Veneer repair/rehab or recycle/reuse base

[sbarnhardt]

My wife has an old family cedar chest that's covered with veneer. Agewise, I'd put it somewhere in the 1940'ish range at the best if not earlier. It's not in great shape on the outside to say the least. The veneer is in varying stages of coming off over pretty much the whole thing. That ranges from outright coming off to starting to come up in the seams. Looking in the inside, the "box" portion seems to be pretty nice red cedar of about 5/8 thickness. I'm trying to decide if it's worth trying to repair/rehab this thing or just try to take it apart and try to salvage the cedar wood it's made from. There is "no" sentimental attachment from her.

Any thoughts, comments are welcome.

:dontknow::icon_scra:dontknow::icon_scra:dontknow:

 

[Glennbear]

My family has a chest from the 40's which sounds strikingly similar and is currently being held by my sister since Mom now resides in a nursing home. I promised sis I would make an effort to repair the veneer and the drawer slides underneath (small drawer). I look forward to seeing where this thread goes and I hope you can post a picture of the chest. I can remember our chest all the way back to my childhood so it definitely has sentimental value. :wsmile:

 

[sbarnhardt]

Again, These are cell phone pictures so take that into account. They are a fair representation though.

 

[jmauldin]

Looks like you could strip off the old veneer and apply new veneer, or, since it is "solid" cedar, you could strip off the veneer and finish the outside. If you sand the inside with 120 gr. and wipe it clean the cedar will smell like it originally did and be good storage - for clothes or tools.
Jim in Mayberry