Cabinet restore- Wood ID and varnish over oil?

[wwwigz]

Hi - thi is my first post here, hopefully the first of many!

I hope this is in the right section, are there any UK furniture restoration forums?

I have a narrow drawer unit that was pulled form a much bigger piece and I decided to smarten it up and re-finish it.
I'm not an experienced woodworker but am beginning to learn, hoping to start both joinery and furniture resoration courses in september. I did a little bit of inlay banding with the drawer fronts and cleared the drawer runners.

I sanded the old varnish down, then wiped with a turpentined cloth. After letting it dry for a few days, I then wiped a thin layer of boiled linseed oiled in.

Should I wax it? (I only have Pine Wax)

Should I wipe a layer of varnish onto the already thin wiped in oil?

Can anyone tell what the wood is likely to be? I've attached as many photos with descriptions as I can. The flashed photos give it ore colour and contrast depth than in real life, colours alot more even.
There's a little more inlay trimming and sanding to be done, and maybe some repair work to the foot and the possibility of putting a 'top' on it.

Thanks in advance for any opinions, I've had a search but nothing specific came up.

 

[mtr1]

Difficult to say because it is stained, could you cut a piece showing end grain and flat grain from a piece that you are replacing?

 

[maltrout512]

From the look of the handles it,s french and the main woodwork on the sides is oak. Centre panel looks like a mahogany. Although the draw fronts don,t look it. Always very difficult if not impossible from photo's.

 

[toolmaniac]

Varnish probably won't take on top of oil.
It looks very good with the finish I see in the pic.
You could add more linseed oil, or try tung oil, or antique oil which dries quicker. That will deepen the finish.
Regards
John

 

[wwwigz]

Thank you for the replies - looking at your personal links and projects, I am among some very good company!

The piece came from my local town council offices when they digitised the filing system, and this was just one tiny part of the whole filing furniture - I can only dream of what else was thrown away....

Anyway.

mtr1/Mark - It's stained? I will try my best to supply photos that detail the grains and update here.

maltrout512/Malcom - I was thinking Oak for the main pieces. A joiner freind said it could be Sapele, even Mahogany. There is no heavy flaming like I'd expect to see in Oak, especially oiled. On the top of the piece (will supply photo later this evening) I can plane a bit off and this will expose some end grain and some of the flat grain on what will be the top (end) of the front bar, and top-bar on the left side of the piece.
I know, photos are not very good to ID from but it's all I have at the moment, as few people I know have any knowledge on this sort of thing.

I'm not too fussed about the type of wood used on the drawer fronts as I don't have enough skill (yet!) to repair the worn and rounded/knocked drawer front edges.

toolmaniac/John - Thanks, The more I sit with the piece, the more I like the oiled finish. Maybe I shall oil it again (even out colour differences) and leave it like that.... It will still get a bit dusty/sandy in the workshop, so best to leave the final finish till very last no?

I am going to try and replace the broken 'foot' (right hand side is broken clean off) over the coming weeks, I will have to find a piece of Oak, and lightly stain it until it comes into similar hues as the surrounding wood. Infact...having a good inspection of the foot area and surrounds, it seems at tho the edges of the foot have been ripped off, leaving some old foot where it joins the main base.... replacing the whole foot might be easier and quicker for a beginner like me!

Again, any comments really appreciated - I can't find a mentor or educator that has the time or patience to take on a 33 year old apprentice!

Thank you all for your input again, very valuable