Chest of Drawers Did I Make A Mistake?

[James White]

I am in the finishing stages of my first chest of drawers. Yesterday I sprayed the inside of the carcase with shellac. This includes the drawer guides and runners. Is that a mistake? What about the sides of the drawers? They were dyed and coated with shellac.

What made me think about this is. I started to think about doing a few coats of WaterLox on the sides of the drawers. Then thought if the oil varnish was not completely cured. I may get some sticking. Then come to the conclusion that no matter what I did the finish will eventually rub off. That would not look good on the sides of the drawers when they are open.

What has been your experience with this? Should I remove all the finish from the runners and drawer sides? Just the top and bottom of the drawer sides (were they contact the runners and kickers)?

James

[Jerome Hanby]

I think shellac will be fine. Wax the runners well.

[Darrin Vanden Bosch]

I always finish every square inch, inside and out when I finish a project. I use an oil finish that is absorbed into the wood, does not rub off, and then an oil varnish mix for the finish coat.

Darrin

[glenn bradley]

Agreed. I would not have finished them but, I see no problem with shellac. Items that will hold clothing or linens can transfer odor for years as the clothing is enclosed for periods of time but, a barrier coat of shellac can be used to prevent/solve that. Open items like shelves, tables and such don't have this issue.

I use shellac and paste wax to make my jig surfaces slippery. The shellac'd and waxed bottom of my BB ply sleds have been used for years and perform perfectly with touch-ups of the wax about once a year or so.

[James White]

Thank you for the speedy responses. I would like to continue working on this. So so far with just shellac I am good. But then seems like I have one vote to say go ahead and topcoat with oil varnish? And one vote that says stop at the shellac and just maintain the wax. Did I get that correct?

James

[James White]

Glenn,

You say you would not have finished the contact areas. But if you were dying the drawer fronts. How would you prevent the dye from getting on the drawer sides. That is my reason for putting finish on the drawer sides. Otherwise I would only have done the inside of the carcase in order to have the wood sealed on both sides. But then again I sprayed the inside of the drawers with shellac. So I should have finish on the drawer sides as well. Or does it not mater in the case of drawer sides.

Agreed. I would not have finished them but, I see no problem with shellac. Items that will hold clothing or linens can transfer odor for years as the clothing is enclosed for periods of time but, a barrier coat of shellac can be used to prevent/solve that. Open items like shelves, tables and such don't have this issue.

I use shellac and paste wax to make my jig surfaces slippery. The shellac'd and waxed bottom of my BB ply sleds have been used for years and perform perfectly with touch-ups of the wax about once a year or so.

[John Thompson]

Shellac on the inside is fine... it's an alcohol based product. The reason for not using oil based is the odor can hang around a long time as oil takes quite a while to completely "gas off" and with closed and filled drawers that can be a long while. I don't use anything inside but if I did want to coat them shellac is the only finish I would use. How I avoid stain carry over from one part to another.. simple.. sand them to finish and then finish them un-assembled. Blue tape tenons.. etc...

Good luck...

[Russell Sansom]

A slightly different problem not mentioned here, but noted in one of the Krenov books, is that the varnish breaks down when enclosed. It actually stinks. I'll bet you've opened a china cabinet or corner cupboard, or something like that, and almost been knocked over by the "aged varnish stench." Shellac inside smells sweet and proper even a century later.

[Peter Quinn]

I did a bathroom door with waterlox. It was applied on a covered porch during a warm dry period in May here in CT, allowed to cure for a week out doors, allowed to cure for two weeks in my shop, it still had a stink three months after being hung. Not over whelming, but noticeable, and this thing was hanging in an opening, couldn't get any more air. If you waterlox the drawers, plan to let them cure for a very very long time before installation. I have better results with shellac and a water based varnish personally. The water based cures much more quickly.

[James White]

Since no one has shown any objection to having shellac on the drawer's contact surfaces. I will go ahead and rub all the contact surfaces with a gray or white Scotchbrite and coat well with some Renaissance wax.

Thank you all
James

[frank shic]

james, there's no such thing as a mistake in woodworking - it's either an opportunity or a feature lol

[James White]

Ya. I was going for the stinking sticky drawer feature. But changed my mind and went with the chipped corner at the last minute.

James

james, there's no such thing as a mistake in woodworking - it's either an opportunity or a feature lol

[frank shic]

lol please post a pic soon... i love chests of drawers!

[James White]

lol please post a pic soon... i love chests of drawers!

Sorry I took so long getting around to this.

[James White]

As you can see. I had some trouble getting the dye to take evenly. I think the problem was that I sanded some areas with 220 and other areas where only hand planed.

I attended the woodworking show this past weekend. One of the presenters, Paul Sellers, advised to always follow hand planing with 220 paper. What do you all do? What takes water soluble dye more?

I wanted to redo it. But in the end i didn't. I felt better when a friend said "I thought it was intentional".

James