The Restoration of a Lane Cedar Chest
Every once in a while, it is good to complete a personal project for yourself. Kyle recently dug a vintage 1959 mid century modern Lane cedar chest out of a barn. Lane was America’s leading manufacturer of cedar chests beginning in 1912. This chest is a style 1703-50 and features a walnut cabinet with light ash trim. The serial number of 951280 indicates a manufacturing date of 1959.
Repairing & Refinishing
Unfortunately, this cedar chest had seen better days. The old yellowed varnish was stripped and the loose veneer was repaired and then sanded. The entire piece was resprayed in a beautiful semi-gloss finish. Some of the ash trim pieces had fallen off and had become damaged over its years in the barn, so those pieces were carefully repaired and affixed back in place. Kyle and Tim decided to not stain the light trim pieces and leave them in their natural coloring. The original faux drawer pulls were either missing or in bad shape. In any case, they wouldn’t do. New knobs were added that fit the modern styling of the cabinet much better than the originals. The chest lock was removed and decades of gunk and corrosion were polished away.
The End Result | Lane Cedar Chest Style 1703-50
Restored Lane Cedar Chest | Style Number 1703-50
The top and front of the chest.
The top grain on the chest.
Beautiful isn’t it? Completely refinished and in beautiful condition, the cedar chest is ready for Kyle’s home. Now back to our day job of rebuilding pianos!
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