Antique Clothes Chest - Before & After

After more than 100 years of use and abuse, this clothes chest was in dire need of restoration. Construction is very low density pine, with dovetailed corners. Finish was a clear varnish with no stain. The bottom, back, and inside had no finish at all. Restoration consisted of knocking apart and re-gluing most joints, sanding, and filling. Minwax dark walnut stain was used everywhere, and allowed to dry for a week. Then two coats of Deft satin clear were brushed on with 320 sanding and 0000 steel wool between coats, then three coats of Deft spray clear satin were applied, with 0000 steel wool between coats. Finally, 1/4" cedar was installed in the bottom and on the underside of the lid. A heavy brass piano hinge replaced the two door hinges on the original, and a length of black chain keeps the lid from opening too far. Time: 3 months.

Antique Cobbler's Bench - Before & After

This cobbler's bench has been in Melanie's family for a couple generations. It was in pretty rough shape. I chose to sand the finish off rather than use chemical stripper. A leg had been broken and some drawer joints needed regluing. All of the square strips on the work surface were removed for sanding. The wood was very soft. Final finish was Minwax stain and Minwax Polyurethane. Although polyurethane is hard to work with because if runs so easily on vertical surface, I like too use it where there is likely to be wear and tear. Fall 2007.

Antique Regulator Clock - Before & After

This regulator wall clock was purchased on eBay for around $50 in early 2007. The mechanical pendulum-regulated, spring-driven escapement movement took a bit of cleaning, oiling and adjusting to get working; it can be seen in action online on YouTube. The finish as received was in really awful shape. It took a lot of chemical stripper to remove the finish. I removed as many parts as possible for sanding and the reinstalling. The design on the top plate was made of copper and was in very poor shape, with parts of it corroded away, I just disposed of it. The brass dial ring, hinges, and pendulum were wire-wheeled and lacquered. The glass is silkscreened on the back surface. Interestingly, the clock was made in China (circa 1899), and has what looks like a Star of David pattern on in the middle. My standard Minwax stain with Deft lacquer clear coat was applied. Summer 2007.

Antique Secretary Cabinet

Here is an antique secretary cabinet that was given to us by Melanie's parents shortly after we were married. As received, it was in fairly good shape, but the finish was very tired and stained, and most of the joints were loose. There was no glass in the door, and the beveled mirror panel was missing most of its silver backing. We used it for many years after just buying a piece of glass for the door.

Sometime around 1998, we decided to refinish it. At that point the decision was made to totally disassemble the entire secretary because all of the joints were so loose. It came apart like a puzzle with just a few whacks of a mallet. All the pieces were stacked in a neat, flat pile and ended up being moved twice until finally in Loveland, Colorado, in 2001, I got up the nerve to tackle the job of assembling and finishing it. After much chemical stripping and sanding, it was finally ready to be glued back together. Figuring out where some of the parts went was a bit challenging, since even the edge-joined long side panels had been pulled apart. After applying glue, squaring, clamping, and checking squareness again, the entire secretary was finally ready for finish to be applied. I used, for the first time, a water-based stain. I'll never do that again because it raised the painstakingly sanded wood grain terribly. A total re-sanding was done, and an oil-based Minwax stain was applied. Minwax clear polyurethane was used as a top coat. We found a 12" square beveled mirror tile at Home Depot that exactly fit in the original frame. All the original hardware was wire wheeled and lacquered. Is is now our prized furniture possession. Spring 2001.

The rectangular oak frames for those two were purchased.

Antique Mantel Clock - Before & After

This mantel clock also is a multi-generational heirloom. It was not expensive, but had emotional value. Melanie's parents gave it to me for Christmas of 2006, and I decided to refinish it and return it to them the next Christmas. Unfortunately, Melanie's father passed away from cancer last summer, but we were able to present it to her mother. I used chemical stripper to avoid sanding to preserve the intricate and shallow engravings. As it turned out there was a milk paint coating underneath the black paint that was hard as a rock. The case insides and back cover are stained with a Deft lacquer topcoat. The case outside and door are black lacquer paint. All the metal hardware was wire wheeled and clear lacquered. The dial was replaced with on from another old wind-up clock I had, and the broken pendulum-driven mechanism was replaced with a nice electronic one from Klockit. Fall 2007.

Banjo Weather Station

This banjo style weather station is an original design that I designed and built waaaaay back around 1984, shortly after Melanie and I were married. The wood is laminated from three layers of wood that came from the side of an old farm house that Melanie's father tore down in West Virginia. The basic pattern was cut with a handheld saber saw, and the the final shape was formed with files and sandpaper - a lot of work. A router was used along the top edge for decoration. The hygrometer (top), thermometer (middle), and barometer (bottom), along with the finial at the very top, were ordered from Klockit (they've been around for a long time - like me). All the instruments are of very high quality. 1984ish.

Antique Night Stand

This antique nightstand was given to us by my Aunt Bernice, who lived in Mayo, Maryland. Like most of our other furniture, this was used as provided for a long time before undertaking a refinishing project. It was a pretty straightforward job. Chemical stripper followed by sandpaper followed by stain followed by a Deft lacquer top coat. I don't recall why I chose to use lacquer rather than polyurethane here. The drawer handle was sprayed hunter green, which looks good against the reddish stain.

Counted Cross Stitch in Teak Frame

Back when Melanie had more time (and better eyesight), she made a lot of counted cross stitch pictures. This one remains her most ambitious project ever - a large nautical map of the ancient world, fashioned after the works of famed cartographer Gerard Mercator and titled with "Orbis Terrae Compendiosa Descriptio," which is, loosely translated, Latin for "A Comprehensive Description of the World." Melanie's work was done on 22-count fabric, and measures approximately 13" by 8" (not including white border). Such a fine effort needed a special frame, so I set about making a custom 23" by 17" frame out of teak wood. The fancy fluting was done on my Craftsman radial arm saw with the molding head. It was a scary operation with the sharp teeth flying while feeding that teak through it. Teak, as you might know, is used extensively on boats because it weathers well. It is an oily type wood that starts out life with a shiny golden patina, but turns to the familiar gray if left unprotected in the sun. The oiliness of the wood make it extremely difficult to glue. After numerous regluing attempts over the years, I finally mixed up some epoxy and that has lasted the longest. No finish was applied to the wood, and more than 20 years later it still looks fine. 1984.

The picture at the bottom was made by Melanie after were were married (May 22, 1983). Both are counted cross stitch on 22-count fabric. I made the frames using my Craftsman table saw with a shape cutter head. If I recall correctly, the wood was standard framing 2x4 pine.

Much more to come...