WOW! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful find and all the steps you had to take! I’m blown away by your attention to detail!

My vintage dresser ended up going into my toddler’s room, so for the moment I actually WANT the drawers to be hard to open :-) When he’s a little older I might try using the paraffin wax as a lubricant for the drawers.

My dresser actually came with wooden knobs and I was tempted to use wood again, but all the other pieces of furniture in the room used metal, so I decided it go with the cheap and easy route and have them all match. I did keep the original wood knobs, though, thinking that they might still be cleaned up at some point.

And, really, great find on the drawer stop! Those little single point drawer stops are EXACTLY what I have/had in my dresser… I did make the links active and included a photo of them. I may just have to order a dozen at some point and put them in! I’m sure they’d work much better than my screw solution!

Thanks again! It’s such a pleasure hearing that my post was able to help someone (as does all your wonderful info!)… Do you have a before and after photo? I’d love to post it with your comments!

Have a great day!

Single Point Drawer Stop by Restoration Center
Buy new: $3.25 for a dozen.

(Tom: Sarah, thank you so much! I grabbed the photo and made your link to the single point drawer stop active! Great find!)

also repaired sections of the drawers, re-gluing and using similar weights (a heavy can) to hold the drawers in place, as well as some small clamps I have, while the wood glue dried. I never thought of wrapping a brick in a “towel” and thank you for this awesome suggestion. Someone else had done other repairs to the drawers and re-caulked it in places. It had the dove-tail drawers too and all but one drawer stop in place.

Someone had also used the idea presented here of the screw and washer to serve where two vintage stops were missing on one of the large drawers. I tried to find these vintage metal stops, that someone said were called “rivets” but I, like you, could NOT find these little pieces. I even checked our local hardware store, Woods Ace as I live in Ellensburg, Washington. This is a vintage hardware store and has been in our community since the 1920′s or prior, and locally owned. One of the original owners worked there till 3 years ago, she was 88 then and just recently turned 91, totally awesome lady. It is my favorite store in town and still they could not figure out what the part was called. They suggested I bring in the little part but I didn’t want to have to remove the part as I had already used it when I found it floating loose in back of one of the drawers.

Wow, can you believe it was still in the dresser? My favorite store clerk, Loretta, recommended a Woods Ace stain/sealer with polyurethane, a one-coat application and I purchased one quart. The directions indicated a second coat could be applied after a reasonable drying time. Of course, I re-sanded the entire dresser, after sealing it all with the first coat, interior and exterior, inside the drawers and inside the dresser too. I knew that sealing inside wasn’t essential but after all the hours I put into it, wanted to cover some crazy yellowish colored paint or spray that was speckled on the interior walls. I couldn’t imagine that someone had at one time perhaps painted this dresser that color, almost a fluorescent greenish, lime yellow.

So, the dark walnut stain covered this yucky color. I had sanded it repeatedly but could NOT get the last residue of this off. Someone had spilled some strong smelling perfume in one of the smaller drawers and by staining and sealing the interior of the drawers, it eliminated that odor. I used the 600 weight wet/dry sandpaper for my final sanding, making it all so smooth and velvety feeling. It looked lovely with just one coat of stain/sealer but even more lovely when I added the second coat, just to the exterior, wow! I also found out that putting the stain/sealer on when the weather was cooler, in fact, around 55º and I was working outdoors on my covered back porch/deck area, as for good ventilation, well those temps were conducive to the stain/sealer going on much more smoothly.

It dried slowly and nicely and then I brought it indoors, added some vintage wallpaper for drawer liner and it is a beauty. One of my other favorite store clerks, Joe, at the hardware store, had suggested wood knobs and don’t you know, they were perfect, staining up to match the dark walnut stain ever so nicely. It is a four drawer, shorter type dresser that would look nice in any room or bedroom, with two small drawers at the top and two longer, larger drawers at the bottom.

As I said, it turned out totally lovely, and I feel like the dresser just “shines” in gratitude for the love and effort I put into restoring it. I am sure you can tell here, from my long and elaborate post, that I am the “perfectionist” type and a “detail” person. I have re-finished lots of furniture and painted the interior and exterior of my old farmhouse, vintage too, like 130 years vintage. When we restored this ole farmhouse, I used an oil base Benjamin Moore paint on all the woodwork, applied a primer, then two coats of paint, sanding finely between coats. It has lasted 25 years.

I have always found that the finished product is in direct relationship to all the “prep” work as well as using quality paint, stain, etc., and nice brushes. One of my favorite sayings being, “You are only as good as your equipment.” Then, my sister added, and “Your equipment is only as good as the operator.” A little funny ha ha and LOL here.

I also used up nearly the entire quart of stain/sealer for my dresser, with just enough remaining for any “touch-ups” I may need to do in the future. In doing all my research, here on the Internet, I found a post that suggested using a candle (for the wax) to coat the bottom of the drawers for easy gliding of them, being that they are vintage. A candle or paraffin wax was recommended versus soap. I have yet to do this. In addition, I appreciated the info on using the metal strips for the central support of the drawers, if missing. the wood supports on my dresser were in good shape. Then, I don’t know if anyone will receive or read this post but I am truly thankful for the information I found here and thanking whomever posted it, even if it was a February 25, 2007 posting.

Bless you for sharing your insights, expertise, and photos, whomever you are, wherever you live. What a great way to “connect” to others who love restoring of furniture as I do. I have amazing “before” and “after” photos, of course, but did not see a means to post here. I have given my eMail if anyone wants to view these photos or ask me questions. Thank YOU, again, for the information posted here.

Very Sincerely,
Sarah in Ellensburg, Washington

-Tom

Thanks,
Bruno Bornsztein
Co-founder, Curbly .com
http://www.curbly.com/bruno