Refinishing An Ercol Giraffe Room Divider

In this video I restore the finish on a mid century modern 1956 Ercol Giraffe sideboard / room divider.
This restoration was mainly about removing water stains and heat marks and sunlight damage from the wood and re-finishing..
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Large machines:
DeWalt DW745 Tablesaw geni.us/VOlbB (Amazon UK) geni.us/rEWQt (Amazon US)
Charnwood B350 Bandsaw geni.us/3V5ozJh (Amazon UK) geni.us/qBSc49N (Amazon US)
Record Power Benchtop Sander geni.us/A5A6 (Amazon UK)
Clarke Bench Grinder and Belt Sander geni.us/MnY9OZj (Amazon UK) geni.us/WUpRKOu (Amazon US)
Hitachi Cordless:
Hitachi Combi Drill DV18DBXL geni.us/WjUSDdc (Amazon UK) geni.us/B6IY (Amazon US)
Hitachi Impact Driver WH18DBFL2
Hitachi Circular Saw C18DBAL geni.us/6Fyn (Amazon UK) geni.us/4G38C (Amazon US)
Hitachi Jigsaw CJ18DSL geni.us/vcxNBp (Amazon UK) geni.us/LkafJ (Amazon US)
Hitachi Angle Grinder G18DBAL geni.us/RZE7 (Amazon UK) geni.us/IpujAYj (Amazon US)
Hitachi Planer P18DSL geni.us/l3a3aUd (Amazon UK) geni.us/vVA8r (Amazon US)
Hitachi Oscillating Multitool CV18DBL geni.us/2Pu3MU (Amazon UK) geni.us/VcZGmq (Amazon US)
Hitachi 18g Finish Nailer NT1850 geni.us/CqtVT (Amazon UK) geni.us/BOBk (Amazon US)
Hitachi Framing Nailer NR1890 geni.us/sXWN (Amazon UK) geni.us/lAOPP (Amazon US)
Hitachi Battery Charger geni.us/TmTGbz (Amazon UK)
Makita Cordless:
Makita Cordless LXT Router geni.us/CclN (Amazon UK) geni.us/NDfoS3k (Amazon US)
Makita Cordless LXT Random Orbit Sander geni.us/ImytTJ (Amazon UK) geni.us/QNL6F (Amazon US)
Makita Twin Rapid Battery Charger geni.us/kGY3kz5 (Amazon UK) geni.us/scduQg (Amazon US)
Corded tools:
Mirka Deros 5650 Orbital Sander geni.us/E57p (Amazon UK) geni.us/A9dQwrm (Amazon US)
Bosch PBS75A Belt Sander geni.us/bnMsAcE (Amazon UK)
Evolution Heat Gun geni.us/4KdoW (Amazon UK)
Evolution Precision File Sander geni.us/GEi8R5 (Amazon UK)
Draper Biscuit Jointer geni.us/8xsSb (Amazon UK)
Air Tools:
Silent Air Compressor geni.us/VI2S02V (Amazon UK) geni.us/vNBP (Amazon US)
Makita Brad Nailer geni.us/vONoiTR (Amazon UK) geni.us/34XQO (Amazon US)
Clarke Stapler geni.us/ZuyMB0 (Amazon UK)
Blades:
Freud LP30M (40t I use on tablesaw) geni.us/1HQ0k (Amazon UK)
Freud LP40M (60t I use on mitre saw) geni.us/9YNQ (Amazon UK)
Hand Tools & Other Bits:
MIB Calipers geni.us/H487IRF (Amazon UK)
Stanley Chisels geni.us/R1FXw (Amazon UK)
Augusta Ryoba Japanese Pull Saw geni.us/9WS46AB (Amazon UK) geni.us/SJPRA (Amazon US)
Stanley Handsaw geni.us/FYkdeGQ (Amazon UK)
Bahco Handsaw geni.us/69qH3 (Amazon UK) geni.us/8SSN5SA (Amazon US)
Speed Square geni.us/rWLPc (Amazon UK) geni.us/NGL7T (Amazon US)
Large Speed Square geni.us/09hGL5l (Amazon UK) geni.us/6AObuM (Amazon US)
Bahco Combination Square geni.us/PSOqTr (Amazon UK)
Roughneck Demolition Bar geni.us/ha16iNR (Amazon UK) geni.us/steyPxZ (Amazon US)
Clamps
Dakota Parallel Clamps 800mm geni.us/mpdaoz (Amazon UK)
Daota Parallel Clamps 1300mm geni.us/bZWe0 (Amazon UK)
F Clamps geni.us/sw2Ub (Amazon UK)
Dust Collection and Air Filtration:
Numatic NVD750 (available from Axminster)
Numatic HEPA Module (available from Axminster)
Thor Filtration TF470 Air Filter (available from Poolewood, The Toolpost and Yandles)
Air Quality Monitor UK goo.gl/2gz8cZ or eBay US goo.gl/ge3a9h

[@brianharris7243]

I remember my grandad sawing the top off an Ercol shelving unit and painting it white to put in his shed-don't cry...

[@user-oy4gf6ck5u]

Very beautiful piece and the restoration was very poetic with respect !!!!!!! Lovely project !!!!

[@Bill.L.Carroll]

Nice restore, mate👍 I think one of the neat things about you doing these jobs and uploading to your channel, is that the owners have a chance to watch how you repair their goods.👌

[@dlamb2840]

Great video lovely result. Glad you saved the butterfly.

[@andljoy]

What a beautiful thing that is!

[@Cradley684]

Nice piece of furniture sure your customer was pleased with it, shame as you did not video table project but there you are , you did a great job !!!

[@jimblack2331]

Nice restoration Keith. Fantastic piece of furniture buddy.

[@stevesteves8915]

Lovely piece, great job! It's funy how all those spray lacquer cans always say "apply to bare wood"!

[@davegower123]

Nice job! Beautiful piece. Good to see Dillon again!

[@phunkissartisticcreations2316]

Amazing restoration, It's awesome to bring things back to like new condition instead of discarding them. Top job!

[@SHARPEYSWORKSHOP]

nice work looks like youve caught the sun 😀😀

Satisfying restoration! Also, nice display of british holiday arms!

[@dimitrioslykissas7981]

I see you're using Motip spray varnish. If you can get it, try the "Carat" spray lacquer, also from Motip. It's advertised as being like the clear top-coat applied on cars, and it really comes close. The make thre kinds of clear lacquer under the Carat line (matte, gloss, and satin, I think) and a wide selection of colours. On a side-note, I imagine you got mad points with the lady for rescuing the butterfly.

[@weezer1088]

Nice piece of work . Love the scrapping card , ill have to check them out

[@PRACTICALLY_BLIND]

Lovely work mate.

[@barstad-9591]

Beautiful cabinet! Nice job.

[@michaelevans1658]

Lovely piece Keith.

[@gryffindork9563]

Beautiful piece of furniture I really made things to last back then ♥️♥️♥️ P.S your cat he is a real cutie ☺️♥️

[@simdog635]

Nice Sun Tan Keith. Good work on the revamp too.

[@ClintRoseCarving]

I was lucky to get an old Ercol sideboard for free earlier in the year and it's also all elm. The top was ruined but usable in smaller sections and man does that elm come up lovely with finish as we can see in your video! Lovely job and you really brought it back to life.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Wow nice find!

[@TakamiWoodshop]

Wow that shelf came up beautifully after all those coats.

[@philwebb8049]

I like these projects Keith, I'm learning alot! Keep it up mate 👍

[@yellerbellyworkshop]

Nice one dude.... Great little project. Thanks👍

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you!

[@athmostafa2462]

nice restoration 👍

[@_cmzo_]

Nice restoration! And the new camera works great, I really liked the image quality

[@MoranGuyVideos]

Thanks for the video I learn a lot from it . !

[@jigsey.]

Loved the recreation of the famous Alan partridge "Dan Dan" scene with your shouts of Dillon Dillon.. great video

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Haha!

[@Kujobu]

This just sent me down an Alan Partridge rabbit hole.

[@jigsey.]

@@Kujobu I hope you enjoyed the infamous Dan scene

[@Thesidingsworkshop]

Good job mate

[@Bekim8310]

Great video. I think you should of recorded the making of the table too. 👍

[@Hatchmade]

The cat didn't seem too impressed.

[@MushBeanz]

Yeah Kieth, great work. I agree with the other comment, it would have been great if you were able to film and upload the Table restoration. It could have been a "Quick Table Refinishing" 3-mins in length. That you will upload on top of your usual weekly friday video. You never know which one could go 'viral'. I'd be happy to watch that.

[@taitelennox4514]

cool

[@colinaskey9777]

Yes I agree with you 100%it really is a very well made piece of furniture,made with the very best of wood,it think you were very brave to take on such a project,considering that you are not a trained furniture restoration tradesman,having said that you did a first rate job bringing it back to its original looks,gets my 5 ☆ rating,just one tip,get a bigger van.

[@jasonkerr8377]

Great video Keith. Dam your good at what you do buddy

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Jason

[@Yet1moreUtuber]

*Excellent video! * Great looking piece of furniture, BTW if your working outside you my want to invest in Sun screen lotion

[@63256325N]

It has the look of a piece from the 50's. In excellent condition considering it's age. It's in better shape than I'm am being about the same age ....lol. A job well done! But I see that no good deed goes unpunished....with the pay day from the work you also received a heck of a sun burn. Ouch! Thanks for the video.

[@63256325N]

I found one just like it in a vintage Ercol catalog from 1956. If you're interested, search,"vintage Ercol" and see what pops up.

[@michaelball7440]

I see you neglected to show the final finished project. This is not the first time you have done this. Please remember, we watch these videos for the item being redone, and love the before/after shots. Try to spend 30 seconds of your epilogue talking OVER some lingering shots of the finished job. Thanks again!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yeah sorry; I had to get it back to the customer before I had a chance to do the ‘beauty shots’

[@eduardvaniersel7535]

You might want to give a solution of oxalic acid in water a try against water and heat stains. It's very effective in removing those.

[@patevans5699]

I love the finish you achieved and would like to give it a go. Could you tell me the type of Motip varnish you used please. Thank you for the great videos.

[@elizabethamizdail7939]

Cool!

[@ArteHobbyMagoo]

Maravilha brother!!👍😉✌

[@alibuolayyan9038]

good job , In these days we do not find good quality furniture

[@ronnakeil3313]

Nice

[@bobdickweed]

Nice Refinish and video man...;-p

[@georgeholmes6099]

boiled linseed oil - do you just heat up normal linseed oil? great video - thanks

[@uktony1525]

Is Dylan named after the Nobel prize winning musician or the laid back rabbit from Magic Roundabout?. I hope it is the latter :-). Great video as always, a must watch at the end of the week.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

I didn’t actually name him. But I am a big Bob fan

[@avikghosh81]

I have a dark coated Ercol set. I would like to give a natural finish. Will the sanding remove the old dark coat?

[@MikeWarner75]

I have the same piece - I bought it about 9 years ago. I don’t know if it was ever refurbished, but it is in great condition. What oil and lacquer did you use? The colour match is great. I have an old dark Ercol table top (legs missing and a split in the middle). I want to create entertainment unit shelves out of it but it will be next to my Giraffe so I really want to match the finish as best I can.

[@AMG63]

Great video bud,,,P.S get rid of them old plastic plant pots and make some wooden ones (video idea 😉)

[@anythingilike3664]

Motip has 2types of clear varnish gloss and matt. Are you using matt??

[@johanvandyk6532]

How long do you wait after applying the oil to apply the varnish?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Until it feels dry

[@socialdrg6061]

thanks for another great video Keith, question; now that you are doing this as a business, and in particular this job repairing existing furniture and it being of value, pre you restoring it are you now insured incase off accidents or mistakes?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

I have no insurance covering that kind of thing

[@tylerirwin9932]

Yay, Dylan! He looked very happy. Great work on matching everything up. I don't know if you watch any videos from 'the Colonies' very much but you might like some of Woodworking for Mere Mortals. I think he has a few on how to achieve a high gloss look with spray varnish, but it's been a while since I've watched them. Great work Keith! Have you ever snuck any of your own music into the background of your videos?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks. Yep in the early days

[@janeclough7722]

Hi, what brand of spray varnish do you use and where do you get it from?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Motip, eBay

[@matthewmaccormack7829]

Great vid kieth, any idea when the next vlog will be out?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Next Saturday i think 👍

[@matthewmaccormack7829]

👍cheers

[@samburnhill458]

DAN! DAN! DAN! 🤣

[@cobberpete1]

OLD??? It's younger than me; but I have to say I've gone through a colour change as well. I used to be dark brown, now I'm all silver LOL. I know you have to be careful and each project needs its own considerations, but would a grain filler have helped to smooth the surface and get the 'Sheen', you were after with less coats? how long did it take for the BLO to dry / cure before you varnished???

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yes a grain filler would have been a good idea in this case, but it would have added a lot more of my time in to the project, and therefore expense. More coats of varnish and sanding lightly is quicker and does the job. The BLO dries in maybe an hour or so in the sun, but I always wipe it as dry as I can before applying varnish.

[@quintendewit3220]

God you burnd yourself really good hope it didnt hurd too hard love whta you do keep it up

[@negotiableaffections]

Just, bold, taking a scraper etc to someone's prized furniture. It would be nerve-wracking to me in case I ahem-ed! it up. But a happy ending ensued - lovely work. BTW ...so spray laquer/varnish etc can be applied on top of oil - obviously fine, but it seemed counter intuitive to me. It all obviously dries ok etc?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks! I think it looks much scarier than it actually is, scraping takes such a small amount of finish/material off that it’s nothing to worry about really. Sanding is more aggressive - I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sanded through a veneer but I’ve never scraped through one...

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yeah as long as the oil is dry before applying lacquer it is fine. I tried spraying before oil on a test area and it didn’t pop the grain enough so reverted to oil first

[@dalejones4186]

Looks like a bad sunburn.

[@pmck7559]

Great video and good structure as always but serious question what's with your red lips man?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Haha aren’t all lips red?

[@MsRmaclaren]

Not trying to be negative or positive for that matter, just a question. How come not a sympathetic restoration? I know the pieces lose value when refinishing. Was it at the clients request?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

The client wanted rid of the heat and water marks, that’s all

[@Mr_Judge_Benny_Hinn]

Are you into ladyboys? anyway, nice piece!