Old chest of drawers

[Mark Rainey]

Bought old chest of drawers for rehab/refinish for donation - spent $60. Wild guess is it is from 1910 -1920? It has these vertically oriented steel clips
on the front rails. I have never seen this before...over the years it has worn a groove in the bottom of the drawer. Anybody see these before? Perhaps
they were added to lift the drawers up? 495173495174495175495176495177

[Mel Fulks]

I guess it’s just another kind of stop to make fronts align with case. The drawer guides look like they are worn down…scientists call
that “ failure to keep up bees wax regimen on drawer sliding and bearing surfaces “. Agree with the time period.

[Lee Schierer]

I guess it’s just another kind of stop to make fronts align with case. The drawer guides look like they are worn down…scientists call
that “ failure to keep up bees wax regimen on drawer sliding and bearing surfaces “. Agree with the time period.

I agree with Mel, it may also be a stop to stop the drawer from being pulled all the way out of the chest. What you are seeing is typical of a well used older chest of drawers with wooden runners. Lube with paraffin would have reduce the wear for a while but it needs to be renewed fairly often and most folks don't do that. You can trim the drawer sides and repair them by gluing on a new appropriately sized sacrificial strip to the bottom edge of the drawer side. That repair should give you another hundred years or so of use.

[Mel Fulks]

This just in ! To my brain. People actually did put babies in open drawers. That could be the reason for the stop. Gotta remember that
piece was some years ahead of Ralf Nader . I learned that baby in drawer tip from reading the old Moon Mullins comic strip. Mom and
Dad verified that it was actually done. But I had a real crib.

[Tom M King]

We don't have any furniture that new, so can't help with the questions. Never seen those metal stops before. I have found Renaissance Wax to be wonderful stuff on wooden drawer friction parts that lasts a Long time.

[Mark Rainey]

I agree with Mel, it may also be a stop to stop the drawer from being pulled all the way out of the chest. What you are seeing is typical of a well used older chest of drawers with wooden runners. Lube with paraffin would have reduce the wear for a while but it needs to be renewed fairly often and most folks don't do that. You can trim the drawer sides and repair them by gluing on a new appropriately sized sacrificial strip to the bottom edge of the drawer side. That repair should give you another hundred years or so of use.

Thanks Lee, I think I will glue some strips on


This just in ! To my brain. People actually did put babies in open drawers. That could be the reason for the stop. Gotta remember that
piece was some years ahead of Ralf Nader . I learned that baby in drawer tip from reading the old Moon Mullins comic strip. Mom and
Dad verified that it was actually done. But I had a real crib.

Mel, you are right! My mother told the story of living in an apartment in Washington DC and using the bottom drawer for a crib for my older brother during WW2.

We don't have any furniture that new, so can't help with the questions. Never seen those metal stops before. I have found Renaissance Wax to be wonderful stuff on wooden drawer friction parts that lasts a Long time.

Thanks Tom!

[Mel Fulks]

I just googled up baby storage . In mid 1950 s , a doctor thought up a great way to store babies…close to Mom ! There are real pics
of new Moms in bed. With their new baby in file cabinet ! Drawer above baby bed was removed for light and air !
This is real ! So Moon Mullins wasn’t just a cartoon strip, it was all about Science ! How was that technology lost?

[Cameron Wood]

I always liked this- from Fine Woodworking "Design Book Three";

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[Terry Therneau]

The dresser I grew up with had those metal clips for drawer stops. It had been handed down, I wasn't the first user; I started using it in about '57.

Terry