One of my wife's Christmas present was my refinishing this unusual piece that she inherited from her mother who believed it was her great gandfathers from Maine. This has one draw that folds down for a writing surface and has some small posts on the side of that draw. The the draws can lock down with a hinged pice on the right side that folds over all the draws which all have a small groove in the front.
I wish I had before pictures. It had been in cellars for over 5 years and the wood was starting to dry out and get spots of mold.
I determined the original finish (looked like cherry with cherry wood) was worth while to trying to save rather then strip. There was some bare spots and water marks but not extensive. I started with the draws and had to reglue and rebuild all of them. Some of the draw boards were missing so I had to saw unsually shaped dovetails.
I cleaned all the surfaces with a spray on detergent and immediately wiped off and followed with Murphy's oil soap and wiped that off with a clean rag in some clean water. I always wiped the surfaces and only used enough spray to get the old wax and finishes. I sanded lightly with 400 grit and then stained lightly with a minwax gel stain (cherry). I wiped off within 30 min. Next day I put on Watson's Danish Finish with a walnut color to bring out the darker colors and tone down the reddish cherry in the bare wood spots. I steel wooled a mixture of bees wax and orange oil (Howards' Feed and Wax) let sit overnight wiped and then put and polished on 2 layers of neutral color carnuba wax.
My wife loves the piece now.
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