Preparing pine for finishing

Press, 11 September 1986, Page 12

Preparing pine for finishing

(By

A.J. HAND

One of the best ways to geta decent piece of furniture at a reasonable price is to buy it unfinished, from one of those unfinished furniture outlets. Most of what you see will be made of pine in designs that have stood the test of time, and though the stuff will look raw and white when you take it home, you can end up with a handsome piece if you know how to finish it properly. Unfinished pine furniture is often knocked together rather quickly at the factory. Some pieces are better than others, so if there are two or more samples of the piece you want at the store, look them both over carefully and pick the best. Check the assembly, looking for good alignment and nice tight joints. Examine the wood and pick the piece with the nicest grain. Rock the piece with your hand to

check for loose joints or uneven legs. If there are any moving parts such as doors or drawers, move them all and see that they fit and operate properly. Few pieces are perfect, but try to get the best you can. Once you get it home, maybe you can make it better. If there are any loose joints, work glue into them and draw them up snug with clamps. If possible, reinforce with an

inconspicuous nail or screw. Cabinets often have plywood backs. Mounted properly, these backs help keep the cabinet square. If yours is out of square, you may be able to right it. The back is probably secured with just a few staaples. If you pull these the back will come off. You can then rack the cabinet square and reinstall the back with glue

and small finishing nails. This should keep the cabinet in line for life. Is the piece steady on the floor, or does it rock? If it is not steady trim the long leg, or legs, a little bit at a time until things get rock solid. Now evaluate the design of the piece. Is there anything you would like to add or change? Often, a simple carving can add a custom look to the piece. If you need ideas for carving designs, try an art store. If you would like your piece to look like an antique, now is the time to do most of the ageing. Look at the piece and try to imagine where it might have received a lot of wear over the years.

Think of how the piece is used, and how that use might affect it. Sharp edges and corners always take a lot of wear, so do rungs of arms of chairs. The arrows in the sketch of the trestle table indicate where that particular piece might take a lot of wear. Go over the wear areas like these with sandpaper and wear them down, round them over, and knock off their crispness. Add any logical dents or scrapes now, too. Give the piece a history. Maybe your piece is a rocking chair and a previous owner’s dog chewed on the rocker. Maybe it is a desk and a careless child spotted it with ink, long long ago. Use your imagination and have fun.