Identifying an antique chest of drawers - Huon pine? Plus finishing recommendations

[Andie11]

Good afternoon members,
I am new to this forum, thanks for having me. I am based in Brisbane, Australia.

I have recently purchased an antique chest of drawers via social media marketplace. You may view the photos here. They were bought from a collector on the Gold Coast (AUS).

I purchased them half sanded and only recently finished sanding the full piece (except for some small parts that still need doing, as you can see in the photos). The three bottom drawers had missing bases and so they are currently being fixed by a carpenter.

The previous owner advised me the drawers are Huon pine, however there is no furniture maker's mark anywhere on the piece and I have no idea how one would identify Huon pine. They had no other information about the history of the piece. So my questions are:

-Can anyone here identify what timber this is please?
-What is the approximate age of this piece?
-I read a great thread on this forum about finishing Huon pine furniture. One of the main recommendations was finishing with de-waxed white shellac. Does anyone have any different perspectives on this? I wiped a damp cloth over the drawers to see what the effect would be and it was quite "yellowy".

Responses greatly appreciated.
Andie

[mpot]

Have a look at the closeups of the face grain and end grain on Huon Pine | The Wood Database (Softwood) and compare it to what you have.

[pippin88]

Huon pine has a very nice smell. Find a fine woodwork shop with some Huon pine and give it a sniff.

[Tonyz]

Huon pine has a very nice smell. Find a fine woodwork shop with some Huon pine and give it a sniff.

strange world we live in these days......"G'day, do you have any Huon pine?" "Oh you do, beaut, do you mind if I take a snif?"

[auscab]

-Can anyone here identify what timber this is please?

It certainly looks like Huon Pine.
End grain will show growth rings roughly 1mm for each year. Around ten years growth per CM. Compare that to the end grain pine in your drawers and back boards and you will see the huge difference.
Huon is more oily and dense than other pines. On a raw piece like under the top or the back side of a drawer front try and scratch it with your finger nails with some pressure and let then slip across the surface, you will feel the oily dense nature of it letting your nails slip across the surface compared to what the other types of pine in your piece are like.

-What is the approximate age of this piece?

1880-90

-I read a great thread on this forum about finishing Huon pine furniture. One of the main recommendations was finishing with de-waxed white shellac. Does anyone have any different perspectives on this? I wiped a damp cloth over the drawers to see what the effect would be and it was quite "yellowy".

That looks pretty good.
Huon Pine does oxidize to that Yellowy colour when raw or finished . It probably takes longer when finished . Lighter clearer shellac colours are recommended.


Rob

[Andie11]

Thanks very much for sharing this info Rob - I did the fingernail trick and wow there is definitely a difference between the front drawers and the backing of the piece. The front timber is silky smooth and oily. I also measured the growth rings and yes you're right, they're very narrow; what a slow growing tree!
Thanks again.
Andrea

[auscab]

Thanks very much for sharing this info Rob - I did the fingernail trick and wow there is definitely a difference between the front drawers and the backing of the piece. The front timber is silky smooth and oily.

That is how its possible to help pick a Huon Pine piece in an auction room when its painted Andrea. There are plenty of pieces that could be the more common Hoop or Kauri pine . You can be at an auction and see a chest of drawers painted White with a some chips of paint missing and be the only person that knows it Huon.
You have to check its not a veneered piece as well. The better quality earlier pieces were veneered in higher quality more figured Huon pine laid over cheaper pines.

I also measured the growth rings and yes you're right, they're very narrow; what a slow growing tree!

1mm is pretty standard for Huon. It gets much finer than that as well .
Like .5mm per year, very tight growth rings.

Its an amazing timber. Beautiful to use and work by hand and a lovely smell.
I bought a nice load of a guy once who never got around to building the small boat he was going to do with it. I used some of it to make a large tapered leg table and got to stand around ankle deep in Huon Pine shavings as all the parts were hand planned. That was great! A moment I was looking forward to doing. The smell was strong. It was a bit like smelling to much soap powder on the throat and nasal passages after a while. A bit of a breeze was needed so the workshop doors were opened up.

Rob