Abernathy cedar chest with water damage to veneer.?

Question

I recently inherited an Art Deco bedroom set, circa 1938-1945, and a cedar chest from my grandmother. Both need refinishing, but the cedar chest has water damage to the back, but only on the veneer top. It has a 'certificate' in the lid from Abernathy Furniture of Kansas City, MO, telling me it was made with cedar from Tennessee, and had a copper 'weather ring' to keep water damage out. Unfortunately, my grandmother kept it under a window that leaked. The only damage is to the veneer in the back of the lid, and you can see that it does have a 'laminate veneer' although it is wood. It looks more like walnut to me than cedar, and I don't want to restore it incorrectly. Can anyone help me with this? I have tried researching the web, but can't even find a place to help me date the chest. All I know is Abernathy was founded in 1856, moved from Leavonworth to Kansas City and was destroyed by fire at some point. I don't want to sell it, but want to restore a family hierloom.

Answer 1

usually cedar was levt unstained or finished to let it's scent come out.  it's naturally resistant to rotting butwill oxidize to a darker color, and since it's usually unfinished, the grain will pickup dust and dirt and hold on to it.

my recomendation (assuming it dosn't have a finish on it) is to simply sand out the marks with a fine sand paper.  sand slowly and with the grain and only enough to remove the marks.  if it looks like the wood is going to be much lighter where you sanded due to the patina being removed, then feather that light spot into the rest of the chest with the same sanding .

Ahh,  i figured it was just water staining.  warping is much more of a pain.  walnut is, and was a very popular wood for veneer.  for the time period you are looking at, they probably didn't stain ok to look like walnut, they would just use walnut.  

The water caused the glue (probably a hide glue, not waterproof) to soften up and the walnut to delaminate.  there are 2 ways to deal with it.

1. replace the veneer entirely.  

2. glue the veneer back down.  if the bubble or warp isn't that big or bad the you can get a needle glue applicator, and make a few small holes.  use a little steamer to soften the walnut and than pump in a little glue and clamp it down nice and tight for about a week.

if it's a large area of veneer that's damaged, i would suggest replacing it with new walnut.