Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 22

Thread: Grained chest over drawers

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523

    Grained chest over drawers

    I thought you all might appreciate a sneak peak at a project I'm working on. It isn't finished yet (still need to complete the drawers and install hardware), but I am ecstatic with the way the finish turned out.

    This is a slightly modified version of a signed and dated American vernacular 1830 chest over drawers. This is a little later than I usually like to work, but it is a form that was used for many decades before this time so it didn't bother me too much.

    The original:


    The piece is pine with two coats of shop-made yellow ochre oil paint. Over top of that is a shop-made glaze containing dark brown ochre pigment, linseed oil, a bit of stand oil, and japan drier. This is made rather thick so that the brush strokes will stay and so that the glaze takes longer to dry, giving the artisan more time to move the pigment around to suit the design.

    The graining decoration only took 30 minutes to execute on this large piece. I'd say it definitely improved the looks. We went from bare pine:



    to ugly yellow ochre:



    to this in about 3 hours of actual work (total time on the piece is about 30 so far, will have a bit more in drawer making).









    I really like trying out the decorative techniques of the past. It is a nice change of pace from most of the period work that is done today.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Clinton Township, MI, United States
    Posts
    1,554
    Zach,
    That really looks good.
    From the workshop under the staircase, Clinton Township, MI
    Semper Audere!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    Thanks Mike! It was intended to be "quick and dirty" like the original piece's decoration, but it turned out pretty nice and it passes Stephen Shepherd's "Six Foot Test". I'm really happy with it.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Chappell Hill, Texas
    Posts
    4,741
    I always assumed "grain painting" was to mimic, alter, or add a wood grain. I guess I learning something today! Thanks for posting.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    Todd, that is the traditional meaning. The original was painted to somewhat resemble burled wood (you have to squint). My piece is intended to more closely resemble figured / curly cherry or mahogany. The point isn't always to be extremely realistic with the appearance. It is intended to be more of a look more expensive from a distance thing, especially on these rural vernacular pieces. If it looks passable from six feet, it is good to go.
    Last edited by Zach Dillinger; 07-24-2014 at 10:40 AM.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  6. #6
    My FILs boyhood home has plain oak doors and trim, but every single bit of trim and every door on both sides has grain painting on it. The first couple of times I visited the house, I didn't look closely and didn't realize it wasn't real (it was done well, but it's one of those things if you look at it from a distance you just make an assumption and don't look closer). I sat on the steps next to the door going upstairs from the kitchen on a following visit and it was immediately apparent from close up, as it always is. If you can get in older houses that haven't had their woodwork painted over to a solid color, it's pretty common (and interesting).

  7. #7
    Most interesting,I love this stuff. Think the painter of the original was going for tortoise shell.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    Great job,Zach!!

    If my stomach gets much bigger,I'll have a home grown case of chest over drawers!!

    Here's a weird case of "graining". There is evidence that in the 18th. C.,one of the houses in Wmsbg. had a door painted to look like mahogany. They regularly make doors from mahogany in the millwork shop,for the sake of durability. So,they made a mahogany door for the house in question,and sent it off to the paint shop to be grained to look like mahogany!! I thought it a terrible waste. The mahogany door looked great without being painted over.

  9. #9
    It looks terrific Zach. The color is very nice.
    I was at Monticello last year an a lot of the interior doors are finished like this.

  10. #10
    I've seen the same thing ,George. It was a privately owned old house and the owners paid about $1000 per door just for the graining on the real mahogany.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    Thanks for the kind words gents. I am really happy with this so far. I expect the color to get even richer (the pictures don't really do it justice...) when I put on some amber shellac. And I'll class it up a bit with some outstanding Sheraton pulls from Londonderry... which cost more than all the wood and all the finishing supplies combined!
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    Think the painter of the original was going for tortoise shell.
    Mel, I thought about that. My major reason for assuming it was supposed to be burl is the lack of red. But I didn't see a chemical composition report of this piece, so I suppose there could have been red pigment on it that has changed over time. Good eye!
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  13. #13
    Looks better than the original! Nice work on the grain painting.
    "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Proust

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Chevy Chase, Maryland
    Posts
    2,484
    I really like it! FWIW, I think the maker of the original was more free with the finish - maybe just a different artistic "hand", and it suits my taste more.
    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  15. #15
    Thanks for posting. Really intriguing! Love seeing your work.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •