Repairing and Refinishing a 19th-Century Sideboard – Part 1

When I visit antique shops, I’m always pulling out drawers and looking underneath pieces to see how–and when–the thing was built. Most of the older, handmade pieces are way out of my price range, so I’m just looking appreciatively. But once in a while, I find something I can’t pass up. My wife and I found this old sideboard at a local thrift shop. After giving it a quick once-over, I decided it was well worth the $120 they were asking for it. Although it was pretty beat up (more on that below), I could tell there was something really good underneath the grime and the old, dark finish. And I’m going to spoil the ending for you right now, in case you’re more interested in the product than the process of the restoration. This is what was under all that: Getting from here to there took a lot of work, and it was totally worth the time and effort. In this post and the next, I want to walk you through some elements in the process of examining, repairing, and refinishing this sideboard. Why I…