Dismantle old furniture to reuse wood
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Tagged: Reclaim wood old furniture
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 11 months ago by Byron.
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3 May 2018 at 12:44 pm #539182
As a beginner I don’t want to spend to much money on wood and try pick up cheap / free furniture if it’s good wood.
But you guys have any tips on dismantling old furniture and make it reusable?
Use brute force or other techniques?
Picked this one up for free and not sure how to start 🙂Are there also techniques to see what type of wood it is?
On the second photo you see a table I picked for free. Claimed as massive oak, but at home, after sawing it’s just pressed wood with a layer on top of it… only good for making a fire… how to avoid such things?
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You must be logged in to view attached files.3 May 2018 at 2:37 pm #539244Usually you can look in hidden places and see what stuff is made from. Underneath is always good to check.
You can cut the joints out, which is simplest, or disolve the glue. Many different ways depending on the glue.
Just some options i would use.I would recommend trying charity shops, I’ve seen solid oak dressers in there sometimes from the late 1800s, for not that much money, it would cost you more to buy the wood new, but it can be a massive job taking it apart and really messy, however some of the best oak I’ve ever used was very old, and likely air dried because it was so easy to work with and extremely stable.
3 May 2018 at 3:21 pm #539270Been nosing around in charity shop.
But a little concerned to spot difference between solid oak and just compressed wood fibers with veneer on top of it…
Tips how to spot this?
[quote quote=539270]Been nosing around in charity shop.
But a little concerned to spot difference between solid oak and just compressed wood fibers with veneer on top of it…
Tips how to spot this?[/quote]
one of the classic signs of veneer is cracking, always look around edges, this is often the biggest clue, does the grain make sense? if you are used to working with solid woods you learn what to look for, veneer can sometimes be deceiving, another clue is in the colour and texture of the wood, try feeling it and tapping it, solid wood sounds different to veneered chipboard or MDF, which have a kind of dull thud sound, wood resonates nicely, look at the endgrain, the only downside is you might look a little bit weird in the shops.
Hi Joris
Breaking up old furniture seems like a lot of work to me.
I would suggest the local builders salvage yard where you could find old doors and roofing timber. Check your local classifieds as there are often people selling old floor boards, etc. If you are working with reclaimed timber, especially from the builders yard, its usually a good idea to run a stud finder or a metal detector over the wood so that you dont hit any nails with your tools.
Good luck!
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