The dresser puts on it's new duds

I had some things going for me on the final coat and the coverage was absolute. The previous layer had more time to set up this time. I felt that new coats were melting into the previous ones and getting sticky while being applied but this wasn't as evident with a four day curing time between coats.  I used a foam brush this time too and that seemed to apply a more even thickness.

I would have left it at the third coat with some wood colour showing through but I couldn't get over the fact that it wasn't wood grain but my wiping strokes that were looking like simulated grain. So one last coat and I'm happy. Glossy black was my original intent and it came out that way in the end.  The grain is still visible on close inspection and doesn't look too bad.  There's some evidence of where the poly went on thicker and didn't get smoothed out properly because of the lack of working time.

So my experience with the Minwax PolyShades is that I'm not likely to use it again but it did work.  I'm not likely to try to go for as dark a finish as this again.  There wasn't a net time savings by using the PolyShades but there was a small cost saving.  If the grain matching had been done better on the piece I would have regretted using the PolyShades and going for an opaque finish.

The learning experience was worth it.  Starting with a harder to use finish should make working with a more standard finish seem that much easier.  At least doing stuff the hard way first gives me more material to write about.

All dressed up

The dresser refinishing is complete and the new hardware has been added. Have a look!

Undressed dresser goes streaking

Here's the pictures from the third coat of Minwax Polyshades Classic Black:

Dressing up a dresser

Here's the progress I've made so far on my dresser refinish.

Here's where we started:

By the time the finish was sanded off we'd learned the dresser was made in Canada Jan 11, 1971 and was made of fruit wood.

Here's some snaps of a naked dresser:

I didn't have clamps strong enough to bring together the small splits on the sides but I did try to address the broken face on the bottom left.  I made some shavings in cedar since it was a close colour match and stuffed them into the crack with a bit of glue.  After clamping the repair is strong enough but there is still a noticeable crack.  If this wasn't getting finished in black I and I was inclined to spend enough time on it what I should have done is bore out the plugged screw hole and used the broken piece as a template to create a new better fitting piece.  This would also have required milling some fruit wood (possibly cherry) to 1/2" thick with a small hand plane.

The broken foot did teach me another lesson.  The broken off bit was rift sawn and the the piece it was joined to if flat sawn.  Both pieces have a screw in them holding them to the cabinet face.  The rift sawn board would have expanded and contracted less with humidity changes creating extra stress on that glue joint.

Here's my attempt at filling the crack:

I'm using Minwax Polyshades classic black because I wanted a very dark contemporary looking finish and that's the darkest I saw without using paint or looking into lacquer.  I'm not sure I'd use this product to try to get a uniform finish on raw wood again.  I do believe the effect after one or two coats could be used in interesting ways.  I could see one coat being a very effective distressed/ sun worn look.

Here's one coat:

I think for a distressed look a VERY thin coat rubbed on with a rag would work in some applications.  I applied the finish with a rag using long strokes and rubbed lightly in between coats with 0000 steel wool.  Here's pictures after the second coat:

The properties of the poly seemed to change with the second coat.  It was very sticky and streaky.  It was impossible to get a thin even coat on.  Hence the streaks.  The can says two coats and maybe if they'd been sprayed on with a HVLP that would work.  I'm thinking 4 or more for the coverage I want.  I think a dye of some sort and a clear varnish would have been a better choice for someone new to finishing like myself.  Lesson learned!  Hopefully another steel wool rubdown and coat of finish are in the cards for tonight.

Another lesson learned:  I needed to do some more sanding.  There were some rough spots on the top that I couldn't see until the first coat of finish was applied.  I think a light rub with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol might have helped me find these spots before finishing.  Also, I need more light badly.  With the dresser on the work bench only one side is lit well enough for finishing...or taking blog pictures.

Entry Way Bench

I've uploaded the SketchUp design for my next project to Google's 3D warehouse.  Clicking the image below should take you there.

The idea is to have the top of this bench open for some storage by the front door.  The shelf is made of slats to let water drain off.  I've picked up 40 feet of 6x1 poplar from Exotic Woods for this project.

Previous Projects

I'll start off with some pictures of projects I've completed to date. They aren't necessarily wood working related but I figure the skills are transferable and will serve as a baseline of what I was capable of starting out.

1) I have a thing for video game racing and this x-box racing wheel stand was as fun to build as it is to lose races on! It features a lot of lap joints and a few dados. It's made of MDF and is very nicely balanced for use on a hardwood floor. I later made one as a gift with a slightly larger base to use on carpet.

2) We had limited space and a simple vertical entertainment center shelf allows just enough room to open the basement door without bashing anything expensive. This is the second version of this shelf. The first one was made of 1/2 MDF and was substantial overkill. This 1/4 MDF version is lighter and doesn't scream, "HEY I'm a big blocky MDF shelf sitting next to an antique desk! Look at me!".

3) I used to do battle with the carpet on these stairs until they eventually killed my vacuum. We retaliated with a set of new treads and risers from Home Depot.

Victory!

4) All houses come some assembly required, don't they? Floor to ceiling sliding panel closet doors from the sixties were replaced with new built in closets.

6) The shelves in the hallway needed some dressing up. Here they are in they're new duds.

6) Water + basement = a lot of trips to the dump. Perhaps a complete basement remodel too. New floors drywall and a rebuilt closet for the water heater was the starting point. Two trap doors in the ceiling and some new shelves for the laundry room gave me a chance to make some sawdust.

Well now we're all caught up. House hold renovations are slowing down and I'd like to spend some more time building furniture. My next project is going to be some bench seating for the entry way.

Background

The intent of this blog is to create a journal of my woodworking adventures.  I will post here what I learn along the way and as many pictures as I remember to stop and take.