Finishing Insides of Drawers

[lucky9cat]

Hi,

What's the general feeling about finishing the inside of drawers? Previously, I've always given them the same full finish as the rest of the project. I've always felt this excessive but I thought it's safer to do the whole project than omit doing a part of it. This time however, I have built the drawers with ceder of lebonon sides and back. I'm finishing the chest of drawers with a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil followed by beeswax.

It seems silly to put oil on the ceder as it will mask the natural smell of the wood. What do you guys think?

Ted

 

[DaveL]

Hi Ted,

I have never used cedar of Lebanon but it is good for drawers, I would not apply oil to it.
I have on pine drawers finished them with Chestnut lemon oil, not a strong smell but gives a nice waft when the drawer is opened.

 

[woodbloke]

Ted - agree with DaveL here. No need to put anything on C of L. Not sure if I would use it for drawer sides tho' as its very soft and would wear easily. Material of choice tho' for drawer bases. To finish the interior of drawers I now use a couple of coats of Lemon Oil, available from Axminster - Rob

 

[houtslager]

no no no there I've said it
CoL needs nowt, if I was you I'd just wipe a couple coats of blode or white shellac on the drawer sides and leave it at that.

So where's the WIPS ????????

 

[DomValente]

Shouldn't it be left bare ? If only to impart the odour that moths hate.

 

[Nick W]

Leave it bare, but line it with paper. Some bits of CoL have a habit of leaking resin for a while and that makes a mess of your clotheses. DAMHIKT.

 

[Philly]

In Alan Peters book he recommends waxing it-the smell still comes through. Not tried it myself - I'll try a sample in the workshop later.
Philly

 

[woodbloke]

Havn't heard of resin bleeding thru' with C of L...I usually leave it unfinished - Rob

 

[lucky9cat]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad I asked because it's confirmed my thoughts on the matter.

Houtslager, what's the idea behind the shellac? What does it do? I couldn't find any references to Blode. What is it? No mention of it in the Axminster catalogue.

WIP pictures can be found here:
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... t=stickley

I think this CofL is very well seasoned and shouldn't be leaking resin but I'll keep my eyes on it.

It looks like I'll be leaving the inside bare. It's come up silky smooth and looks good. I'll be giving the outside faces a coat of wax to reduce friction, though.

Philly, I think the aroma is so strong it'll penetrate wax! After I had prepared it all, my shop smelt so impregnated I thought it would never go. Still, I'll try the experiment as well.

I like the idea of chestnut lemon oil and I'll definitely use it on a future project.

I'll update the WIP in a couple of weeks as I'm nearly finished. I'm already looking around for the next project but SWMBO says no more big pieces of furniture unless I'm going to sell it! I do love tackling big bits of furniture so I'm at a bit of a crossroads. We'll see.

Ted

 

[Alf]

Hasty typing fingers I think: Blode = Blonde The shellac just acts as a sealer, I believe. Apparently it can be used to seal in smells (such as if an old piece of furniture reeks of mothballs) so not sure you'd want it on the CofL - unless you came to hate the smell.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Scrit]

Cedar of Lebanon has a wonderful aroma and was traditionally used to ward off moths (works, too), but way too soft for drawer sices (cheapest hardwood up to the task is probably steamed beech). Alf, dewaxed blonde shallac is also a brilliant way to stabilise and seal in old finishes or even incompatible stains. As HS says, though, if you must seal it, then blonde shellac, but why destroy that aroma? If you don't want the aroma you might as well use veneered MDF ofr veneered birch plywood :? .

Scrit

 

[lucky9cat]

Well, thanks for all the advice; this as a great forum and I've learnt a lot. Just posted my final WIP picsup on the projects board.

Cheers, Ted