Cedar Chest Restoration
An interesting project came my way recently and I wanted to share the journey “from barn to living room” with you.
A client found an old cedar chest in a barn. It had been sitting in a corner, covered in dust and debris for what must have been decades. To say it was “rough” described its condition with some understatement.
The client said his wife liked the chest and was wondering if it could be restored to a level that would allow them to not only have it in their living or bedroom, but to also store blankets in it again.
He did not want it made “perfect” and it was important to him to see the scrapes and dings that come with age in the finished project.
Here are some “before” images:
Cedar chest - unrestored
An approx. 4” wide strip was broken off the front edge and left loose in the chest. The lid also had a 6” long split which a previous owner tried to repair by nailing a thin strip of plywood to the underside.
The corner joints of the body sides were separated by 1/4” when viewed from the top, some of the trim pieces were loose and the lid did not lock. The feet assemblies underneath the corners were damaged and missing parts and overall the chest was dirty and smelled musty due to being in a barn for so long.
I removed the lid and all the hardware and machined a straight edge on both the lid edge and the broken off section so that I could glue the parts back together. The cracked section was also cut apart, jointed and reglued.
Lid being glued back together
An interesting detail - the original manufacturer had applied a stamp to the underside of the lid so I was careful to preserve that during the restoration process.
Original manufacturer Brown Chest Works stamp
Lid sanded and ready for finish - with new strip of cedar applied along back edge.
The front edge of the lid had a half-round detail, a section of which had broken off so I used a hand plane to recreate the detail to match the sides.
Front edge detailed being planed by hand
All four corner joints were cleaned and re-glued with expanding PU glue to regain original rigidity and loose trim was reattached. The inside of the chest was sanded to remove the odor and to expose fresh cedar for that typical cedar aroma.
The hinges were removed, rust was removed and they were refinished, the lock was cleaned and made functional.
The original feet were damaged beyond repair and I made four new feet assemblies with felt pads to avoid scratching the floor.
New feet assemblies with felt pads
Over the years the chest had been finished and refinished with varnish, most of which I sanded off in preparation for a coat of amber shellac for a traditional finish.
Shellac finish applied
To make sure that blankets could be stored in the chest without getting musty I made a new wooden grate out of fresh cedar and left it unfinished to allow for air circulation from below.
New cedar grate for air circulation
Two coats of furniture wax were applied and buffed out for that old fashioned waxed look.
And here is the restored chest - ready for its new life in the client’s home
Restored cedar chest - back side
Restored cedar chest - left side
Restored cedar chest - open
Restored cedar chest - front side