Restless Hands’ Project - 3

The other day I was taking my nightly walk (I got into the habit of walking for about 45 minutes before bed and it helps greatly with my sleep) in our quiet residential area and saw that someone put out for trash a solid wood night stand. Or maybe it’s a small dresser because it’s a little too tall for a night stand.

It was already dark and I couldn’t assess the damage in street lighting, so I just played with the drawers to see if they slide well. They did indeed, thanks to the center railing system. Satisfied, I decided to take the piece. In the worst case scenario, if it’s too beat-up I’d just take it to Goodwill.

One thing I could tell right away was that it was solid oak and very well constructed. The trash pickup was supposed to be around 4-5 am (don’t you hate it that they do it so early?) so I almost ran home and drove my car back to pick the dresser up. It was so heavy to load that I had to take the drawers out. Hauling it to my second-floor apartment was an exercise in agility and strength as well.

In the morning light, I inspected the piece. It was almost perfect, with some damage on the top, including a round ring from something hot and sticky, most probably a candle. The drawers also had sticky waxy drips and streaks. It must have been sitting in a garage or storage because it had accumulated a lot of dust and cobwebs.

As I was washing it with slightly soapy water, I was able to remove most of the sticky stuff which did turn out to be candle wax. I also took note of scratches and holes I’d have to take care of. Cleaned, the piece started to shine and show its beauty to me.

I saw that the drawers and sides didn’t need much work, just waxing. But the top and decorative planks at the bottom needed sanding and resurfacing. I had to wait for a couple of hours for the piece to dry completely after washing before sanding it.

I decided to sand the top and planks by hand because the surface is relatively small for the electric sander and the electric tool could have gone in too deep. I did have to go deeper in the area where the candle circle was and it did take me some time to sand everything to my satisfaction, but this is how it looked after sanding:

I was excited to finally stain it. I used penetrating “Provincial 211” oil-based stain by Minmax which is ideal for oak. Here’s the result after one application:

The stain needed a couple of hours to dry, so meanwhile I waxed the drawers with furniture beeswax and cleaned and waxed a cedar frame for my new magnolia painting (I still have some art supplies and zeal left so I feel like I am at the mass production stage with them). I also finished the painting.

The last step in any furniture restoration project is giving the piece a layer of polyurethane for protection. For this one, I’ve used Minmax Warm Satin clear fast-drying polyurethane. While I was brushing it on I already knew where I would put the finished piece.

This is the finished piece before setting it in place. Look at the solid sturdy craftsmanship and the beauty of it! How could anyone throw it out for trash?

I was frustrated and unhappy with my TV space: too many times I bumped into the table because it’s so long and as I age I’m getting clumsier. Besides, it doesn’t have storage for my DVDs. I have no cable or Internet at home (personal deliberate choice) so I only occasionally watch my favorite movies stacked on the table and looking untidy. I decided the new piece was to replace my long table that will go to Goodwill.

The after picture is the cover for this story. I am so happy about this project that cost me only my labor and materials, all of which I already had on hand. My arms still hurt from the sanding job but I’m completely and utterly satisfied. Truly, one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

As a bonus, here’s my new Magnolia painting: