Steve Saltzman
04-11-2011, 1:22 PM
I recently acquired an old birdseye maple dresser. It seems to be in decent structural shape and the mirror is actually quite good, however it sat in a remote (unused) garage for probably 12-15 years after the farm house it was originally in was torn down. Some of the veneer is peeling on the edges, there are some chunks of veneer missing, and it has had mice in it. The drawers are also somewhat swelled up from being exposed to moisture--they will all slide OK now but won't fully close. I would like to fix/restore/refinish it, however have not done much of this nature before and thought I would seek advice from those with more skill and experience for the best way to go about it.
I'm including pictures below for reference. At present my thought is to:
1) Re-glue the edges of the veneer and repair missing chunks in some manner
2) Replace the drawer bottoms with 1/4" baltic birch (some of them are pretty soft and hoping this would eliminate most of the mouse smell)
3) strip, lightly sand, and refinish everything
Does this sound like a good plan? I know refinishing and doing anything non-original (like replacing drawer bottoms) can hurt the value of some pieces, but I think this is "new" enough and far enough gone that wouldn't be much of a consideration.
I'm specifically looking for guidance on the best glue to use to fix the veneer, and any ideas of the best way to go about fixing the chips. I know I could get some new birdseye veneer and piece it in, but I fear it would be difficult to match the color. Another option would be to replace all the veneer on the drawer fronts, but I'd like to keep it as original as possible.
I tried washing the drawers out with diluted bleach, however the mouse smell still remains and is pretty strong. It's not bad enough that I notice mouse smell when I walk into my garage, but if you take a whiff in any of the drawers it will about take your breath away (even the middle drawer, which didn't have any evidence of nesting/feces). I'm not in a huge rush to use the dresser so it can air out and/or sit empty with baking soda for a while, if necessary, but do want it to eventually be functionally useful.
The inside of the center top drawer is stamped Northern Furniture Company Sheboygan, WI which from what I've found dates it between 1904 and 1949. It has a paper tag on the back that reads Beaton & Laier Omaha NEB, which I haven't been able to find much on. It appears the Beaton & Laier name started in ~1913 and the store was located in downtown Omaha (next to the Orpheum Theater--appears the location is now a parking garage). The namesake of Beaton died in 1916, however I think the company must have continued after that as I'm thinking this is more likely '30s or early '40s. Does that sound/look right?
The drawer sides are solid wood (unsure of species) and are dovetailed into the fronts; drawer bottoms are 1/4" solid wood. The dovetails definitely appear machine cut however I noticed they have little nicks/overcuts on the inside of the pockets on both the drawer front and side. I'm guessing this is a clue to the method used to cut the dovetails that may help date the piece(?)
Full dresser (without mirror)
191169
cracking/chipping on lower drawer
191170
veneer chipping on middle drawer
191171
veneer chipping on upper center drawer
191172
Top view of front - peeling veneer on drawer fronts
191173
I'm including pictures below for reference. At present my thought is to:
1) Re-glue the edges of the veneer and repair missing chunks in some manner
2) Replace the drawer bottoms with 1/4" baltic birch (some of them are pretty soft and hoping this would eliminate most of the mouse smell)
3) strip, lightly sand, and refinish everything
Does this sound like a good plan? I know refinishing and doing anything non-original (like replacing drawer bottoms) can hurt the value of some pieces, but I think this is "new" enough and far enough gone that wouldn't be much of a consideration.
I'm specifically looking for guidance on the best glue to use to fix the veneer, and any ideas of the best way to go about fixing the chips. I know I could get some new birdseye veneer and piece it in, but I fear it would be difficult to match the color. Another option would be to replace all the veneer on the drawer fronts, but I'd like to keep it as original as possible.
I tried washing the drawers out with diluted bleach, however the mouse smell still remains and is pretty strong. It's not bad enough that I notice mouse smell when I walk into my garage, but if you take a whiff in any of the drawers it will about take your breath away (even the middle drawer, which didn't have any evidence of nesting/feces). I'm not in a huge rush to use the dresser so it can air out and/or sit empty with baking soda for a while, if necessary, but do want it to eventually be functionally useful.
The inside of the center top drawer is stamped Northern Furniture Company Sheboygan, WI which from what I've found dates it between 1904 and 1949. It has a paper tag on the back that reads Beaton & Laier Omaha NEB, which I haven't been able to find much on. It appears the Beaton & Laier name started in ~1913 and the store was located in downtown Omaha (next to the Orpheum Theater--appears the location is now a parking garage). The namesake of Beaton died in 1916, however I think the company must have continued after that as I'm thinking this is more likely '30s or early '40s. Does that sound/look right?
The drawer sides are solid wood (unsure of species) and are dovetailed into the fronts; drawer bottoms are 1/4" solid wood. The dovetails definitely appear machine cut however I noticed they have little nicks/overcuts on the inside of the pockets on both the drawer front and side. I'm guessing this is a clue to the method used to cut the dovetails that may help date the piece(?)
Full dresser (without mirror)
191169
cracking/chipping on lower drawer
191170
veneer chipping on middle drawer
191171
veneer chipping on upper center drawer
191172
Top view of front - peeling veneer on drawer fronts
191173