actual restoration took a long time to complete, a full and deep knowledge of the structure of the wood, patience and the superb hands of the craftmen involved. Obviously, I am very very happy with the end result.