Furniture refinishing question

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi all, I have been looking for new bedroom furniture and am very disappointed by the quality. A lot is made in China and is just not what I'm looking for..

I have an old bedroom set that's made pretty well but I'm so tired of the finish. I know it's veneered so the question is: How can I change the color of this bedroom set? It would seem like any sanding is out since the veneer is probably too thin. How about reveneering the whole thing? Would it be worth it? The drawers are oak with dovetails and good center undermount drawer hardware. I don't see this on anything I've looked at so far. It's about 33 years old and may not be the best quality but is definitely better than I've seen so far. What would you do? Thanks.

[Don Baer]

Alan,
My neighbor has been refinishing some vaneered pieces and he generaly uses a chemical stripper. Then lightly sands them. After that he generaly will either stain them or just finish natural depending on the look he wants. He has been doing some excellant work. If you'd like I'll ask him this evening what type of stripper he uses.

From the look of those pieces the vaneer apears to be in good shape.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks Don, I'd like to know what stripper he uses. And yes the veneer is in great shape except for a couple of areas. Thanks again! Alan

[Carl Eyman]

I was asked to make an old piece more presentable some years ago. The piece wasn't worth an Herculean effort; so I got some of Formsby's concoction and used it. Pretty simple and quick. It came out well enough so that when I did a nice part wood/ part upolstered chair a few years later I used it again also with good results. Now you cannot make the piece come out any way you want because you never get back to new wood, but there are options and you can definitely change the color. You could try a bedside table, for instance, and see what you can do. For a final finish you can use tung oil with or without staining or glazing.

[John Miliunas]

Hey Alan, please, take this in the spirit it's meant, that being, positive!!! :D This is a WW forum with a LOT of great folks with a LOT of expertise for you to draw off of. You yourself are a woodworker. You've already been "shopping", so you have some buck$ to spend. Here's the plan: Design, from scratch, your own furniture and/or get some suggestions at the Design Forum. Pick up some lumber from your favorite supplier and get busy! Problems or questions? We're here to help. In the end, you'd have a killer set, worth more than anything you'll find at those stores and you can mark all the pieces with your own name, rather than, "Made in China"!!! :D Just a thought.... :) :cool:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks Carl and John! I'll look into the Formsby method and see what it'll do. Thanks. John, I'd love to make my own bedroom set but to be honest I'm not sure I can. I haven't done a lot of carcass construction and this would be among my first. But I hear you and appreciate your thoughts on this. Now if only there were 28 hrs. in a day. :)

[John Miliunas]

Thanks Carl and John! I'll look into the Formsby method and see what it'll do. Thanks. John, I'd love to make my own bedroom set but to be honest I'm not sure I can. I haven't done a lot of carcass construction and this would be among my first. But I hear you and appreciate your thoughts on this. Now if only there were 28 hrs. in a day. :)

Awww, come on, dooooooooooood!!! Sure you can!!! I did my first cabinet construction way back when I barely had more than a contractor TS, portable planer (little Ryobi, no less) and some portable power tools! :) Tell 'ya what: Try the Formby's and see how well that works. Maybe it'll be enough to "get you by". In the meantime, start planning your own set. That way, you won't be without and, if in the end, you don't succeed, you'll still have the Formby-fied stuff! :D :cool:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

John I like your "can do" attitude. I'm going to look at plans and see if there's something that looks good. Oh, I forgot to mention we're moving to another state and I guess I'm thinking of all the set up time for a new shop. I'll be going from a basement shop in Md. to a garage shop in N.C. But I would love to be able to complete a bedroom set and be able to say I did that all myself. Thanks again for the pep talk. :D

[Jerry Olexa]

Hey Alan, please, take this in the spirit it's meant, that being, positive!!! :D This is a WW forum with a LOT of great folks with a LOT of expertise for you to draw off of. You yourself are a woodworker. You've already been "shopping", so you have some buck$ to spend. Here's the plan: Design, from scratch, your own furniture and/or get some suggestions at the Design Forum. Pick up some lumber from your favorite supplier and get busy! Problems or questions? We're here to help. In the end, you'd have a killer set, worth more than anything you'll find at those stores and you can mark all the pieces with your own name, rather than, "Made inChina"!!! :D Just a thought.... :) :cool:

Alan, I echo John's thoughts 1000%!! You can do it and you'll treasure it more if you build it yourself! The process of building is half the fun and the guys on this forum will help you as you go through it..Think it over..If I can build something, anybody can:) :D

[Alan Tolchinsky]

O.K. Jerry, I hear you. I'm looking for plans now. Any suggestions? Thanks for you encouragement. Alan

[Jim Becker]

Yea, Alan...I'm also of the same mind as John. Choose a style that uses approachable joinery and go for it. Carcass construction isn't "rocket science" and I have no doubt you are up to the task!

[tod evans]

alan, i`m with jim-n-john jump on in and build some boxes it`s not that hard. just stear clear of curves `till you master square. the sattisfaction of doing it yourself is tremendous plus you`ll get kudos from the loyl....02 tod

[John Miliunas]

O.K. Jerry, I hear you. I'm looking for plans now. Any suggestions? Thanks for you encouragement. Alan

Alan, what style of furniture do you like or have been looking at as replacements? Contemporary? AC? Period furniture? Shaker?:confused: Outside of period style, which IMHO, would be the hardest to produce, the others aren't too tough. For the most part, some type of M&T for AC or Shaker and probably get some practice in for DT joints on the drawers for any of them. The period furniture can get into some pretty intricate joinery, molding, curves and even carving. The others can afford you relatively basic square joints with numerous options for the joinery. Regardless of what you choose, I believe it would be well worth your time and effort. :) Plus, it would probably earn you some, "Dear, I need a (insert tool here)," points! :D :cool:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hey John, We definitely like more modern contemporary style furniture. But I don't like furniture that's so simple that it looks boring and uninteresting. Sometimes combining woods solves the boring problem. I like cherry with walnut or maple with a dark veneer next to it. I do have the capability of veneering panels for a bed for instance if I need to. I'm going to check FWW and see what they have. Any ideas for other sources would be most appreciated. Thanks again for your prodding. :rolleyes: I need it. Thanks Alan

[Brian Hale]

Do a google for Bedroom Furniture and see what you find. If you see something, even just some small aspect that appeals to you, print it out and keep looking. Combine those aspects into something your comfortable constructing. That's how i get ideas when i'm designing something new.

Brian:)

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks Brian, that's a great idea! I'm googling right now. Alan

[Jim Becker]

I keep a file of catalog clippings for the same reason Brian mentions...it's the "idea" file!