That "design" is 4 matched panels of Mahogany veneer.Notice how the top pieces match exactly to the bottom .it happens to be a very pretty "cut"
What sort of finish is on there now that you "cleaned it up"

Four-panel mirror-burl is what I have heard it called. I have a high back walnut bed with the same type of pannel in the headboard. Wild thing is when I found the bed at an auction the old varnish/shellac finish had deteriorated so
bad one could not tell what was under the gunk. I know this to be true as there were several high profile dealers at the sale. I wound up paying $110.00 for the bed. It in our girls'(now grown and gone) bedroom. When stripping it I put some of the really thin stripper on it and saw the burl -- I stopped immediately thinking it was the "painted-on (imitation) finish. BEWARE ANY STRIPPER WILL DESTROY THE FAKE BURL -- and you wind up with a blah piece of wood. Anyway, once seeing what it was I was tickeled pink!

Stocky this looks like it may be a walnut burk as well-- but it makes no diff -- still real nice

Why does the top look so different in the before and after??

Beautiful! Can't wait to see the rest of your collection!!

The after pictures are lighter than what it actually is in person. My camera is not cooperating at all.

I am not sure why the top looks so different--other than there are 30 years less dirt on it now! It took forever to get it all cleaned off. We used mineral spirits and super fine steel wool to clean on the dirt. It was soooo disgusting. Even after getting the dirt off, there was a ton of black gunk on it. My BIL gave us some stuff that he uses that we painted on with a paint brush, let it sit for a few minutes and wiped off with paper towels. I think it is very similar to what Lindac uses. Old black sticky gunk wiped off. After we got all that done, we wiped it all down with mineral spirits again and then used boiled linseed oil. I know some of you may not agree, but I didn't want something that looked brand new. I like the more primitive look-- it fits the style of our 110 year old house... used and comfortable. It is as clean as a new piece of furniture but just doesn't look brand new. It is very appropriate for our home.

Thanks for the comments. I think my next cleaning project will be the pie safe.

Thanks for giving a name to what the inset is called. We were just so surprised when it started showing up. There was no clue that anything was under the gunk!

This picture may be closer to the true color of it. I still say the pictures don't do it justice. It is absolutely beautiful in person (maybe I am prejudiced since I am the one that cleaned it up!)

I don't think that is mahogany veneer at all I think it's a solid walnut panel. So much of the old "stuff in a barn" in Iowa is native walnut. I have one very rough dry sink that has inch thick boards 24 or more inches wide for the top and the sides.
I would love to see inside that cupboard and the sides and back./...
Linda C

Tell me Linda what about the cut or color would have you think it's Walnut ? The color, the grain pattern ? Not even close to Walnut.
It's Mahogany 100% ,no question about it's also NOT a solid panel. That's evident by the 4 panels that are right there for all of us to see. They are called "book matched" panels.

What else would you like me to explain to you ,or would you like to tell me AGAIN, how much I don't know and all that you do know.

Beautiful burl, beautiful piece! How thrilling to find a gem hidden under all that gunk! Who could have guessed from the original photo? ;D You have more goodies you found with this one, I gather?

Thank you, moonshadow. Yes, we have found some wonderful pieces-- but I think it is going to be a long winter's job!

We had absolutely no clue this would turn out so pretty. I am very pleased!

You can see some of the original pictures at the link below!

Here is a link that might be useful: Original post

Wow, you found that in a barn? It's gorgeous! Nice work!

Thank you.

My home office is filled with furniture and pieces of furniture as we are working on cleaning up and fixing up everything... as you can tell by seeing the pieces of wood all over the floor. My dh is becoming an expert on gluing drawers back together!!!

I am just so glad we (or dh and ds, I should say) rescued the pieces before they were destroyed forever!

iasheff, When I asked why the top on your music cabinet looked so different, it was because there appears to be a raised or "domed -shaped) (sort of a mansard roof style) top on the "before" picture. and on the "after" picture there is a different type of top? If my old eyes are tricking me let me know -- but this is why I had asked.
on another note you stated ya'll are getting good at gluing and fixing drawers: just remember do not glue the bottoms in the dado slots. They are meant to "float" in these grooves. If you don't see any old glue residue in these slots -- don't add any, as it will cause problems later on. A few well placed small"screw-type" brads in the back panel will hold the bottom in place. This is a tip I learned by doing it the wrong way and having it bite me in the butt later on!!

