Uncle Bill's Chest
with Jenny's Flair for Color
Years ago, my mother's oldest brother, William Jones of Edmeston, NY, built Mom a couple of chests-of-drawers. I ended up with one of them and my brother Sonny ended up with the other. The chest that I got was originally stained with a cherry stain that was quite thick. It was not paint, but it was not the kind of stain that allows the grain of the wood to show through (my preference). After my mom and dad both passed, I sold our house south of West Winfield and I started moving this chest around the country with me.
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After Nancy and I were married, ran a bar, and decided we hated the bar business, we moved to Novi, MI where I went to work for Bailey Controls Company (slight side bar - still going to talk about the chest). We moved into an apartment with a basement so I decided I had the room to refinish the chest and stain it a dark walnut. I started, but never finished the job. It sat in the basement the victim of more important things in my life (wife, children, and new job). From that point on, I'm embarrassed to say, the chest was rarely used and normally stored in the garage or basement in whatever house we were in at the time. So, after the chest moved from West Winfield, NY, to Agawam, MA, to Shelton, CT, to Clinton, NY, to West Winfield, NY, to Novi, MI, to Stilwell, KS, to League City, TX, to Mechanicsville, VA, and to Bretton Woods, NH, the chest finally came to rest for a while in Twin Mountain, NH. And, I still hadn't completed refinishing it.
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During all these moves, the chest had sustained damage, mainly from mice making a home in one of the middle drawers. The drawer was ruined. I tried to clean and deodorize it, but the wood was beyond repair and not worth keeping. Again, I stopped working on the chest and stored it in the garage at our home in Twin Mountain. It sat there, on the verge of being thrown out for another few years. When we moved to Louisburg, I considered sending it to the dump, but it deserved a better fate, so I didn't do it. The chest came along again to the next garage in Louisburg, KS. It was at this point that my daughter got involved with the chest.​
Jenny wanted the chest for her apartment in Overland Park, KS and she asked me if she could have my Uncle Bill's chest.
I wasn't keen on that idea. The chest needed a new middle drawer built. Also, I really didn't want to try (again) to clean off all that old stain, both mine and Uncle Bill's. However, Jenny didn't want it stained, she wanted it painted, and not just any paint, she wanted to paint it gunmetal gray and champaign pink.
The fact that I didn't have to bring the wood up to a quality that allowed for poly to look good changed my mind on the project. A good sanding and cleaning, build a new drawer, and help Jenny paint it sounded like a doable project.​
We picked out the primer and paint at Home Depot and got the brass cabinet knobs there also.
We used spray paint in hand-held cans. Note: I have multiple paint sprayers and I've found that spray painting is another skill I do not have, but I can to a passable job with a spray can.
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I'm not fond of painting. My preference is poly and leaving the original wood grain and character visible. I also don't like spray painting in my garage. I can make enough of a mess without the addition of spraying paint everywhere.
I had to make a new middle drawer because of the damage to the original drawer done by mice.
I used white oak for the drawer. This was not a preference selection, it was a "I'm going to get rid of some of that white oak that I have" selection. I use unfinished hardwood 3/4" flooring for the furniture I build. The white oak I used here was from a bundle of white oak flooring that I bought from Home Depot. It was on sale and inexpensive and I got what I paid for. I don't use white oak any longer. BTW, I don't blame Home Depot for less than ideal wood. It was a bargain, but it came with the responsibility of having to weed out the poorer pieces to get quality wood.
Notice that in the picture above, the chest in its original, sanded condition is partially shown laying on the bench to the left. Also, the other middle drawer that was not damaged is shown in back of the new one.
Jenny was very happy with the way the chest turned out and so was I. I was also pleased that a family heirloom, one that I ignored for so many years, was restored and returned to the service of another family member.
MCI
The new Kansas City International Airport
Kansas City to Kahului
Flight UA 3611 MCI to ORD, 1h 48m, Embraer 175
Depart MCI Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 10:05 AM
Arrive ORD Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 11:53 AM
Fare ClassUnited First (P)
Meal maybe, Seats 3C & 3D
Flight UA 1878 ORD to SFO, 4h 52m, Boeing 757-300
Depart ORD Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 12:45 PM
Arrive SFO Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 3:37 PM
Meal offered, Seats 3E & 3F
Flight UA 174 SFO to OGG, 5h 54m, Boeing 737 MAX 8
Depart Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 4:55 PM
Arrive Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 8:49 PM
​Meal offered, Seats 2E & 2F
OGG
Kahului Airport
We arrive at the Kahului airport at 8:49 PM HAST (UTC -10). We'll pick up our luggage and head to Enterprise to get our car. We plan to stop for some groceries at the Safeway near the airport before heading to the condo.​
Enterprise Rental Car at Kahului Airport (OGG)
Thursday, January 9, 2025 @ 8:00 PM
101 Airport Access Road, Kahului, HI 96732
+1 844-914-1547
Your confirmation number is 1562262860
