I picked this bit of furniture from a 2nd hand man for $40.00 in June 2006. I thought it might have some restoration potential. I am not a carpenter or a very good handyman but I thought I would have a crack at it and ask my father-in-law to help me by building the Drawers that were missing from this piece of furniture. We called it a Sideboard. I went down to Bunnings and purchased a good quality orbital sander and a heap of white coloured sandpaper that does not clog. I then removed the ply from the Doors and from the rear of the unit and disposed of it. I then attacked the unit with the sander and went at it for hours on end. There were lots of holes I bogged up with "Timbermate". After the unit was sanded back and the Carpentry was finished by my father-in-law Noel Palmer. I applied a couple of coats of Cabot's Interior Stain (Semi Transparent). I left it for a couple of days and then applied Cabot's Danish Oil to finish the unit off. The trick with the Danish Oil is to apply it with a brush or rag and wait 10 minutes and them rub it off in the direction of the grain. I applied a few coats of the Danish Oil and lightly hand sanded with 400 grit paper between coats. Have a look at the restoration project below shown in chronological order. 

The left-hand section of the Sideboard in its original condition prior to restoration. 

The right-hand part of the Sideboard in its original condition prior to restoration.

 

Doors removed and sanded back are propped up for this pic. Notice the Site Manager at rear.

 

The Sideboard sanded back with the Doors removed and the ply backing removed. A lot of sanding was involved to get the Sideboard back to a state suitable for staining and oiling.

 

Sideboard with Drawers added in the centre. The Doors on either end with new ply. A bit of fancy woodwork that was once on the top of wardrobe was added. My very clever father-in-law Noel Palmer built the Drawers from scratch and cut out the ply panels for the Doors and did numerous other clever woodworking techniques to restore this Sideboard

 

The Sideboard just before I fitted the Door and Drawer Pulls

 

This is the finished article. It came up really well