Antique quartersawn white oak buffet

I found this buffet on Craigslist. I bought it from a young lady that told me her grandmother owned it prior to passing. It had obvious water damage, especially to much of the veneer.

Starting with the top portion, the mirror was removed. The silvering was shot and I shipped it to Madison Glass in Nashville, TN. I stripped it and repaired the cracks and splits it had. The appliques were all broken and brittle. These were replaced with four new oak rosettes. It was stained and polyurethane was applied. I made a new back to cover the mirror when I got it back.

The bottom section was in really bad shape. The water damage had ruined all of the veneer on the top of the bottom section. It also had an obvious sag. I took the top of the lower section off. I used a plate joiner and wood glue to put these back together. I then flipped it over to fix the sag. A 3/4" section was missing. So I used some oak rope trim to make up the difference.

I rebuilt all of the drawers which included new bottoms. I replaced the drawer stops. The cabinet door were all broken so I made new ones using 3/4" oak plywood. I put the nicest side facing in and put new veneer on the door front. In fact the fronts to all of the drawers received new veneer. I also rebuilt the entire inside with 1/4" oak plywood and oak trim. I also put new casters on the piece. I then stained and applied poly to the base.

Estimated Cost
$300-$350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
The stain is Minwax Dark Walnut. The polyurethane is Minwax Fast Drying (oil based). I used two coats of stain on the veener and original oak wood. I used three coats on the new veneer and new wood used. I still couldn't get the new wood and veneer to match that century old patina. Used three to five coats of polyurethane depending where I applied it.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate