Sweating off the finish

    I have resumed taking the finish off the treadle cabinet I bought last October. I do this outside, so it had to stop for the winter and cold spring. Why I picked one of the hottest days in Buffalo with no breeze, I don't know. I just want it done and the 237 encased inside so I can zig zag treadle. I bought more Formby's Furniture finish remover and more green 3M scratchy pads. I wore through another pair of heavy duty gloves on the right hand. I used over half the Formby's and almost all the scratchies. Previously, I had removed most of the finish from the drawers and side pieces. I had left the top for last. I thought this would be easier since it is flat. Well, the good news is that the wood on the top is in pretty nice shape. The bad news is someone had put another coat or two of finish on real thick and left a lot of brush bristles. It took lots of liquid and elbow grease to get to the wood. What looked beat up turned out to be mostly the finish. I still have to go over everything another time to get all the leftover patches off. So, I did not get it done. Once the finish is off, I will use Minwax Antique Oil finish on the cabinet instead of Poly. The wipe on Poly has tempted me. Today is hot again and humid so I do not think I will attempt the final removal. Things were pretty sticky yesterday. I thought it was ironic that I was stripping the oak cabinet under my oak tree. You had to be there.

     On the subject of treadles, I bought a necklace from Nancy Cornwell, who sells on Etsy, landedesignco.etsy.com, with a custom treadle photo. She is making necklaces to earn money to finalize their adoption of a Chinese deaf boy. They already have a deaf daughter. Nancy is the daughter of Sarah Craig, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, who has an awesome quilt ministry. Nancy's story is on there; she has lots of designs, and made a custom one for me, as I had to have some finished treadle. She was great to deal with and it shipped so fast! If you need a gift, Nancy would be grateful for your business. Here is mine: