Hello,
I picked up a dresser at a thrift shop and wanted some input on repair/refinishing. I’ve refinished other furniture items before, but nothing this old (I think it may be from the 1800s?). Although it was nearly free to me, I also don’t want to mess up something that has been around this long, so I’m planning to just wax/oil/clean as much as possible and repair only where needed. Main items I wanted to work on:
1. Veneer on the curved corners is cracked and pulling away .
2. Drawer sides and runners worn.
3. Maybe some veneer patching/repair.
For #1 the veneer, I would typically use some hide glue and clamp the veneer to re-adhere what I could, but I can’t see a way to clamp a curve like this easily. Would a layer of hide glue still be helpful to add some structural stability? I’m worried about one of my kids running into the corner and taking a chunk off.
For #2, I think the drawer sides just need replacement, right? For the runners, would it be ok to wood epox to get the runner back to level? Maybe splice in some new wood where needed?
For #3, do you know what type of wood veneer this is? I was guessing mahogany but wasn’t sure.
Thanks!
Daniel
Replies
For #2, I've done this a few years ago on an antique dresser that I inherited from my mother. Drawers were very hard to open and close. I replaced only the bottom edges of the drawer sides, as the drawers had hand cut dovetails, and I wanted to preserve them as much as possible. I clamped a straight edge to the drawer sides as a guide for a router, then filled in with strips of wood and planed them down flush with the drawer front.
The runners were done in a similar manner, but using a trim router to get inside the cabinet. I planed them down with a rabbet plane. If they are just a hair proud, the drawer front won't drag on the frame.
In the world of mechanics, there is a principle of having a wear part. You choose the hardness of materials so that the part that wears most is the easiest to replace or repair. I used maple for the runners, and scraps of walnut for the drawer side bottoms. Lots of wax and they operate easily.
I also made adjustable drawer stops as in a long ago FWW article. Here is a picture. The holes in the disks are drilled off center, so you can rotate them and then tighten down the screw to adjust the closed position of the drawers.
That is a nice piece.
Yes, you need to fix the veneer down - not something I have done myself but I can recommend Thomas Johnson antique repairs on Youtube - he does this kind of work, pretty much as you describe on most of his pieces. I would use a curved piece of wood covered with yoga mat and then tape as a caul to clamp the corner. Yoga mat will conform a little, tape prevents sticking.
I would absolutely repair the runners with wood. This is not a hard thing to do. AT restoration on Youtube does this a lot, as does the aforementioned Thomas Johnson. Do not try to fix them with epoxy. They are wearing surfaces that always need repair over time.
I can't say what the veneer species might be for sure. I don't think it's mahogany - could well be birch, which is a common stain grade veneer. The inside certainly looks like birch to me. Patching is going to involve finding similar grain then matching the stain. I find that quite good fun, but expensive as you often need to blend more than one option.
The dovetails are hand cut, but quickly. This does not provide much dating information - would be less common post 1900 and rare post WW2 though in general terms, later pieces would have, like today been 'fine' work, wheras this is clearly production work done as quickly as possible rather than with the greatest of care.
The shape and the detailing suggests 1920 to early 1930s to me, rather than earlier, which is consistent with the use of birch veneer. I think that early 1920s would be most consistent with the production dovetails and the shape. It has definite art-deco vibes, though whether before or after the peak in the 1930s is impossible to say. The dovetails suggest earlier.
It does not look to be an English speaking country's work. The form is unfamiliar and the escutcheons not the type more usually favoured. Possibly central European as they do use a lot of birch?? I haven't seen enough to be more than guessing - it doesn't fit what I know, which is British Empire and French.
I tried a Google image search but sadly could not find any more information so you will have to take my relatively uneducated guesses as that and make of them what you will.