The Art of Cabinet Restoration

by Craig Friesen
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

Sometimes what you see is not what you get when it comes to old furniture. In fact beneath a coat of paint or sitting in your attic might very well be the beautiful work of a cabinet maker.

Before you go off to scrape paint, however, you should consider consulting someone skilled in wood craft. Cabinet restoration is not as simple as it might seem although with good instruction almost anyone can accomplish it.

How is Your Wood Craft?

Understanding all the steps needed to complete a cabinet restoration project is a good idea before you get started. After all you want to restore an old piece of furniture, not have to call on the services of a cabinet maker to start fresh. So how well do you know your wood craft?

If you are confident in your abilities then the next consideration is the condition the object of your cabinet restoration project is in and the condition you would like to restore it to! For instance, to increase the value of an antique you would not want to restore your cabinet as if it were coming fresh from the cabinet maker.

The procedure would be to determine what the furniture might have looked like when it was in good condition but still in use. Someone skilled in wood craft or antique assessment can help if you are unsure.

Your Cabinet Restoration Project

Having assessed the condition your furniture is in and what you want your cabinet restoration project to accomplish, the next step is to strip, dismantle, and repair the cabinet. Again this may require the help of a cabinet maker or someone skilled in wood craft.

Next begins the more productive part of cabinet restoration. The furniture needs to be reassembled testing your wood craft even more. But once the piece is together you can stop to admire how your cabinet restoration project has turned out. The finishing touches properly applied can bring the cabinet to the condition you desire.

Source

• http://www.vintage-radio.com

About the Author
Craig Friesen is a freelance writer living in rural Saskatchewan, Canada. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from University of Manitoba and a Master of Divinity degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana.