I dragged another one home

[sapphire]

This was due to be chopped up for firewood by my best friend's father.  He's 86 and told me he remembers it from when he was a boy in his grandparent's home.

I'm thinking pine ( ?).  Unfortunately another relative who had it prior to him getting it, painted it white/cream then a thin over coat of ugly brown. In the process eight of the original knobs were lost.  There is a 'back board' that attaches to the top from behind......'dad' knocked it off with a hammer when he found it was too wide to fit into the Jeep.

At least this one is now in the bedroom and can be hauled out onto the deck from there for me to start working on it. Once I see how I get along redoing this one my quirky sideboard will move upstairs too and go through the same process.

Any thoughts on age, style ( ?) and am I right about it probably being pine??

[sapphire]

Dovetails....

Rear then front

[sapphire]

A couple of the inside and a side view.....

[waywardangler]

Sapphire, what is that finish on that - cream then brown?  Firewood?!  May not be the highest quality piece of furniture, but firewood?  What was he thinking?  How hard is the wood?  I am thinking fir but may be pine.  Can't tell from pics.  Are those large knots stable?  Some glue on the inside may be in order if knot. 

[sapphire]

wayward you had the same as me  FIREWOOD!! He was tired of moving it from laundry to wood room to garage where it was in the way of all the tools he barely touches now.  Wasn't going to move it back in to the house again, had no practical use for it so like all born and bred farm boys figured the next best use was to 'use' it. His daughter knew I'd have a total fit when I arrived so he said as long as it was out of the garage he would be happy.

Never even thought of fir. The boards are very rough on the inside so I'm figuring a soft wood. Should check the inside of the drawer fronts, they are smoother but at least it may show a grain. The knots seem stable, on the back though at least two have popped out. Only just got it in the house this afternoon. Stupid me, never thought to take a look at the bottom when we were lifting it up the stairs. It doesn't seem to be overly heavy in comparison to it's look. I had expected to have more trouble getting it in........but I throw 40-50 lbs of produce around all day and my daughter was a garbage 'man' used to moving 20 ton a day by hand, so we're not too shabby in the moving dept.

I think the one thing that most struck me when I first saw it was the fact that I had one of the same style in my bedroom from the time I was about 10. It was solid mahogany and came from my great aunt's beautiful victorian home. Unfortunately it came along with a (now) gorgeous cannon ball four poster, also mahogany.......that my great aunt had died in. NOT the kind of bed a 10 yr old relishes sleeping in.

At least it doesn't have the issues my sideboard does and now that my other furniture is out of the way (thank you daughter!) I can get both pieces in my room and work on them on the deck just outside. They'll be accompanied by a little bedside table I picked up that would give you guys another set of giggles.

Guess I'm truly an equal mix of both my parents.....mother loved the old, fine furniture and dad was a scavenger/re-user at heart. 

[cogar]

Me thinks that style is called Empire Revival as denoted by the shape of the front legs.

See pic here:
http://www.finedivingchicago.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Screen-shot-2010-06-07-at-8.23.03-PM.png

[sapphire]

Thanks so much cogar. That gave me more to search with and came up with this one.

I'd been wondering about replacing those newer wooden drawer pulls with metal. Now I have a better idea what it might look like should I decide to go that route.

[sapphire]

cogar I came across an interesting article on Empire vs Late Classical.......

http://rarevictorian.com/2009/06/empire-furniture-isnt-always-empire-furniture.html

"Late Classical (sometimes referred to as “pillar and scroll”) is, in many ways, the least elaborate of the Classical Era’s phases. It relies on the sheer presence and drama of wood; large unbroken sections of veneer along with hefty curving legs and large simple columns that speak of classical forms only in their lines. The lines are still there, but most of the “window-dressing” has been stripped away; you’ll see the basic elements of cyma curves, columns, and pillars."

This would explain why when I search Empire or Empire Revival, I've come up with so many different styles.

Gotta love the twists and turns of the searching. Now if I only had some real knowledge I'd be so far ahead.

[D&b antiques]

I would'nt disturb the finish. it's and honest attempt at grain painting. of which was used to ''Inhance'' and inferior wood.

[syl]

The knots on the inside indicate pine. DB is right. If you stripped it down the wood might be lousy. But then you could put a nice paint job on it.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Love those front legs! I'll say it again- FIREWOOD?!!!    Good girl for saving another one! 

The Winchester Mystery House has painted woodgrain in one room. It's quite nice actually. Sarah Winchester admired the qualities of redwood, but wanted the look of birdseye maple. (She was an east coast gal!) So she had the doorframes and cabinets painted to replicate the wood she loved.

[sapphire]

If you take a look at the second pic showing the dovetails you'll notice it was originally almost a burgundy color. By the thickness of it on the face (not where it smears along the side of the drawer) it appears it may have been a paint rather than a stain. I think it may have been repainted because of damage to the original finish as one end of the dresser appears to have a lot of blistering under the newer coats. I realize the knots would likely be quite visible using a stain, but would like to give it a more uniform finish. There are areas where the brown was missed (the third drawer from the bottom wasn't pushed in all the way, leaving a band of cream color and both of the back 'feet' didn't receive the cream, just a swirl around with the brown.

It think it definitely has potential to be an attractive piece....though never replacing the mahogany one I once had. 

[waywardangler]

Have you thought about giving it a much nicer grain painted finish rather than stripping it? Graining combs are pretty inexpensive.  I picked up an old set for $10 just in case I ever wanted to try it.

[sapphire]

Have you thought about giving it a much nicer grain painted finish rather than stripping it? Graining combs are pretty inexpensive.  I picked up an old set for $10 just in case I ever wanted to try it.

Gosh, I'd forgotten all about those! That's certainly a great idea, thanks wayward!  Now to go read up on that, it's been a long time since I'd first heard of it. 

[cogar]

A friend stopped by and wanted me to "grain paint" something and I said, "ARE YOU SERIOUS"?

Then he handed me a "wood graining rocker" and said, "Here, try this".

Now I'm here to tell you that after a few minutes of practice that "thingy" worked slicker than ... uh, ..... all get out.