Finished the End Table

[lottathought]

Well I finally finished it.
To bring everybody up to speed.
I am restoring some antiques from my grandparents house.
Nobody has lived in the house for over 15 years the furniture was not in the best shape.
I am not stripping anything and am bringing back the old finish.

Well...this end table was given to my grandmother by my grandfather when they got married.
I have attached before and after pics. I hope you can tell the difference. :-D

I want to thank all that gave advice on this.
There is no way it would have turned out this well without it.

 

[DaveO]

WOW, Mike that turned out excellent. I am very surprise that you got such good results without removing the old finish. I am very impressed :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap


Dave

 

[Ray Martin]

Mike,

Well, you can stop worrying about whether we can tell the before from the after. Like Dave said... Wow! You did a fantastic job. It really is beautiful. What other pieces do you have to restore yet?

Ray

 

[TV]

Very, very nice! You did a great job!:eusa_clap

tv

 

[lottathought]

Thanks all...

Dave...
That is all Tung Oil and Carnuba wax.
Course we are talking quite a few coats of Tung Oil.
That stuff dries a lot faster when it sits on the sun all day long during a hot spell.. :drunken_s

And Ray..
I still have the bookcase to finish.
I have repaired the busted wood on it and have stained it.
I have also re-glued the areas that the glue had failed on.
(The bookcase was totally unusable and in pieces when I got it.)
I just need to finish cleaning it proper and then work on the finish a little.

After that, I have the old China Cabinet... I have not done very much on it yet. All I have done to it so far is try to stop the mildew in the wood.

Both the bookcase and the China Cabinet belonged to my great great grandparents and are from mid-early 1800's...

 

[Bas]

Stunning! You've really brought the life and shine back to the piece, without losing its age and character. I really like that. It's an antique, it's not supposed to look new, only awesome.

Bas.

 

[jeff...]

You did a great job on the restore, doesn't look like there was much damage to the top which takes the most abuse. Also looks like the old hide glue held up pretty well, usally there is quite a bit of veneer raising around the edges on an old piece like yours. Do you know what woods up the veneer top? Looks like walnut / chestnut and a little maple inlay. Chestnut was very common back then, so I would not be a bit surprised if that's what it is. Very simple yet elegant design antiques are so cool, hang on to it for another generation or two... :icon_thum

 

[cskipper]

You've done a spectacular job on that restoration! :eusa_clap

 

[skysharks]

Michael man Fantastic job on that restoration job. I won't look at another piece of old furniture in the eyes that I used to.
I would like to see what you see.
Lots of elbow grease eh?

 

[Larry Rose]

Great job. I know from experience that restoring old stuff can be a lot of work but well worth the effort as your table shows.

 

[MarkW]

Very nice! I am very surprised how well that came out. It looks like you were able to save the rich antique look with a new finish. I bet you have a great spot picked out for this.

 

[Travis Porter]

That turned out excellent! I agree with your restoration versus stripping and refinishing. It would never be the same.

 

[DIYGUY]

Michael,
A round of applause for your capable and admirable craftsmanship. Well done lad.

Any idea how many hours you put into this little labor of love? I work painfully slow. I would estimate my time at something north of 20 hours. If I charged someone $25/hr (very reasonable I think) that is a $500 job. So buy yourself a beer or two and celebrate the money saved, that goes along with the glow from a job well done ....

 

[sapwood]

Wow! Don't see how you could have done it any better :icon_thum

One more Wow before I go,
Roger

 

[erasmussen]

Great job:eusa_clap