Featured Antique Commode/Chest Information

Absolutely! there are guys who restore for a living but again, quality cost money. And that money is not likely to be recovered if selling it.

 

It's not only the drawer, the pulls need to be replaced with Federal style pulls and that apron is needing work as well and then refinish entire piece to make everything blend....

 

Thought Komo ran you off! ................... Hay !!!!! Ya Heyyyyyy !!

 

ok cool. I may try something myself. I have been working with wood and furniture for many years so I might attempt to recreate the drawer front myself. The wood inlays and crazy primitive dovetails might present a problem but it's a separate piece so if it doesn't work no harm done, right? I just didn't want to experiment on a priceless antique if it was 1700's and should be sent to a professional. I will definitely fix the veneer and make sure i find some correct pulls. Again thanks for all your advice. i will continue to follow this forum and post progress.

 

but I couldn't let the owner burn it (which is where it was heading), so I took it home..........

Priceless antique , it's not !
Deserve your loving kindness to bring it back to life.....it does !!!

Have at it....& have fun !!
We'll be watching...................................

 

Yeah, nobody wants a "project" today when it comes to antique furniture, they want to bring it home & place it where they want it to go and that's THAT!

 

Babs Kohler does !!...... so she's not a ' nobody' !! YAY !!

 

Wow, I'm glad James came along!

Good job James! You go!!!

 

If the "edit" is still showing in the post with duplicate pictures. Click it. More options there will be a delete next to the images and you can remove the ones you don't want.

Nice Chest of drawers.
Glad James is here to give you the correct info.

 

Me too!

 

All cleaned up now, thanks for that! I am glad James showed up too, AND that Komo didn't scare me off!

 

I think it’s great that you saved it from the fire! I’ve seen a something like that missing a drawer with a small shelf support dropped in. It was filled with random old, small books stacked side by side vertically. It looked pretty neat sitting next to bookshelves.

 

Before I saw the chest I thought I might do just that! My original thought was to remove the top two drawers and place a shelf where I could put my DVR box and some books, etc., then put my TV on top. Then once I saw that the missing drawer was near the bottom, that plan went out the window. I'm still not sure what to do with it, but now that I know it's not something I need to preserve as is, I have a lot of ideas. I do still like this one! Thanks!

 

Yeah, one of the problems here is, the drawers are "graduated", that is, the bottom drawer the largest & the top drawer the smallest. Your chest is missing the 2nd largest drawer at the bottom, close to the ground so kinda awkward as a bookshelf. Another problem in restoration is, the inlay, that is not a DIY type project & requires a professional woodworker or it's gonna look weird.
I would look around for a retired woodworker who piddles around in a home type shop for something to do.

 

I would dump those pulls if the plan is to keep the chest, chippendale pulls on a hepplewhite chest are totally out of place. Most furniture restorers in USA use Optimum Brass in England, good outfit & the best place for period appropriate brasses.
https://optimumbrasses.co.uk/

 

Thanks, yes, that is definitely the plan. I was actually just looking for them online. I went and took one of the chippendale pulls off and surprise as you suspected, there is a fill hole under the backplates. The new pulls will have to be 3" centers but I am seeing some replicas online which is ok with me! I'm learning more each time I look it over. Today I noticed that the drawer I have in the bottom is marked "3" on the bottom of the drawer and inside the drawer front, so it is actually the bottom drawer that is missing. This might make it easier for me to hide my attempt at replacing the drawer front. Would you recommend I buy a piece of maple for the front? Is that what you think it is?

Also, is it possible to estimate age on the Chippendale pulls? They are solid brass. Just wondering.
Thanks again...(again)....

 

Not really but they are modern stamped brass, they are not period. Period chippendale brasses would be cast for one thing & the post itself would be threaded & a nut on inside of drawer.

On replacement pulls for your chest you have 2 choices that are period appropriate, rosettes or hepplewhite

Hepplewhite

Rosette

 

g

great, thanks. I think I found a suitable reproduction online for around 8 bucks apiece. Since the replaced pulls are 3", your UK source doesn't have any (I'm assuming period Hepplewhite pulls were not made in 3"), so I don't mind reproductions. I also wanted to share something very exciting that I found this morning. For some reason, the back of drawer #3 (which is the same size as the missing drawer) is made of the same wood that the fronts are made of! The others are not, as you can see in this photo. I think if i can carefully separate it from the back and replace the back, I can use this piece as the front of the missing drawer! Hooray! I will make sure I do all my homework and have the correct knowledge before attempting this and the marquetry, but I am hopeful. I will keep you all informed on the progress and thank you immensely for your kindness and knowledge - I couldn't have gotten this far without you!!!