Dresser and Nightstand-Repairs

Thankfully the dresser and nightstand didn’t need any major structural repairs. However, while sanding everything, I did find a few small cracks and good sized patch of missing veneer.

Since I was hoping to wrap up the finishing this weekend, I knocked out these little repairs this evening.

The bottom shelf and top of the night stand was made with a edge-glued solid core, with veneer on each side. Where the solid core is exposed due to the edge profile of the shelf and top, a few of the glue joints developed a small crack.

The process for fixing the cracks is easy.

First, run a small bead of CA glue in the crack.

Immediately after applying the glue, sand across the crack with some sand paper. 220 grit was the finest grit I used when sanding this furniture, so that’s what I used to sand in the CA glue.

Don’t freak out when the first thing you do is smear the glue. Keep sanding until the excess glue is gone. The adhesive will pick up the sanding dust and hold it in the crack.

There’s a limit to the size of the crack this will work on, about as wide as an index card is thick. I wouldn’t try it on anything bigger than that.

At the bottom a piece of veneer about 7″ long chipped off.

I didn’t have enough free hands to photo the whole process but here’s how I made the repair.

Place the new veneer over the patch area, overlapping the gap in the old veneer by 1/2″ or so. Make sure you align the grain of the new veneer with the grain of the old veneer as best as you can.

Use the straight factory edge of the new veneer as a guide to score the old veneer with a sharp knife. Set the new veneer aside and use the score line to cut all the way through the old veneer.

Remove the old veneer up to the score line. You may be able to slice it off with your knife. If that fails, light cuts with a sharp chisel should work.

Blue painter’s tape is your friend for the next few steps.

Fit your new veneer patch to the old. It may take some light sanding on the edge of the patch, or slight trimming of the old veneer to get a tight joint.

Once you have a good fit, tape across the joint.

Using your knife, cut away most of the excess veneer. Make sure you cut “downhill” with the grain on the patch or the thin veneer will split. Leave about 1/16″ overhang so you can sand the patch flush with the edge of the wood underneath.

Once the the patch is sanded flush, lift the new veneer up and spread a thin layer of glue underneath.

Put the new veneer back in its place, taping over the joint again. Then tape across the patch, over the edge and around to the back of the substrate. Repeat this taping down the length of the patch.

Give the glue plenty of time to dry, then peel it off. You’ll probably need to sand the joint between the old and new veneer to remove a little excess glue.

This project is coming along. I should be able to get the finishing done in the next few days. I’m thinking it will turn out pretty well.