using furniture parts to make other projects (re-purposing)

[rjent]

I have some expensive furniture (three oak desks and a round oak table and chairs) that I bought decades ago for my business office. I feel I got my money's worth out of them, and was going to give them away, but I am having trouble doing that (nobody wants them).

Have any of you guys taken furniture like this apart (mostly oak and secondary woods are oak as well) successfully for parts for other projects. I know I can use the drawers in other projects, large flat tops (desks, and table).

Looking for suggestions, opinions, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[nuhobby]

These can be a source of 8/4 or thicker Oak sometimes.... One neighbor had given me an old set of stocky bed posts that came in handy from time to time.

Here was my wife's lamp. The original weighted metal/concrete base just disintegrated, so I made a strong oak platform from a couple of bed posts:

Finished Lamp Base.JPG (93.26 KiB) Viewed 14029 times

I had some oak post-stock pieces that were laminated nicely such that they resembled quartersawn / rift-sawn grain almost all the way around. I made a couple of octagonal tool handles which were well received:

Octagonal Screwdriver.jpg (169.67 KiB) Viewed 14029 times

I also used some up-cycled oak to set up a nice set of custom stair steps from the garage to the kitchen. Much better than the MDF that was there when we bought the house used.

*OR* Just break down the oak, stack it, and feel secure knowing you'll use it one day


Enjoy,
Chris

[garys]

I've never bothered to try to reuse old furniture parts. Seldom can I find pieces that serve my needs for shape and size. Besides that, the old finishes are difficult to remove and wear my sharp tools.
I find that I like it better if I use the old furniture as it was originally intended and if not, get rid of it.
New wood makes for much nicer projects.

[dusty]

Aah but wood is so expensive (especially the hardwoods). Besides, with a little bit of luck, you just might find some dimensioned wood that you'll likely not find at the store. Stuff that comes out of old dining room pedestal tables and buffets as two examples.

[bob84]

I think the classic is Roy Underhill of the Woodwright's Shop.

One magazine article told how Roy Underhill picked up an old wood bed frame out of the dumpster near his daughter's college dorm. Roy made his famous “Lathe from a Loft”. Truly re-purposing wood.

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wood ... scrollsaw/

[Gene Howe]

I recently used 1/2 of a scarred up walnut dining table top for a rifle case top. There are two more tables waiting to be used for sumpin'.
It's not wood, but my work bench legs used to be a very old machinist bench legs. Cast iron and ornate.

[rjent]

OK, you convinced me. My wife has already picked out a project for the wood, so it is kind of a done deal at this point LOL.

Thanks for the insight!

[chapmanruss]

One of the Model 10's I bought to restore had a bench with the metal bench ends and solid Oak. The Oak is 1-3/4" thick and 7" wide by 5' long (actual sizes). I plan on using it to make a top and bottom for the lawyers glass front bookcase sections I have from my Grandfather. There were a total of twelve stackable shelves and my brother, sister and I each received 4. Mine has never had a top or base. This Oak will go well with the Oak in the book case. Unfortunately this project is still a little ways down on my to'do list. I have done some planning and measuring to get the most out of this wood while avoiding the mounting holes made for the Shopsmith 10ER.