OT: Completed Restoration of 120 y.o. Heirloom China Hutch

[todeen]

My grandma moved out of her house in 2018. She gave the family heirloom china hutch to my father (her son). My parents told me if I wanted to restore it than I could have it. It was a wedding present to my great great grandparents in 1900 (pictured - standing back row left). It was given to my great grandfather, who kept it on his deck in Portland. After his passing, it went to his daughter, my grandma.

Through 120 years a cabinet door fell off (but it was retained). A leg cracked and was glued. And a joint came out of its trench. It was stained a darker color over the original stain and finish. And the interior display was painted beige.

I stripped, sanded, repaired in 2019 (three weeks of intermittent work). This summer I was able to apply new stain and new finish - completed hutch also pictured below (two weeks of intermittent work). I'm a school teacher, so the summer months worked out well for me to work on the project.

There will be quite a few pictures of the process.

[steve B]

Looks great!

[todeen]

The china hutch in pieces (sorry - I didn't get a before picture with all pieces put together).

In these pictures you can see the display with the beige paint inside (pic 1). You can see the leg of the base that cracked and was repaired with glue (pic 2). You can see the new stain versus the original stain (pic 3). You can see the stain is worn away in places on the front of the cabinet (pic 4). You can see the wood has separated out of the trench (pic 5). You can see with the orange square where the cabinet door hinge broke out the wood, making it impossible for the hinge to be repaired (pic 6). There is also a picture of the display shelf brackets that broke (I cracked these out and made replacements with the help of my uncle) (pic 7). There is a picture of a bottom of a shelf; this shelf has no support under it - the shelf just floats and thus nothing can be put on it (pic 8....sorry, this pic has flipped upside down).

[White Borders]

Nice job Tim! Well worth the effort.

[Jim65]

Nice work, ready to be handed down to future generations

[todeen]

I appreciate the compliments. When I took on the project it was under the mantra - "Any job worth doing is worth doing right." I'm hoping it survives another 120 years.

The following picture show some of the repairs made to the hutch. Using clamps I was able to put the joints back together. Tightening the clamps the wood squeaked, and I thought the dry wood would explode under pressure (pic 1). After getting the joints together, I used a Dremel tool and cut out the section of wood broken by the hinge. I replaced it with new wood and glued it in place with Hyde Glue, and then I supported it with a second piece of wood that is screwed into place (pic 2). The third pic of the vice is showing how I weighted down replacement pieces being glued. Inside the base cabinet, much of the original wood working as supports had come loose - creating floating shelves with little real support. So I used Hyde Glue and weighted them down (pic 3). Finally, after I cracked out the top display shelf supports, I had to fabricate them with the help of my uncle and his workshop. They were glued in using a variety of household weights, and eventually screwed in for added measure (pic 4).

[todeen]

The following pictures are showing the stripping and sanding process. The first pic shows the color of the altered exterior stain versus the wood original stain underneath (pic 1). The product I used pulled up both layers of stain and the finish too. The other photos show that every inch of the cabinet needed to have work done - exterior, interior, shelves, doors. There was so much square footage, it doubled the amount of time I thought I would need. Further, the interior of the top display was lead paint. I had never dealt with lead paint before, but I sure was impressed how well it adhered to wood! I was sanding by hand on the exterior, but to get the paint up I had to go out and buy an electric sander - I bought a Black and Decker Mouse sander, and I liked how it handled (pic 2). You will also notice a dings and dents picture. My dad didn't want me to sand so deep that the dings and dents went away. He said if I wanted to retain its character I needed to retain its scars. So I sanded lightly on the top of the base, and it turned out very nice with the new stain and finish. Professionals would call it a stressed look, but I didn't have to do fake any of the dings - it's from 120 years of love and abuse (pic 7).