I'm going to say pine.

Glad it came off so easily. When you mentioned milk paint earlier, I was worried for you. Milk paint can be VERY hard to strip.

I hope you're able to get a marble piece for the top. There is nothing like rolling out or kneading dough on stone.

Wow, it's going to be beautiful! I was just looking at your other post (I've been away for Thanksgiving) and I'm all set to go search MY Craigslist for something like that! I just brought home a 14" thick butcher block I picked up on Craigslist today! Anyway, i was thrilled to take a peak at this now that you've tackled the refinishing. I'd wait to see how the whole thing looks naked before deciding whether to paint or stain or whatever. What an amazing piece!

Loved your mommy sandwich picture too!
Robin

It is beautiful! What stripper did you use?

The wood might be pine, but it also might be ash. Ash was frequently used for food bowls and has a grain similar to oak. Ash can take a stain fairly well, but if the pores are open in your sample you might need a wood filler to seal the pores before staining in order to achieve an even color. Ash was/is used in baseball bats because of it's light weight and strength. It would be interesting to have a wood specialist examine a sample of your item to help determine for sure what type of wood it is.

I looked up your original post to see the cabinet. It looks really cool, and will be a fun project! I work with wood, but can't get a good idea of what the grain looks like. Is it stripped all the way? Did you try posting a picture on the woodworking forum? Another thing you can try is to scratch it with your fingernail. If it makes a scratch, it's pine or some other similarly soft wood. That should be filled if you're going to stain it. But stripping it often leaves a nice patina, so if you're going to use a clear finish stain isn't needed.

I can't wait to see it when it's all finished!

This is going to be an education! My DH thought it might be poplar. It doesn't seem quite as grainy as oak... but I'm no where near sure. The stripper I'm using is Klean-Strip K-3 Premium. I picked it up at Home Depot this morning along with throw away brushes, a plastic scraper, gloves, and whatnot. I cleaned the drawers inside and out first with TSP. I did the stripper 2x. If I decide to keep is natural I'll do a light coat one more time. I need to get more sandpaper. I also bought 0000 steel wool. Doesn't look like I'm going to be able to save the cup pulls. They're just too rusted and dont' seem to want to come clean. I was thinking of having DH try is wirewheel on them but he said it would pay to just get new ones ... they're not all that "lovely".

I know I have to measure the spread where the screws went... but do you have any good resources for me to buy cup pulls? I've seen threads on it but haven't done a search yet.

My first instincts are leaning toward painting it. The wood is nice and in real good shape but it's not "oh that's so beautiful" kind of wood. I also thought a soft dove gray/french blue gray might look so beautiful with marble on top.

Hey... it even has a cutting board that pulls out! How cool is that!!

How heavy is the piece? & can you tell by working with it if it's a hardwood or soft?

It's hard to tell from the pic, but it's just not looking that pine-y to me. I've worked/played with a lot of woods, although I'm definitely no expert.

Lovely. Your wood is maple. It's that color, not blond because they sealed it with orange shellac. You can probably finish stripping it with denatured alcohol - just spray, let it work a bit, and scrub with steal wool. It would be amazing if you just finished stripping it, did some lite sanding, then re-sealed it with a couple coats of orange shellac, (Zinzer makes a good one) and a few coats of varnish. The wood will simply radiate. I refinished a cabinet a few years ago and it turned out awesome.

There are some great sources for cup pulls. The House of Old House Parts is great.

Good luck!

AHHH... maple! OK.. I tried the finger nail thing and it's definitely a hard wood. The grain is close and even like maple would be. I'll get some denatured alcohol and try that too. I don't know if I want it too "orangey". What would anyone recommend I use in lieu of orange shellac if I decide to leave natural wood? I don't think I'd stain it a darker color. I'd go close to natural or paint it.

I think I'm going to have to introduce myself to the woodworking forum.
Thanks for the insight beth.

You could buy new sheet zinc and redo the top if you want.

Kinda modern. Might be good with marble and keep it from being too sweet.

Nice fake antique with the bonus being the paint chips resemble the paint you're removing -
{{!gwi}}

Ebay has some great vintage bin pulls if you keep a watch for them.

OHHH... bmore... I haven't studied pulls at all yet and I like (very much) the idea of a modern touch to avoid being as you so perfectly stated "too sweet". I thought about the redoing the zinc but my very first pick would be marble. I prefer the patina of natural stone to the patina of metal.

Guess I"ll be doing some pull research!

I stripped paint off a pair of old maple dressers 20 years ago and finished them with Minwax "antique oil finish." (I sanded them first with a fine grit, and they came out silky smooth.) They look absolutely gorgeous still, but I don't know if I'd use it again because I've become a nut about using low-VOC and non-toxic finishes. But if you don't care about that, it's a really nice clear finish. I agree that if the wood itself isn't beautiful, there's no reason to showcase it. Paint would look really nice on your table, IMO.

