Thread: Antique furniture

It could be that the oils in the surface layers have broken down or evaporated over time; you might need to plane a couple of mm off to expose a fresh surface to get the scent back.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

.......... My understanding is that most of the antique furniture and fittings were made from Cedar, ............

Hi Dalllas

Unfortunately that is not quite correct.

Only a small percentage of furniture was made from cedar. The vast majority was made from a wide range of both imported, local and interstate timbers.



Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by Treecycle

I was hoping someone can help me out with a query I have had for some time. When you go into a building with older furniture in it there is an almost musty sort of smell which comes from the furniture.
I have just acquired some lining boards which have the same smell as the old furniture so I thought I should set my mind straight.

I think that the musty smell in old furniture is mould.

I have never tried, but there are products marketed for taking the smell out of a fridge -- they might be worth a try in a sealed bag.

Got a few photos of the offending timber today. The lining boards I got seem to be different species of timber as one is fine grained and the other (in the photos) is quite coarse or maybe soft and hard growth rings.

Smelly_1.jpg Smelly_2.jpg Smelly_3.jpg

they could be the same species.
one old growth, the other regrowth.

the photo on the right -- with the widely spaced growth rings -- could indicate plantation grown.

I've occasionally wondered whether the musty smell comes from old waxes or other finishes breaking down or going rancid. I find it is not just antiques, old chipboard cabinets can smell disgusting! In that case it might be the glues.

I rarely offer opinions on photographs of wood, but all three look pretty much like a softwood. Most likely Hoop Pine if it's a locally-made piece. Growth ring spacing will vary with growing conditions & also position in the tree.

I second the view that musty smells of old stuff is most likely from moulds - there are zillions of species and their spores are everywhere, so whenever they settle on a substrate that suits them, and get a hint of moisture, they'll flourish...

Cheers,

I have been working with the timber slowly over the last couple of weeks and there is no sign of the musty smell now. It has been cut and planed on all faces so all of the original surfaces are no longer there.
It does appear that it has something to do with either mould or the coatings although these pieces didn't appear to be finished in any way but I would dare say they have been stored for a long time. I am glad the smell has gone as I am using the timber to make the carcass of a box and it wouldn't be too appealing if the smell remained.