How to Repair Old Chest of Drawers

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jfynyson

Jeremy
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Hello, this is my first post on this forum and am using it to seek advice on how best to repair this old chest of drawers I got at a yard sale a few years ago. I hope my pics show up here. I also attached a link of this piece from Youtube so you can better see this piece. I posted this same thing on lumberjocks to get even more feedback but want to see how my local audience may differ in opinions to fix this piece and maybe there's a local expert !?!? I believe got it for around $20 or so (not sure). It was sitting in someones front yard and it was a guy’s older mother’s. He guessed it was from the 1920’s or earlier but not sure. Seeking any thoughts on it’s age as well…We wanted it to refurbish a bit for my son’s room. We love the old antique & rustic furniture as we have a log home and of course this piece fits well.
Here’s the piece w/o the top, which was just nailed on and bowed up in the front & back by about 2-3 inches !!! It was insane to look at (I wish I’d taken a pic before I removed the top). It measures 32-5/16” tall x 34-7/8” wide (forgot to measure the depth). It’s pretty level though and is stout from front to back if I push on it but the joints move a lot & sound “crunchy / crumbly” if I push it side to side. This is likely the sound of the mortise/tenon joinery that’s worn.


It’s been sitting in my shop, in my way, & gathering dust for far too long. It had rusted casters that I had to beat, pull, and drill out of the bottoms. There was only one full caster set up that made it so I took a pic for you. I do not wish to have casters in the end anyway.
[URL="http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/jfynyson/media/Wood%20Projects/Old%20Chest%20of%20Drawers%20Repair/IMG_4820_zpsdxjb10ju.jpg.html"]


1st thing is first – The Top
The top being very bowed “up” in the front & back make it difficult to flatten on as far as I would figure on how to repair it. If it were bowed down then I believe I could cut deep slits underneath the top, route in splines or bow ties, clamp it flat, and glue in wedges & the splines into the cuts. I’ve seen this done but the bow here is the opposite from that fix so I cannot cut into the top side. I could try this method then sand and refinish the bottom side of the top piece but then the patina wouldn’t match the rest of the piece. So, instead I pulled the top, removed the nails and clamped the side ends flat with the top side facing down, used heavy weight in the middle and sprinkled snow all over it and let it sit for a day then repeated. This worked great but as you can see once I removed the clamps and flipped it over I’ve still got a ways to go. So, I not have it clamped top side up and have more snow on it for a couple more days. (My workshop is insulated and I have heat running to keep it about 60-65F).




See the remaining bow (it was a ton worse a few days ago before adding snow and clamping)








2nd issue is the leg / framing joinery
See the mortise/tenons as well as the worn out drawer glide


See where the top, sides, back, and framing joins to the legs (they are all split)


Finally the drawers
See the bow in the bottoms; this should be an easy fix with new plywood bottoms


This pic shows the drawers are leveled and keep the reveal (I believe) using these metal tabs that I assume are nailed in ? How do I remove these so they do not continue to wear out the drawer bottoms ? Then what do I replace them w/ ? Waxed hardwood tabs glued on ? Also see the worn our drawer glide / runner that I’ll need to replace. Some are in great shape while others are falling apart.


See where the metal tabs have worn holes in the drawer bottoms


Here’s the Youtube video as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jl2NXAB_Bg

What else can I do to the top or do you feel it’s close enough for screws to now be able to pull it down the rest of the way (screw up into the bottom side of the top piece from the bracing) ? I’m not worried about the bit of cupping that remains in the middle of each top piece board.
It looks like all oak to me but I’m not good at guessing wood types yet. Let me know your thoughts here…
What time period would you place it in ? I did not see any markings on it but I’ve not looked for any very closely yet either.
Thanks in advance for any input !

 
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