Early access: the full restoration of the Art Deco wreck that went viral

This one's a first: a full-length restoration, start to finish, up here for the club before it goes public on YouTube tomorrow. It's the beaten-up Art Deco telephone table that went viral on my Facebook page earlier this week, solid oak under all the grime, and I've filmed the whole thing coming back to life. (Yes, I forgot to switch the lapel mic on. You'll live.)

What's in it:

• Why I put a shelf in behind the veneer door instead of fighting the veneer
• Knocking dried-out joints back into place with a rubber mallet, without pulling the whole thing apart
• Sanding at 80 then 120 grit, then a new trick: fine wire wool and turps to lift the last of the grime and preview the final colour
• Why I skipped stain this time and went straight to linseed oil
• The back-panel call: new backing or leave it open?
• Rebuilding a badly damaged back leg using its own old nails and some 1930s oak offcuts
• A new bottom for an ink-wrecked drawer, and a clean-up for the original Bakelite handle

The turps-and-wire-wool step is the one I'd love your take on. It's the first time I've tried it and the finish came out more even than staining usually gives me. Has anyone else done it this way?