# Dad's shop drawers



## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

My dad had two sets of drawers in his shop for over 50 years. They were all solid oak and originally came from a Kodak plant and were used to store film canisters. I can't remember a time they weren't in the shop. As a kid, I was always amazed at the number of tools he had in them, everything from small planes and screw drivers to bits and files and he seemed to know where everything was, even though he never bothered to label the drawers. The drawers took a beating over the years, at one point he even set a cutting torch down on one of them while lit and it charred the side of the cabinet.

When my dad passed away the drawers were left to me, I decided I wasnt going to just keep the drawers, but to clean them up, refinish them and help me remember all the lessons I learned from my dad in his shop. Here are a couple of pics of the drawers when I got them.


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

As you can see, the drawers needed a lot of work. First some stripping of the old finish and lots of rough sanding. Some of the joints had to be taken apart and repaired and there were a few pieces of the trim that had to be replaced.


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

After a good sanding down to 220, it was time for a coat of stain.


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

I finished the job with several coats of poly. The top of both cabinets was a peice of plywood with oak veneer that was just too far gone to salvage. I replaced it with a piece of sheet steel over plywood, painted flat black. I also removed, sanded and painted all the drawer pulls and face hardware and painted those flat black as well.

Since my mind isnt as sharp as my dad's I had to make labels for the drawers so I could find all of his tools.


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## tator234 (Nov 6, 2008)

GR8 job


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## smokey1945 (Feb 20, 2009)

You did a wonderful job! I'll bet your dad is looking down with pride for what his son did!:yes:
Smokey


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Way to go!*

That's great solution and execution. You now have an heirloom piece that you can pass along. :thumbsup: I find a "rescue/restore' equally rewarding as a ground up build, sometimes more so. :yes:


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Nice job, Ed.
What a great organizational piece that is.
Dad just wants you to put back your tools when you're done with them.
.....don't worry...he's watching you...


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## guglipm63 (Feb 27, 2013)

Well done. Real nice job


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## davidbard (Dec 30, 2012)

beautiful job


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Very well done indeed. I like the way you did them.









 







.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

You did your Dad proud


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Nice work Ed,
I like seeing pieces rejuvenated. Nice story.
Mike Hawkins


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## vursenbach (Apr 11, 2012)

I love them and might have a new project to work on after the ones I already plan on doing.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## Hunter (May 10, 2012)

Man, that looks great! What stain did you use?

Hunter


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

The stain is Minwax #231, they call it "Gunstock"


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## hays0369 (May 3, 2011)

Very nice job, you could give that guy on the History Channel who does restorations a run for his money. Love the story behind it as well.


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

Thanks for all the kind words, you guys make the new guy feel welcome, I appreciate it.
Ed


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## mike1950 (Aug 29, 2010)

Great job.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Holy crap that looks awesome. What a great job. Fantastic work.


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## banginonabudget (Feb 25, 2013)

That looks awesome. Great job. Stuff like this is what got me into and keeps me into woodworking. Same thing goes for classic cars. It's the stories sometimes that make the item make sense.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Ditto what evryone else said. :thumbsup::laughing:


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## Tommie Hockett (Aug 26, 2012)

those look very nice and your dad would be proud:thumbsup:


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

Great job. I love it.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Ya done good Ed,

Those were nice chests before your restoration. Now they're beautiful.

Great job!


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## spark0506 (Nov 8, 2010)

Excellent job. They look great.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Wow! Your beautiful restoration really brought those units back to life! Excellent work. No doubt your dad would be both impressed and proud.


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## <*(((>< (Feb 24, 2010)

Ed,

Glad you joined us on this site, you obviously have some great woodworking experience! It shows in this project as well as your Cherry kingsize bed frame you built for your son, that's a beautiful project as well.

I would love to find some of those old oak film drawers, that would be really handy for my shop!


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

Those look great! At first when I saw you stripped them I thought about how they'd lose some character, but I think the finished restoration does them proud. Now I will look on at my plastic drawer set and wish they were as nice as those.


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## red (Sep 30, 2008)

Awesome job. You should be proud. 


Red


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## Midwest Millworks (Nov 20, 2012)

Very nice. You are very lucky to have something to remember the time you spent with your dad.


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## CSalt (Sep 2, 2012)

That's awesome - what a great way to remember your dad.


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## against_the_grain (Aug 15, 2010)

Wow , those cleaned up really nice. Great job and really cool story behind it.


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## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

Amazeballs man, your dad would be very proud to steal those back from you.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

Yep, bet Dad is OH, SO PROUD. 

Kind of like my Dad, he worked for Buick for 65 years, and being the only one of us 5 children to stick with Buick, I'm hoping he is proud of the 41 Buick Limited I built. He always loved the 41's.

You did GOOD, for sure!

Dale in Indy


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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

Great restoration! And thanks for sharing the story that goes with it!


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Great to see them brought back. You know, when they say "they dont make things the way they used to", this type of every day unit comes to mind. It's beautiful and was great quality, made by really skilled craftsmen.


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

I have to say, I am really thankfull for all the nice comments on these drawers. I am truly appreciative.

Ed


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## khowald (Nov 8, 2012)

Beautiful work! Your father would be very proud...


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