Let's restore some dignity to this cedar chest

[Thumbthumper]

This has been a great read so far. What sort of shine are you considering giving this.

Thanx Christos ...

I'll be polishing this chest. Not a real deep French polish, but I'll build a fair shine. Then it will be buffed with a hard wax.

I'll give it a couple of coats of neat shellac, cut it back with a fine steel wool, then I'll pad on the shellac over the course of a week or so.

[Horsecroft88]

Dave,

I can only dream of home like that.
My wife and I have pretty much decided that we will retire in Hobart (sooner rather than later hopefully).

I have never bought
My FIL gave me some crystals that I have had for years. I made up a solution (dissolved in water), and have been using that.

I do notice that it can be bought online.

Potassium Dichromate Patina : Adelaide Moulding & Casting Supplies

It's not a very nice chemical and needs to be treated with respect. It does work well though.

If you're going to continue to restore furniture, you'll be amazed at how much you will use a plane.
A spokeshave is handy but not used as much.
You can start with a #4 plane and a few chisels. This is a very slippery slope though (see the hand tool forum) .

Cheers Thumbthumper, yes I was fortunate when I first got into the house market that I was able to buy my 1850 home for $83K !!, needless to say I have done an immense amount of work to get it into the condition it is now. Thankfully it has appreciated in value somewhat

The early Colonial property, kind of fell into place, we were looking around, and by chance it came available. The first time in 80 odd years. I have done a lot of research on the property and it has quite an extensive history. Again timing and having the means to buy was all about being in the right time and place. Mind you again the extent of work done, plus money spent has been significant and there is still quite a lot of work yet to be completed. But it is responding well to the care being given it. Again a great learning project in conservation/restoration. A bit like furniture, just on a larger scale.

I wish you well in your plans to come to Hobart. It is a pretty special place, especially for anyone who appreciates heritage. Thanks for the heads up on K₂Cr₂O<sub>7.

Ah yes given I certainly intend doing plenty more furniture restoration, its got into the blood. So yes ongoing investment in tools is planned. I am slowly starting to build up a collection of tools to help me with my projects, but a plane is a definite on the list to purchase. But I also hear you re the slippery slope.</sub>

[Thumbthumper]

I've nailed the top down and punched the nail heads fairly deeply.
I hate hitting nails with my freshly sharpened plane irons .

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I chose a number 3 plane for the job because of it's small footprint. It tends to ride the dips.
I don't want to take too much material off.

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There's some nice cedar under there.
I haven't finished yet. I want to take some time a do this part properly.

This is going to leave sharp edges around the top. I'll relieve these with a block plane.

[Thumbthumper]

The top's now finished.

I used a scraper plane to remove any stray smoother marks, and to clean up a little bit of tearout.
Cedar doesn't scrape very well as it can be a bit fluffy. This will clean up when the shellac is applied and cut back.
I then used a card scraper to concentrate on some difficult areas. The block plane relieved the sharp edges of the top.

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I have a range of different coloured waxes to plug small nail holes, This is just beeswax mixed with ochres.
This took some time

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The first coat of shellac. You could almost hear the cedar crying with joy. It's been a long time between drinks

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Before I start polishing proper, I'll build the missing drawer.
Here's the stock. Now I just have to get motivated.

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Cheers all ....

[Horsecroft88]

Oh yes, I can well imagine how the cedar would have been overjoyed to be treated to some shellac. Simply wonderful. Don't I know how this feels.

Great work happening here. In building the drawer will you construct using dovetails, if so I will be really interested to see this, as that is a skill I am not sure I would even know where to begin.

Looking forward to your next posting on this. So close now.

[Thumbthumper]

Oh yes, I can well imagine how the cedar would have been overjoyed to be treated to some shellac. Simply wonderful. Don't I know how this feels.

Great work happening here. In building the drawer will you construct using dovetails, if so I will be really interested to see this, as that is a skill I am not sure I would even know where to begin.

Looking forward to your next posting on this. So close now.

I've built and restored a lot of drawers. It becomes easier over time. The hardest part is dimensioning the stock with hand tools. Planing off wide boards can be a chore. Wax plane sole, plane, sharpen, wax sole, plane etc. Luckily cedar and pine are fairly soft.

I still have blisters from when I made a shelf for my entertainment unit out of brushbox. I WILL use a thicknesser and sander next time

There will be half-blind dovetails at the front, and simple 3 pin dovetails at the back.
You can see the half-blinds on the side of the drawer fronts in the picture in the first post.

I'll post a few pics as I progress with the drawer.

[Rickey Herb]

Really enjoying this thread. In the early 80's we rescued some furniture that had lino nailed to the top and painted (many coats). As we knew no better we stripped off the paint with caustic soda, stained the timber and then finished with a nice coat of polyurethane (high gloss). When I have the time (building a house at the moment) I want to do it again properly.

Great work

Rickey

[Thumbthumper]

Really enjoying this thread. In the early 80's we rescued some furniture that had lino nailed to the top and painted (many coats). As we knew no better we stripped off the paint with caustic soda, stained the timber and then finished with a nice coat of polyurethane (high gloss). When I have the time (building a house at the moment) I want to do it again properly.

Great work

Rickey

Thanx Rickey,

I'd be happy to offer any assistance I can. It can be fixed.

[Rickey Herb]

Thanks Thumbthumper. I might need your advice when the time comes

Rickey

[Thumbthumper]

A few more things achieved.

I knocked the corners off the back of the drawer runners. This helps prevent the drawer from snagging. I've seen this on a lot of old drawers.
You can use a block plane, but I find a chisel and mallet is quicker.

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I finished dimensioning the new drawer face. It was quite cupped, so I needed to straighten it up.
Pic 1, Scrubbing with the Stanley 40
Pic 2, Flat now (I had to do this on both sides)
Pic 3, After smoothing with the number 4
Pic 4, Using the shooting board to true up the end grain with a low angle block plane.

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The new drawer front was a bit paler than the original fronts. I used some Potassium Dichromate to darken it.
The first pic shows the colour difference. This is a bit of runoff on the back of the drawer front (completely dry).
Pic 2 shows it in place to check the colour. I'm happy with this.

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I thought I had wide enough pine boards for the drawer sides, but the boards I had were a touch short.
Time to get the horse sauce bubbling.

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The sides and drawer base are drying now.
Tomorrow I'll plane them off and start the build.

[Thumbthumper]

Getting very close now.

I planed off the drawer sides, and squared them up.
Pic 3 is marking out. I'm a tails first guy. I also need to make sure the groove in the drawer front for the bottom was hidden in the dovetail.

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Cutting out the tails

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Marking out and chopping the pins and sockets.

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The result was actually better than it looks in the photo. I was able to clean out some material in the socket and it pulled together a lot tighter.
I forgot to take a picture

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Cutting the groove for the drawer bottom in the back of the drawer front.

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The dovetails in the back of the drawer are a lot less involved.

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I glued the drawer stops into the case while the drawer was apart.
I drilled two 5/8" holes for the knob and escutcheon with a brace and bit. I'm not going to install a lock.
The drawer's now together.

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While the glue was hot. I trimmed the dowels on the bun feet and glued them in.

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I need to put the drawer bottom in and glue in plow strips.
Almost time to start polishing.

[Thumbthumper]

Not much to see now.
It's the polishing stage.

Tools of the trade.
The clear liquid is paraffin oil, used for a bit of lubrication if required.

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Rubbing the drawer face.

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Everything's just starting to pick up a bit of shine.

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A few more days of polishing to go.

[Rickey Herb]

Top work!

[Horsecroft88]

Looking seriously good now, and think back to what it looked like when you first got it. Such a superb transformation. You might find you really like it, that it will simply have to stay rather than be sold on !

[Thumbthumper]

Looking seriously good now, and think back to what it looked like when you first got it. Such a superb transformation. You might find you really like it, that it will simply have to stay rather than be sold on !

I have grown quite attached to it, but I have no room for another chest.
I do need to sell it for some pocket money