Thread: A George II Virginia Walnut Chest of Drawers

The day began with dense cold fog, but by mid morning the sun had burnt through it and I had a fine afternoon in which to finish the cabinetwork.

I'm skipping over much of the drawer making because I will be writing a dedicated post on the topic, to appear at a later date. The drawers are finished nonetheless and I fitted them to the carcase and rubbed two stops per drawer onto the drawer dividers.

Finally, I nailed the 3/8" thick pine backboards horizontally to the back of the carcase.

The Virginia Walnut chest in-the-white.

Very nice WW
Top left hand drawer for jocks and socks?

Originally Posted by Phil Spencer

Very nice WW
Top left hand drawer for jocks and socks?

How many pairs of undies do you think I have!

Originally Posted by Woodwould

...The drawers are finished nonetheless and I fitted them to the carcase and rubbed two stops per drawer onto the drawer dividers.

Yep that's solidly impressive workmanship, Nup not a clue what your talking about

Originally Posted by Woodwould

How many pairs of undies do you think I have!

Do you know how to make one pare last four days?

Originally Posted by springwater

Yep that's solidly impressive workmanship, Nup not a clue what your talking about

There are two drawer stops stuck to each of the drawer dividers like this.

Originally Posted by Phil Spencer

Do you know how to make one pare last four days?

I wear mine until the elastic goes and then I use them for polishing furniture.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I wear mine until the elastic goes and then I use them for polishing furniture.

I wear braces when the elastic goes

Stupidly, I decided to polish this chest in a manner commonly employed in the mid-eighteenth-century, using linseed oil (and other natural substances widely available at the time). I say "stupidly" because at this time of the year – with high humidity and record-breaking low temperatures – only a complete buffoon would attempt such a schedule. Yours truly takes one step forward.

Spirit varnishes dry by evaporation which occurs with little drama in virtually any weather, however, linseed oil doesn't actually dry, rather it 'sets' through chemical reaction which is largely dependent on appropriate temperature and humidity levels – neither of which were remotely ideal when I embarked on this process.

All the same, armed with a brush and a hot air gun (admittedly, an infrequently used tool in the mid-eighteenth-century), I applied the first coat of doctored oil to the chest.

3 o'clock, fading light, 8°C (46°F), half coated in oil and with dew already descending.

Building the finish is a glacial process under these circumstances, but it is nonetheless improving by the day. Part Seven may be some days off though.

Were the eighteenth century cabinet makers only able to polish for a few months of the year then ? I recall you saying that hot irons were used to preheat mortices so that the horse sauce did not go off too quickly so maybe polishing was done in front of an open fire .

Originally Posted by Peter36

Were the eighteenth century cabinet makers only able to polish for a few months of the year then ? I recall you saying that hot irons were used to preheat mortices so that the horse sauce did not go off too quickly so maybe polishing was done in front of an open fire .

Polishing year round is unproblematic if you have a roof over your head. A stove also helps in the winter months and was essential at all times (pre-electricity) for warming veneer, groundwork, glue and irons of various shapes and sizes.

What would happen if you heated the linseed oil in a double boiler and applied it hot, would it dry?

I apply oil hot irrespective of the weather. I have a second liner for my 'glue' pot which I reserve specially for oil and wax.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I apply oil hot irrespective of the weather. I have a second liner for my 'glue' pot which I reserve specially for oil and wax.

What temperature do you heat the oil and wax to, are they heated to the same temperature as horse sauce?

Originally Posted by Phil Spencer

What temperature do you heat the oil and wax to, are they heated to the same temperature as horse sauce?

Thereabouts; they only need to be hot, not smoking.