Old red cedar drawers

[Blackout]

This set of drawers was bought for the materials as 2 feet were missing, internally it was a structural mess and generally it's had a hard life. Early in the piece I found a full set of feet from a similar set of drawers that I bought broken up. I finally decided to have a quick go at structural repairs to see if I could make it useful again. The drawers have been sliding for probably over a hundred years and really worn the wood away. I added wood inside the carcass where possible. All except one drawer got new slide sections added underneath. One drawer was so bad on one side there was nothing to hold the drawer base wood in and it might have been why they stopped using it. For this side I found wood from similar time and cut a new side using the table saw. For a first time ever I cut dove tails using the bandsaw. I can now safely say the drawers slide in and out reasonably and the fronts sit reasonably square. I think I will only clean the outside and make it reasonable plus add a handle. I wonder if the writing comes from the time. Other than the numerals I can't really understand the words but appreciate the penmanship with the capital letter. Thank you for viewing and appreciate any comments.
Red cedar drawers front.jpgRed cedar drawers large drawer 02.jpgMessage.jpgDrawer side replaced.jpgNew drawere side.jpgSlide added.jpgBottom repaired.jpg20220103_155909.jpgSide.jpgStructural repaired.jpg

[Horsecroft88]

that looks like a nice old cedar chest and well done on saving it. If you can revive the finish that’s great. try giving it a clean with some wood detergent and warm water and then maybe use something like Howard’s Polish reviver and a nice bees wax polish.