Thursday, December 1, 2016

The Finished Product

I did a post in April of this year concerning refinishing furniture, especially antique furniture. The piece I am referring to is the Chester Drawers Cathey and I purchased in an antique shop in Tennessee that was in horrible condition at that time; well the piece is fully restored and is used in the foyer of our house now. I wish I had an image of what this Chester Drawers looked like before I restored it to its original state.

We purchased it for our son to use one day in his house, but in the meantime, we will keep it safe here with us.

To get the full picture of the transformation of the Chester Drawers you will need to check out the April post link:
When working with different wood species, open and close wood grain can display different shades when stained; which gives antique pieces character. 
Open and close wood grain with the top and bottom panels verses the middle section.
Solid poplar top
The finished product with new solid glass knobs and brass key plates!!
The mirror above was purchased at a flea market for ten bucks and refinished to accent the Chester Drawers. Cathey did a fantastic job of staining and varnishing this piece. My job is to get the piece ready for the stain and varnish. In other words, I do the sanding and the removal of the old varnish on the pieces we refinish. 


14 comments:

  1. Bill, beautiful work my friend. You should be proud of your efforts. As I see your attention to detail, I am left wondering how successful you would be at the fly tying vise......... Have you given any more thought in that direction.......?

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  2. Excellent job of restoring it. Me, don't have the patience.

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  3. Bill great job on the restoration.
    I give you lots of credit in your ability to be able to do such a beautiful job.

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  4. Mel
    This will probably be the last piece I ever refinish, because I just don't have the room for it where we live now; more time for fishing.
    As for the fly tying, it is still on my mind, who knows I may take it up now that I am closer to even better trout fishing. Thanks for the comment

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  5. Mark
    Patience and a lot of work, especially in the sanding department, which is the least favorite part of my refinishing. thanks for the comment

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  6. Alan
    Thanks Alan, this piece is kind of special, in that it is the oldest piece I've ever restored, 1700's with blind dovetail joints for the drawers. Thanks for the comment

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  7. I have a Chester Drawers also! Now I know why the colors of the wood are so mismatched! Thanks for the lesson Bill.

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  8. I love these kind of projects. A long, long time ago, I refinished an old sewing chest that was my grandmother's. A sense of accomplishment is felt in bringing back antiques to their once more beautiful state.

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  9. I did the same thing to a victorian washstand. It lives in our hall now.

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  10. Looks beautiful! Nicely restored

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  11. Howard
    The different species of wood used on antique furniture back in the day was special. It can't be duplicated this day and age. Thanks for the comment

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  12. RM
    If only these pieces could talk; I enjoy trying to dating the furniture. I dated the Chester Drawers by the joints used. Hope you keep the Sewing Cabinet in the family. Thanks for the comment

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  13. Walt
    Hope to keep it in the family for years to come. Thanks for the comment

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  14. Becks
    Would love to see a picture of the washstand; all washstands in the 1700's and 1800's were unique. Thanks for the comment

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