Door panel replacement

[BronzePhoenix]

Hey folks! I'm new to the forum, and I thought I might ask for a bit of help. I have and antique washstand that I am restoring and modifying for my parents, and I need to replace the panels in the doors. However, I have no idea how to take the doors apart without destroying them. How do I do it?
Can I melt the glue? I need to protect the finish, as I am not planning on stripping and restaining the whole thing. Its approximately 100 years old, if that matters.

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[nrb]

I think you will end up with an odd look by replacing the panel as it will never look as old as what you have,is there no way you can fix it in place,sometimes the odd flaw left in very old furniture adds to it's character.

[Thumbthumper]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums.

The frame would most likely be put together with animal glue. I would saturate the joints with hot water and tap them apart (after checking very carefully for nails or screws).
I'd clean the break in the front panel with spirits to get any grime out, and re-glue with animal glue. Clamping well. The panel seems to have a nice figure, I wouldn't want to lose that.

Clean the whole thing with fine steel wool and spirits (very lightly so as not to remove any original finish), to get rid of grime.

I'd give it a coat of neat shellac, allow to dry, rub back with fine steel wool, then I'd rag on a shellac BLO mix over a few days. Rubbing rubbing rubbing.

There's many ways to approach this, but this is what I would do.

Cheers,
Stu

[BronzePhoenix]

Thanks for the input, Thumbthumper! Very helpful stuff. NRB, I'm replacing the panel with textured glass, which is why I want to disassemble the doors.

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