REVIVING a 200 Year Old Dresser | Furniture Restoration
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
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Watch as I give this 200 year old American Empire Dresser another 200 years of life. The wood grain and pattern on this dresser turns out gorgeous. This dresser restoration project will inspire you to give new life to your old, forgotten pieces. #Antique #furniturerestoration #trashtotreasure
If you liked this furniture restoration/furniture flip please like and subscribe to follow along for future DIY restorations.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out in the comments.
Thanks for watching!
JM
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Absolutely, gorgeous transformation! The wood grain is amazing! Beautiful piece that can now last another 200 years! Thank you for saving it! 😊❤
Thank you very much! I glad you enjoyed the video!
Beautiful! I love old furniture and the natural wood grains!
So do I. Why would you paint it when the wood grain looks like that.
I think the object you asked us to comment on is a bone folder - used to crease paper. At least that's what I've used them for in making greeting cards.
Interesting never would have thought of that.
I think you can also use a bone folder to make a temporary crease in fabric It's a very handy tool.
I thought it was an old tongue depressor.
Top-quality video, top-quality work! What a beautiful piece of furniture. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you very much!
That dresser is beautiful 😮❤❤❤❤
Thank you! It is! Gorgeous grain pattern.
Respect for what things are: The real challenge in restoring antiques is to work within a set of parameters. It's time consuming to do it well and requires thought, patience, care, certain tools some specialized, certain materials, chemicals and understand their properties, an encyclopedic knowledge of woods and a collection of, and and and and a willingness to learn and keep learning.
Well said! I agree!
Beautiful! Reminds me of a piece my grandmother had. Thank you for the video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! This piece is gorgeous!
Thank you so much! Agree. The wood grain really popped!
Gorgeous!! You did a wonderful job!!
Thank you so much!
That turned out beautiful! Great work!
Thank you very much!
WOW! I thought it was amazing with the dust on it. You did a great job.
i really like the design of this piece.
I agree. I like this style too
Phenomenal job. Thank you!
Thank you!!
Beautiful. I love the character of the piece.
Thank you! So do I!
I would not have used polyurethane on a 200 year old dresser. Shellac or oil would be more period appropriate. I also usually wax the screws when refitting them; it helps prevent dry wood from splintering when you re-insert them.
That’s a great tip! I thought about using shellac. I did use shellac on the inside of the drawers.
I personally believe that’s an old way of thinking. Craftsmen back then didn’t have the option of modern day polys and finishes. I’m sure they’d use poly if it were available during their time.
@ronwilliams1094 Don't disagree that if the makers lived today they'd use now available products, but a shellac/wax combination does have a look that is not the same as poly. A water-based poly followed by hard wax is close though.
I typically use Lacquer for these old pieces. It has a great sheen, goes on easily and can be ‘built’ up.
@@datachickatl4092 I used lacquer on the French dresser. I wanted to try this wipe on poly.
Congratulations! Good transformation! 🌷🌷
Thank you!! 😊
Stunning
Thank you! Cheers!
Beautiful!!!
Thank you!
Great job
Thank you!
Great save!
Thanks!
I don’t care! You brought a beautiful piece of furniture back to life who care how you got there or what you used it’s not in a landfill ! Great Job!! 🐝
Yes! Thank you!
Oh so very, WOW 👌
Thank you!!
Beautiful piece! The thing you found in the drawer looks like a bone folder. I could be mistaken, but it looks like one to me. I've used one in book conservation before.
Thanks for the info! Glad you enjoyed the video!
😍Beautiful work‼️ 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 From 🇧🇷
Thank you!
I normally don`t like a poly finish on antiques, especially on Empire, but you got a very nice look with the finish you used. There are two very light triangular areas on the upper glove drawers that I would stain darker to match, but other than that, very nice job. I`d add it to my collection.
Thank you very much!
so sweet
Thanks!
Very nice
Thanks!
It's beautiful... I do have one question... why didn't you fix the chipped corner where the veneer was chipped off? I know you said you wouldn't be able to find a matching veneer, but why didn't you fill it in with wood filler or something? I know it was a small chip, so I'm sure blending it in wouldn't have been that hard... I was just wondering. It still looks good.
Thank you! I couldn’t find a matching veneer that thick. I thought about wood filler. But it’s almost 200 years old I felt weird just slapping wood filler on it.
Awesome job it looks amazing ide love to do somerhing like this i just dont have the patience for such a long job.
Thanks 👍 you can do it!
i have one almost identical to this! down to the knob with the missing edge bit.
The dressers long lost twin! Separated at construction.
Very nice:)
Thank you!
Lotsa ASMR!! I loved it!! You just got another new subscriber!! What's next??
Thanks! Next up is a desk. It’s been painted but allegedly has black walnut under the paint. We shall see.
Nice job! I currently have one of these in my studio, but my two top little drawers have bow fronts and no bib on the back top. The screws on the wooden knobs are wood and part of the knob. Very cool, actually, as I've never seen that. The veneer on mine is in horrible shape, crumbling and falling off. I didn't want to wood fill or bondo, so i may try to find a replacement. Thanks for screw and nail education!!
Can you remove the old veneer and replace it?
I did a similar dresser to yours about a year ago, much veneer issues , I would have to put at least two layers on to get the right thickness. I thought mine had been redone before( it had paint showing in some places) but I saw on yours that only the curved legs and the drawfronts were veneered so I guess thats how they were done back in the day. I sold it for 4 times what i paid but had many months, off and on in labor ,but I love it.
Yes! The veneer is so thick I couldn’t find a veneer thick enough to match it. Thank you!
What patients you have. Beautiful restoration. I love it!
@@patriciacrozier7624 thank you!
Beautiful piece of furniture, great work. The only thing that caught my attention was that you left that corner on the left unrepaired, where you can see the missing veneer....
I searched high and low for matching veneer and the problem is that veneer on old furniture like this is almost 3x as think as the veneer we use today. I couldn’t find a matching thickness.
@@restorationrhodeFor old veneer that is really thick...I have used veneer, not new but older & thinner & layered it. Depending on the thickness of the original, I've put in 2 to 3 layers. Might be something you can experiment with in the future.
I only use tung oil..I love the finish it gives. May I ask what kind of wood is this? I think it might be mahogany..
Thanks! I like tung oil too. Just the 3 day application gets annoying. Mahogany veneer and think pine underneath. It was kind of a soft wood underneath.
I think the object you found in the upper drawer may be an ebony or galalith paper folder. Concerning getting rid of the finishing I now prefer sanding with Cubitron pads and an orbital sander. I have found scraping hazardous to veneers and chemical strippers a real pain in the butt. Hope this help. Cheers.
I use the mesh cubitron pads they are amazing. But I find the stripping to be quicker and saves the sanding pads.
My mom had a dresser just like this one. My grandmother (her mom) was an antique dealer Here in CT for many years so I am assuming that is where it came from. She sold the dresser, which was in very good condition other than a small crack on the back of it. About a year or so later we went to an antique show in Fairfield CT and what do we see? Our dresser! I knew it was the same one because of the small crack! They had thrown a coat of glossy urethane on it and replaced the wood knobs with ugly brass made to look old hardware. We felt sorry for it. 😢
Maybe this is its cousin!
Maybe!!
I’m not sure I’d call this a restoration. More just a clean and refinish. I think I’d have tried to repair the veneer at least. Just my opinion.
I tried to find a matching veneer. But this old veneer is so thick and very hard to find.
Whatever's to hand. I do like using Olly's Oil, but I'm very impatient. It all looks good as long as you know what you're doing.
Did you mean odies oil?
If the object is made of bone it may be an antique newspaper opener
Hmm. It could be bone but I thought it may have been plastic.
They used to use ivory ones, too. Especially gentlemen of a higher class. The bone ones were more used by the valet/butler to prepare/iron the newspapers for their master or people from the middle classes
The spool and the flat rounded edge stick you removed look to me like weaving tools. The spool is a bobbin and the stick is a pick up stick.
Interesting. I’ll have to look that up. Someone else said a doctors tongue depressor. Which maybe.
Or possibly a tool to make doll eyes?? Sorry, it was a little fast.
@@cferguson3368 hmmm. I'll have to look that up.
The two objects look like 1) a hair curler, and 2 a busk. Not sure about the second because it seems too narrow.
Interesting...I will look those up.
Beautiful Restoration! You really Brought out that Gorgeous Grain. If the Poly is better and longer lasting then Shellac, that was the right choice. Do You think the back of the Piece could have used some Howard's too? It looked a little Thirsty. If I was that old I'd need a drink.
Thank you! I can put some wax on the back. Doesn’t hurt.
They used to use ivory ones, too. Especially gentlemen of a higher class. The bone ones were more used by the valet/butler to prepare/iron the newspapers for their master or people from the middle classes
@@deborahtovey7918 interesting!
Do those screws have a pointed end or a flat end? If flat they are before machine made screws which put the piece around the 1840 to 1860 time period.
I’m going to guess you didn’t watch the whole video. Haha.
A page turner for a newspaper, so “gentlemen” didn’t get the ink on their fingers.
Oh, some else mentioned that too. The mystery deepens.
I'm not going to say that I'm a fan of every technique used in furniture restoration videos, and there are a good number of videos I've stopped watching...but you have some less than positive comments made that are a bit "judgemental." I've been restoring furniture over 50 years. Sometimes, everything works great; sometimes, not so much. I'm still learning!
What comment would you describe as judgmental?
@restorationrhode Some of age & finish ones
c. 1840, not quite 200 years old.
tongue depressor !
I think that’s what it is! Should have been wearing gloves haha.
It's a tongue depressor...
Getting a lot of tongue depressor suggestions. Think that’s what it is.
3:40 These screws don't seem 200 years old, are you sure this isn't a Replica?
Keep watching lol I get into more detail on the screws and nails
@@restorationrhode Thank you for the education!🤝
Tongue depresser?
Someone else mentioned this too
That flat piece of wood looks like a tongue blade, medical device for examining the mouth.
