Upcycled chest of drawers

[JoeAzza]

I had this old chest of drawers that needed repair,  the timber drawer rails were worn out and it was difficult to pull out the drawers, they were always getting jammed. upon further investigation, I found that the drawer rails were worn out, so I decided to replace and /or invert the worn rails.

The drawers were also worn out, instead of adding timber to replace the worn out section of the drawers, I had some old salvaged pine drawers that I used to replace the worn out drawers. I am very happy with the results, I now learnt that you need to lubricate the timber rails to prevent the rails wearing out, I used wax paste.

Before photos:

Materials

• Second hand recyled timber for drawers.
• 50mm x 19mm DAR pine for rails.
• 65mm x 19mm DAR pine for new base.
• Wood glue
• Countersunk screws.
• Nails.
• Wood filler
• Black satin paint
• Cedar waterbased stain
• New drawer knobs - Gold colour
• Clear coat satin varnish.
• Home made wax paste. ( Bees wax and Coconut oil mixture)

Tools

• 80, 120, 240 grit sandpaper.
• 150mm sander
• 125mm sander
• Mitre saw
• Router and router bit.
• Screwdriver.
• 4mm nap mini roller
• Small paint brush

Steps

Step 1

Remove old drawer fittings.

Replace all worn out drawer rails

Replace worn out drawer sides

Remove and refit backing board.

Make up and install a new kick rail.

Step 2

Sand top of chest of drawers until back to bare wood to prepare for staining.

Sand and patch the rest of the unit to prepare for painting.

Step 3

Mask and paint satin black - 3 coats using brush and 4mm nap roller.

Step 4

Stain top of unit - 4 coats to obtain the colour I wanted.

2 coats of clear coat varnish, water based.

Install new knobs.

[EricL]

Hi @JoeAzza 

Thanks for sharing the repair process on your drawers. Another cabinet saved from the tip! That extra addition of the timber moulding at the bottom really makes it look so posh. 

Thanks for sharing this awesome upcycling project.

Eric

[Jason]

Great job @JoeAzza.

Upcycling projects are so popular on Workshop, so I'm sure this will inspire and inform many members who have a similar chest of drawers that needs some love.

Thanks for sharing.

Jason