I got a piece of furniture built in the 1880s. I guess laminated board hadn't been around at that time so the bottom of the drawers were made of thin soft wood. Over the years, the board warped and the rails below scratched deep grooves, at places all the way through the bottom.
The question is: should I replace them or leave them as is? I heard the values of furniture go down with restoration. Would this be such a case? On the other hand, the drawers are unusable as it is now.
Hello Pax,
As other have offered, a piece of furniture...
WILL ALWAYS!!!...lose value if it is not restored/conserved..."PROPERLY"...in any attempt to alter its original form. This doesn't matter to some or have applicable notability in some pieces that folks just want to use.
With that said, its really not that difficult to do...proper...restoration-replication work in either furniture or architecture. I should know as its my living to do both.
If the drawer bottoms are no longer functional and you want to not only use this furniture and holds it historic and intrinsic value...then simply do the work properly yourself or find someone to do it that way.
The simple (international) rule of restoration-replication:
All work is practices in..."the same means, methods and materials"...as the original item in context. This doesn't mater if its a Wool Trench Coat, a ceramic cup, deer hide quiver, timber frame, or...your drawer bottom.
If you going to do this work yourself, I can share that drawer bottoms are where many young apprentice will start learning their skill sets. The work is simple and nature and does take a complex set of hand tools to achieve. One can even use "riven wood" (as it was done) to acquire the boards needed for the repair.
These boards (once removed) may also be "wrapped" with water/oil back into serviceable condition and just reused? I can't say without seeing the piece in person...
