Yeoman Furniture Part 3 (All Done)

Back in Trad-Man’s-Daily Article #30 I explained what Yeoman furniture is and provided a 15-photo overview of the simple Yeoman cabinet construction techniques. Then, in Article #31 I covered the construction of the cabinet door. In this essay I will show the finishing process…

I used this milk paint to finish the cabinet. The picture above shows the cabinet right after painting. The paint doesn’t usually go on real smooth and it dries to a dull, unattractive finish. But that is not a problem because the the dried paint gets sanded smooth, then coated with an oil finish.

The picture above shows how messy the sanding process can be. The black dust is like soot. It reminds me of when I used to clean chimneys back in the 1980s. Sanding is best done outdoors!

I stained over the sanded black with some MINWAX Sedona Red 222 stain. Once that was dry, I put on four coats of WATCO Danish oil wood finish (picture above). The oil finish is painted on, left for a few minutes, then wiped off. Thin layers remain. The finish provides a decent protective sheen. 

This next photo shows the turn-latch and handle. The handle is made from a section of dead-and-dry maple tree branch.

Here (next photo) is a close-up of the handle and turn-latch. As you can see, the cabinets a primitive production. That is typical Yeoman furniture.

So the cabinet is now done and I’m pleased with the finished project…

I am planning to make custom Yeoman matching bedside tables (a.k.a., nightstands) for in our new bedroom, and perhaps even lamps for them (I’ve wanted to make some lamps for years).  Time will tell if I manage to get those projects done. Before I end this article...

This next picture shows a Yeoman woodbox I made many years ago. It was sized to fit a specific section of wall in my house, and finished with milk paint. We changed our  house layout and firewood situation a couple years back. The woodbox went into storage. I ended up selling it.