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Fully renovated pantry cabinetThis pantry belonged to my grandmother and was purchased in the 1930s.
It had fallen into complete disrepair when I recovered it from my mum's garage.
The renovation really was a 'top to toe' project. A labour of love!
Materials
- Perforated metal
- Plywood for door inserts and shelves
- Hinges, latches and handle
- Tasmanian Oak for drawer assembly
- Tasmanian Oak for shelf rails and leg struts
- Paslode 15 x 1mm nails
- Zenith 4G x 6mm sheet metal screws
- Hard wax oil
- Timbermate wood filler
Tools
Nylon hammer
Pliers
Electric detail sander
Paint brush
Steps
Step 1
The first step was to dust off the cabinet and do a basic clean up to see what could be salvaged and what needed to be replaced.
Step 2
Next came the lengthy process of gently dismantling the unusable parts of the cabinet. The door hardware was badly rusted and the plywood had begun to crack and warp.
Step 3
When removing parts, my goal was to replace them with items that were as near the same, so careful measurements were taken.
Step 4
Ultimately it was necessary to strip the cabinet right back to its frame. At some point my grandfather had re-nailed the perforated metal using bootmaker's tacks, which were incredibly hard to remove!
Step 5
I remade the drawer, with the only original item remaining being the fascia board.
Three coats of hard wax oil were applied and the new handle was fixed into place.
Step 6
After a massive amount of sanding to bring back the original timber, I cut and attached new 3mm plywood panels to the frame.
Step 7
Three coats of hard wax oil went onto the reassembled cabinet and new hinges and latches were attached.
Step 8
Then it was time to cut and fix the new perforated metal. Note: this had to be completed before the top and bottom internal shelves could be put back into place.
Step 9
The final step was to fix the internal shelves back into place.
Step 10
And so it was, we went from this ...
... to this:
Hello @Nightwatchman
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your grandmother's pantry restoration project.
This restoration is truly a labour of love. You can clearly see how well used this stand-alone pantry was. If you take the time to look at its original condition, you'll see telltale signs that it was exposed to the rain at one point. Part of its legs was submerged underwater and a repatching and re-painting effort was undertaken sometime in the past.
I'm not surprised that you had a hard time removing the bootmaker's tacks. They were probably uncoated back then and rusted inside the timber bonding with it. The hard wax oil has really given it such a wonderful finish.
Again, thank you for sharing such an inspirational restoration.
Eric
Hello @Nightwatchman,
I agree with @EricL - this is truly a terrific project. You've breathed fresh life in your grandmother's pantry cabinet and made it more functional. I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy it for many more years to come.
This project would serve as a great entry in our ongoing search for Australia's best D.I.Y. projects, so I've gone ahead and submitted it for you.
Let me also extend a warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're thrilled to have you on board, and we hope you've been finding this site as an excellent source for useful D.I.Y. tips and inspiring concepts.
We look forward to seeing more of your work.
Akanksha