I think it might be that. Someone else commented the same thing. Another person mentioned some sowing tools. It’s one of the great mysteries of our time.
👏🥃👍👏🥃👍👏🥃👍👏🥃👍👏🥃👍👏🥃👍
Thank you!
Sorry, but this not 200 years old. Might be just before or after the Civil War (@ or circa 1960). Nice piece though. Saw many of these at auction 1955.
Based on the screws and nails I was saying it before 1850. Also this style was very popular between 1820-1840.
@@restorationrhodeAdd the dovetail method, the thick veneer, & screws with that type of knob....1850ish as a starting point looks right. Before is what I would say, too. They have reproduced this style, but the structure & construction methods give the clues as to the age of piece.
@batchelderPatrick if you are talking about the US civil war April 12, 1861 - April 9, 1865 not in 1960. I was born in 1975 making me 49 years old. The civil war was not fought 15 years before I was born. If it was we wouldn't have Vietnam veterans at the Legion in the VFW we would have civil war veterans there. If you were seeing these at auction in 1955 that would make sense. At that point they would be approximately 100 years old. Typically just auctioned off not sitting in an antique shop somewhere. The sheer sickness of the wood used for the backer boards is evidence that it is definitely pre-1900. Back when things were made to actually last, be handed down, be repaired, and be refinished. Unlike today where things are only meant to last a couple of years before being thrown out and replaced. Planned obsolescence has destroyed a lot of things mainly the environment.
It can't be that old
The dresser loves your flattery. You’re only as old as you feel.
5:49..and now we scrape...and we lose another piece of furniture that could have been enhanced
Enhanced how? Am I not enhancing it by redoing the stain and the worn-out varnish?
@@restorationrhode if you sand an antique piece of furniture you make it lose its identity because if an expert antique dealer sees it, even if it is truly vintage, he could tell you that it is a reproduction, when dealing with these pieces of furniture you should look for the best method to keep every detail intact, .. if it was painted like this at the beginning, the paint should not be removed, but renewed... sanding it on the living wood loses all its value, .. I can advise you to read the books of Ferruccio Amati to have a general and clear idea of what restoration means... I just want to make a constructive criticism, because nowadays it is fashionable to take furniture and "restore" it but if certain rules are not followed, it loses value, and once ruined it is difficult to recover its identity... if I can show you an example look at the Serassi Organ in Mantua, S. Andrea Cathedral.. I did that restoration and it was not supposed to be "beautiful" but to function according to the rules of the art and according to the construction criteria of the time www.voxorganalis.it/archivio-organi/mantova-basilica-concattedrale-s-andrea-apostolo/ don't be afraid if it's not https... it's a harmless pastoral association ;)
@@restorationrhodeif you sand an antique piece of furniture you make it lose its identity because if an expert antique dealer sees it, even if it is truly vintage, he could tell you that it is a reproduction, when dealing with these pieces of furniture you should look for the best method to keep every detail intact, .. if it was painted like this at the beginning, the paint should not be removed, but renewed... sanding it on the living wood loses all its value, .. I can advise you to read the books of Ferruccio Amati to have a general and clear idea of what restoration means... I just want to make a constructive criticism, because nowadays it is fashionable to take furniture and "restore" it but if certain rules are not followed, it loses value, and once ruined it is difficult to recover its identity... if I can show you an example look at the Serassi Organ in Mantua, S. Andrea Cathedral.. I did that restoration and it was not supposed to be "beautiful" but to function according to the rules of the art and according to the construction criteria of the time
don't be afraid if it's not https... it's a harmless pastoral association ;)www.voxorganalis.it/archivio-organi/mantova-basilica-concattedrale-s-andrea-apostolo/
@@restorationrhode anyway from the construction it doesn't seem to be 200 years old... the nails can be reproduced in an instant. if anything the drawer locks were not his... and the back usually in ancient times had to be fitted into the structural frame, not placed behind and nailed, but the covering is a thick veneer, so not recent... it is a well made reproduction but not ancient... we understand that ''ancient'' means before 1900...but note that the drawer bottoms are made from a single board and this is not to be overlooked as a detail
@@restorationrhode if you sand an antique piece of furniture you make it lose its identity because if an expert antique dealer sees it, even if it is truly vintage, he could tell you that it is a reproduction, when dealing with these pieces of furniture you should look for the best method to keep every detail intact, .. if it was painted like this at the beginning, the paint should not be removed, but renewed... sanding it on the living wood loses all its value, .. I can advise you to read the books of Ferruccio Amati to have a general and clear idea of what restoration means... I just want to make a constructive criticism, because nowadays it is fashionable to take furniture and "restore" it but if certain rules are not followed, it loses value, and once ruined it is difficult to recover its identity... if I can show you an example look at the Serassi Organ in Mantua, S. Andrea Cathedral.. I did that restoration and it was not supposed to be "beautiful" but to function according to the rules of the art and according to the construction criteria of the time www.voxorganalis.it/archivio-organi/mantova-basilica-concattedrale-s-andrea-apostolo/ don't be afraid if it's not https... it's a harmless pastoral association ;)
Wow! It turned out beautiful.
Thank you! Cheers!