As for pulls, you can get real antique pulls from various sources, some online. If you get new, don't get lacquered brass! That shiny look is garish (again, IMHO!)

I don't think it's Ash - the graining is not quite right. Ash is what our cabinets are so I've become pretty familiar with it. Ash also turns white/gray when fully stripped.

I'd definitely take it to a hardwoods place. That's what we did with our cabs (one door) and they were able to identify it immediately.

I agree that it's not ash. I think it's either poplar or pine.

I second the recommendation for an oil finish if you decide to clear finish it. I've used Minwax antique oil finish a lot in the past. Lovely finish, very easy to use. Almost impossible to screw it up. Have started using tung oil in the last couple of years. So far, only on windows where I wanted the superior water resistance of tung oil. When I'm confined indoors with the finishing, I use citrus solvent for thinning the tung oil (first couple of coats only).

It doesn't look like pine to me, but there are different varieties. The grain reminds me of a cherry table my parents have that I refinished and used for a while years ago. I haven't seen the photo of the whole table yet, but is sounds like a great find!

If you paint it, I think the French blue/dove grey sound beautiful with the marble top. I would like traditional pulls, but I also really like the contemporary ones above. If they fit your home, they would be great.

What a fun project!

I agree that it is maple. I would also suggest trying Danish oil. I usually use the natural, but it does come in various colors. It is wonderful to work with, quick, and if you have scratches eventually, you can just reapply.

I"m getting a variety of guesses as to the wood both over on woodworking and here. At some point this week I'm going to try the denatured alcohol like beth suggested and see if the woods hue tones down. I'll have more time after Tuesday and can back to work on it. I'm excited to see what I uncover with the legs and frame.

Just a quick bin pull question. I did a quick search on Bellacor's website just to look at some. A couple that I thought I might like were around $42 each. Is that on the average or expensive side? I've never priced or bought them before. I assume I measure the spread from the middle of the hole of the to middle of the opposite one?

I got all of my pulls and latches at Robinson's. He has beautiful restored antique pulls. Great website too...

Here is a link that might be useful: Antique hardware

Have you looked at Van Dyke's?

Here is a link that might be useful: Bin Pulls

I haven't looked anywhere till today and the first place I looked was Bellacor. I thought these were cool but apparently $42 a piece is a ton of money for these things so I'm gonna keep looking and check out all the sites you recommend. I'm not sure if I want to go traditional or find something a little bit funky.

Oh... what's the difference between brushed chrome and brushed nickel. I mean in terms of looks, cleaning, and wear ... I know one is chrome and one is nickel!

I think these are different too but can't figure out how you reach your hand in and use them! I've been soaking the original ones and they're coming clean... but they're kind of boring.
I like the curve of celtic knots!

I think it's fir

{{!gwi}}

You could sand the inside of the drawer face if you don't want to sand the face itself. That would give you a better look at the grain. Taking it to a place that sells hardwood, or to a cabinetmaker, to have it identified is your best bet.

When I refinished those maple dressers I expected to find pine underneath the paint. My parents never bought anything costly, and I assumed they came from an unpainted furniture place. I was so surprised to find a nice quality maple underneath.

Well I've stripped 3x, denatured, sanded, and steel wooled. I've got the three small drawers, one large drawer and one bin done. It's kind of a light tan tight grained wood. DH still thinks it's poplar. I think it's maple. There was a vote on the woodworking forum for mahogony but it's not beautiful enough to be that in my opinion. It's pretty, definitely in great shape but I"m still unsure whether to paint or oil finish leaving it natural. I don't think I'd want to stain it. I'm goign to try to take a pic but with the flash it'll probably not come out true to it's color.

That's looking really nice. I'd oil finish it. Maybe do a really light milk paint/wash of some sort. The cleaner it is the more it's looking like maybe ash, though it's not quite as swirly as ours. It might be alder or poplar. You planning on taking it in anywhere to get a pro's opinion?

The wood on the drawer front's is very hard so I don't think it's alder. I dunno about a pro. I guess if I happen to be going somewhere that I would find someone then I'd bring a drawer along. I don't know off hand who to go to around here.

pbrisjar... way OT but did I hear right that you got the Kenmore induction range? I had a thread on appliances about them and I thought someone posted in response that you were getting one installed. Maybe I'm remembering wrong....

Yup. It's being delivered on the 15th. We wound up having to wait but that turned into a good thing as I watched and waited and wound up with a really good price.

I love gas and if things were different that's what I'd have. But, Hubby has some unspoken hesitations about gas and we don't have that great of ventilation so we're going induction.

this new affordable induction range solves a slew of issues for me. I was so excited when I saw it had become available. I can't wait to hear how it works out for you. Best of luck with it!

It solved a lot of issues for us, too - including my plans to go on strike if I got stuck with our yucky old ceramic top electric range. I'll be sure to update when it arrives and I get to use it.