Mizzou...I think the "mansard top" is an optical illusion caused by a line in the dust

Mark-
There is a dome-shaped top on it. I have often wondered what it was for--unless maybe just for decoration. It is open on the inside.

He has only put glue where glue was before-- after scraping off the old dried glue off. For example, on this particular piece, when we went to open the door, the piece of wood where the handle is came off. It slid into the other part of the door in a tongue and groove way... He chiseled off the old glue and put a bead of new glue on and clamped it together. Hopefully this was the correct way to do it. It works anyways. My hubby did get some very small screw type brads to use in places on some of the other pieces that have missing nails. On the pie safe, we have come across several broken square nails. Where he has to replace them, he has been using small screws. Most of the drawers on the different pieces have the dovetail connections (I know that isn't the right thing to call it). Where they are apart, he has been able to put them back together using a rubber mallet and lightly pounding.

Thanks for all the advice. We are learning as we go. It really helps when those more knowledgable than us have given us hints and ideas of what to try!! We know what we like and now we are just trying to achieve it. It has been a lot of fun-- and all these pieces are going to add greatly to our household!

Sounds like you are doing everything right! When you take the old glue off, try your best to get it all. Reason is wood glue only sticks properly to wood (not old glue). Some of the new polyurethane glues (i.e. gorilla glue) will stick to most anything. I have used these successfully when I had no other choice.
As for the top of your first piece, I have a old victrola cabinet (minus the record player and speaker) that has the exact same top design which tilts back to open. maybe yours was the record storage cabinet to go with one of these old victrolas!!??
By the way, alot of the old glues (I think they are called "hide glues") will dissolve with plain hot water and a little rubbing to hasten the process!!

That would be so cool to think that this may be a victrola record storing cabinet. I know the lady says it was her family music cabinet but that is about all she has told us.

The glue is flaking off pretty easily but it is good to know that we can try hot water if that doesn't work!

Thanks for the hints!

Beautiful , you did a fantastic job on cleaning it up.

Iasheff, I am still curious (or blind!!?? ) as to why the "mansard top" -- (my own incorrect terminology) does not show up on the after pictures? Did you change or modify the top?

I guess it is because I can see it here in person that I see the domed top (or mansard top-- I had to look that up in the dictionary LOL!) I didn't change anything on it at all :)

Maybe these pictures will show it better???

Does it show up to you yet?

I worked on the pie safe today... pretty much done. I will start a new post with a picture!
Keri

This "blind old man" can see it now!! Thanks !!
Still not sure about the wood. These pictures show it better. I am not sure what it is -- It may NOT be either walnut or mahogony, but something else?? Whatever it is -- it is beautiful-- of course I tend to be partial to walnut with quarter-sawn oak my second choice. Being from Missouri we see plenty of both of these around here!!

Everyone that has seen it in person thinks it looks like walnut. I am not sure what different woods look like-- I only know what I like :)

I am only 8 miles from the Missouri border-- and it was locally made by someone in Maryville, MO (we think). We even found the price written on the back-- $20

iasheff, I just wanted to offer you a couple links that show what different wood grains look like. Had more bookmarked but can't find them at the moment :/ Some times it can be tricky, and more often it's easier to quickly rule out what a piece is not ;)

Wood Artistry wood colors and grains

This is a really good link from Va Tech Dendrology Dept. There are nearly 60 images with detailed info (takes a bit of time for thumbnails to load).

Thanks for the links, moonshadow. I looked at all the different pictures of different types of wood-- and they all still look alike to me LOL Not actually :) but I know I will never make it in a career as a wood identifier!!

I bookmarked them and will show them to my hubby. He will be much better at looking at the different woods. Thanks again!

LOL, you're welcome ;)