- Joined
- Feb 9, 2015
- Messages
- 99
I did not make this from scratch, but after I got into restoring it, I may as well have. Mom had me paint, as she put it, "that dirty old black oak dresser", back in 1960. The poor thing was worn out even then.
The rails for the drawers had grooves worn up to 1/4" deep in them. The bottom edges of the drawer ends, had just as much material worn off. In order to open and close the drawers, you had to keep a running list of 4 letter words handy. After painting it white, I used it in my bedroom at home. It has followed me for 55 more years, in that worn out condition.
Last year, I inlaid the drawer rails with strips of rock maple and rebuilt the ends of each drawer. When I striped the paint of the first drawer, I knew right away, that it was not Oak. I was delighted to find it to be made of Walnut. Made all the work worth while. I also had to make 1 replacement drawer pull. That is the made from scratch part. Carved it out with my pocket knife, while watching TV at night. May not be perfect, but you won`t see the difference, if you are looking at the dresser from the next town. The top is one piece of wood, 18 1/4" x 40 1/2". The dresser dates to 1870. My Grandfather (born 1877), came to America in 1908 and acquired it sometime after that.
Here is a before & after photo. --- John
The rails for the drawers had grooves worn up to 1/4" deep in them. The bottom edges of the drawer ends, had just as much material worn off. In order to open and close the drawers, you had to keep a running list of 4 letter words handy. After painting it white, I used it in my bedroom at home. It has followed me for 55 more years, in that worn out condition.
Last year, I inlaid the drawer rails with strips of rock maple and rebuilt the ends of each drawer. When I striped the paint of the first drawer, I knew right away, that it was not Oak. I was delighted to find it to be made of Walnut. Made all the work worth while. I also had to make 1 replacement drawer pull. That is the made from scratch part. Carved it out with my pocket knife, while watching TV at night. May not be perfect, but you won`t see the difference, if you are looking at the dresser from the next town. The top is one piece of wood, 18 1/4" x 40 1/2". The dresser dates to 1870. My Grandfather (born 1877), came to America in 1908 and acquired it sometime after that.
Here is a before & after photo. --- John
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