Wood & Patina
14 September 2026 · 5 weeks

A chest of drawers from a house clearance

Bought for the price of a coffee. The drawers stuck, the top was ring-marked and two knobs were missing.

A chest of drawers from a house clearance before
Before
A chest of drawers from a house clearance after
After

01Running the drawers

Wax on the runners did half the job. The other half was planing a millimetre off two drawer sides that had swollen.

02The top

Water rings came out with a warm iron over a damp cloth. The deeper ones needed a light sanding and a patch of new finish.

03Knobs

I turned four new ones from an offcut of oak so they would match each other, not the old two.

04Finishing

Oil, rubbed in thin and left a day between coats. Four coats in total.