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Restoring Vintage Redwood Furniture

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
I love outdoor vintage redwood furniture. When I saw some recently that was long neglected, I could not help myself. I brought the pile home. Here is what I had, a real nice vintage lounger in need of some TLC. This lounger used a spring suspension system to support the cushion. Most of the parts and pieces were there.

redwood1.jpg

redwood2.jpg

redwood3.jpg

The two redwood 2 x4's were beyond repair, but the rest of the redwood was in remarkably good shape. All the springs and slats were there for the cushion suspension system were still there but two of the special carriage bolts were missing along with most of the wire clips. The wheels were missing as well. No biggie.

Turns out, redwood is nearly impossible to find. One home supply place says they can get some, but wait times can be ridiculous. The best I came up with on the internet was a package of 4 redwood 4x4's x 8 foot for $312 plus shipping from Mendocino, CA. I damn near pulled the plug, but common sense got the best of me.

So, I made the decision to shift gears a bit and use Grade 1 Select Cedar for the 2x4's. Hard decision as my original plan was to use Tung Oil to bring out the look of the wood, but the Cedar and Redwood are not close enough for that to look good, so I elected on using a redwood stain.

Lots of sanding and working on tightening up the mortise and tenons on the arm rests. All stainless steel carriage bolts to support the lags and arm rest.

Here is the result. Not what I had originally planned but all in all a very nice vintage circa 1970's Redwood (almost) lounger for TR to take his summer naps in.

redwood5.jpg
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Almost forgot!! The matching chair. How in hell could I forget? The chair was 100% all there and the wood solid. The redwood was covered in moss and grime from being stored outside for years but zero rot even the bottoms of the legs.Everything solid as hell. All the hardware was rusted but there. I replaced with stainless carriage bolts. What a nice find. We have matching Greendale Cushions coming. They are made to order so I will not be using the chaise lounge for a couple more weeks yet.

redwood chair.jpg
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Excellent work. Looks like brand new furniture.
That will last you for years. :clap: :clap:

Thanx Doc. What you really mean is the kids will get it and last them for years if they don't leave it outside in the winter. :th_lmao::th_lmao::th_lmao:
 

CRay

New member
Great job! I hope they have held up! I see you wrote about needing some new carriage bolts - any leads on where you found them? I need to track down 5 and I’ve not had any luck.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Hi CRay. They have held up fabulous. In the summer they reside on a covered patio and in the winter they are stored covered in a shed with the cushions brought into the basement to insure any mice leave them alone.

As for the carriage bolts, I found them at the local home center but that was almost 4 years ago so who knows now.
 

CRay

New member
Great to hear! I have one other question- as I’m taking mine apart to clean, sand, put back together, I’m noticing there was no wood glue used. Did you add any wood glue when you were restoring?
 

chowderman

Well-known member
I DIY'd some years back - 1/4-20 long bolt - not fully threaded - cut off the head.
pounded the (unthreaded) shank flat.
drilled hole....
used acorn nuts on the outside to avoid snagging stuff.
 
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