This antique secretary desk was well over 100 years old. It had been in the customers’ family for decades, long enough that nobody remembered exactly where it came from.
How old is this antique secretary desk?
I figured out a few things about its age. The joints in the cabinet and drawer were definitely hand cut. Factory cut dovetail joints began taking over the market by the late 1800s. The screws were all slotted head, so these were from before 1953. Those slotted head screws were entirely machine made, so it was manufactured after around 1850. Hence I dated the piece to between 1850 and 1890.
Condition before refinishing
It was previously finished in natural cherry, but the top coats of finish had badly yellowed. It was scratched and dinged a bit, but in surprisingly good shape for its age.
Choosing a darker stain for old cherry
The owner wanted the piece darker, so I worked with them to select a stain color. That is often difficult because with an old piece with finishes, the wood is not going to take to the same color or density as it would with new wood.
Sanding off the old finish
We were able to successfully sand off all the old finish from the surface, but some of that color remained trapped in the wood fibers. It was little enough, however, that it did not much affect the final stained color of the cherry wood.
As you can see, this secretary turned out beautiful. We hope the owners enjoy their old/new piece as much as we enjoyed working on it.
