Ironing out the wrinkles!

This past week we have been working quite hard on 5 handmade dressers. This week will be a dovetail extravaganza; as we have all the cases completed, our attention will be turned to the drawers.

As the students worked on the cases side, planing, scraping and sanding, I hear the occasional, “Oh no, there is a big dent on my side!”  I make a quick run to the tool cabinet to pull out the trusty clothes iron (bought second hand) I say “We’ll just iron it out!”

The best way to remove a dent in your furniture is to get a wet cloth and put it over the dent, then set the iron on the hottest setting and simply iron over the dent. It may take a few tries to get it out; work over it a few times; you will see the steam rising; you may even want to re-dampen the rag again if it gets too dried out.

The water and steam simply raises the grain and will raise the dent right up. You can then scrape right over the surface to even it out.

Keep in mind the sooner you iron the dent, the better chance you will have to pull it up.  Also keep in mind that this only works on compressed dents. It is not too successful on a cut dent.

Go get an old iron for the shop; you will be glad you did!

One Response to Ironing out the wrinkles!

  1. Paul Dennehy May 24, 2012 at 5:41 PM #

    No starch with that! Looks like another great class.