Refinish It Yourself
The Elf, whose name we do not dare mention, gave to my father's father secrets which only my side of the clan have knowledge. Thus we have followed The Keeper's command to teach our children and teach them well.
This page is dedicated to my Great Grandfather, John R. Lancaster, whose picture is shown below.
John R. Lancaster, Sr. possessed many talents, not the least of which was being an exceptional cabinet maker. He constructed a gentleman's dresser and weave back chair for my father's parents as a wedding present.
After the death of my father, we refinished the dresser with it's original finish, which was hand rubbed hot linseed oil. We gave the dresser to our son as a family heirloom.
Additional period reconstruction's and refinishing projects are added since August 28, 1998. Projects shown on this page include:
Projects
Commode Table
Hat Rack
Corner Cabinet
Curio Cabinet
This is an excellent resource book to begin your restoration project.
Commode Table
My wife's aunt Irma Hamilton suffered a stroke and was fondly cared for by her husband, Ham. After Ham's death, she lived with her sister, Gladys Locke. Shortly after she moved in with Gladys, Irma asked us to meet her at her home, because she wanted to give us something. My wife was really excited, until Irma said that she was giving us apiece of furniture. The dresser shown above was originally painted with about seven coats of enamel paint, had oil cloth tacked around three sides and had a cork top which was stained and cracked. After we got home my wife cried, because the dresser was so ugly.
Several years later, I finally got the courage to see what could be done with such an ugly piece of furniture. The cork and oil cloth were removed and the paint was removed with volcano rock insulation, because I did not want to remove any more of the "old wood" than necessary. The extra effort was worth the time required. A fine piece of pegged oak furniture lay underneath the "ugly."
Eight coats of hand rubbed cut shellac were used as the finish coat.
Several weeks later, we returned from a vacation, we found that our air conditioner pan had over flowed and the ceiling had fallen down on the newly refinished commode table. After our initial shock, we cleaned Top of Page the mess. We were delighted to find that there was no water damage to the commode table, which we attribute to the finish coat.
Hat Rack
Our son called from Birmingham, Alabama one day to tell us that he was going to an auction and wanted to know if there was anything we would like for him to purchase for us. We told him that we needed an old fashioned hat rack for the foyer. Several weeks later he brought us our hat rack. It was in six pieces and the bottom was missing. Rather than cry again, my wife thanked him for his thoughtfulness and quietly told me to "fix it."
The bottom was replaced with a new piece of red oak, which was covered with burlap and left outdoors for several months to weather. After reassembly, we finished the hat rack with six coats of "French rub" varnish, which was the period finish.
Corner Cabinet
My wife had always wanted a bed room large enough to place chairs and a cabinet for part of her doll collection. When our oldest daughter and son graduated from their respective colleges, we rearranged sleeping arrangements and took the large bed room, which had plenty of space. The corner cabinet (shown above) was purchased as bare wood. What we did to finish this cabinet really took intestinal fortitude on my part, because it was finished in our bed room.
The cabinet was sanded with several grades of paper starting with 150 grit, then 250 grit and finally 400 grit. The wood surface was so slick that a baby could sit on it without fear of splinters, but holding on tight so as not to slide off. This work and application of the stain were done in our work shop.
We wanted to apply finish coats of varnish. However, past experience dictated that the best place to work was in a controlled environment, like our home. Drop cloths were carefully placed in our bed room and space was allowed which permitted complete access to all sides of the cabinet. Wood blocks were placed under the corners where all areas could be available to apply the varnish. Next we choose a varnish which will not run and is of the highest quality currently on the market, as shown below.
This was the first time the Bartley family of fine products had been used and will certainly not be the last.
Curio Cabinet
The curio cabinet shown above is a center piece of our great room. Part of my wife's doll collection is contained there in and some of our children's collectible's as well. The children's possession's will remain safely tucked away until they decide to adorn their own home's with their child hood memories.
This piece was purchased from a dealer at a fraction of its appraised value because of a cracked side glass and a two broken legs. We carefully took dimensions of the cabinet and went to New Orleans, La. to have a custom piece of curved glass made. Thankfully when we picked up the glass and placed it in the cabinet the fit was perfect. We removed the one unbroken leg and had a friend hand carve two replica's which was required because the entire cabinet was hand crafted. The finish was applied and the legs rejoined to the base. Not too much work and the total cost including the original purchase was less than $500.00.
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restore furniture, fix items around the home, or remodel your home. This help is offered free, because of the help which we have been given.