Furniture restoration

[Alicay]

Have seen a course in this that I really want to do (total beginner). You bring in a bit of furniture and go to work on it. Course notes say aim at the end is to: disassemble & stabilise the piece, repair broken/missing bits and deal with old polish, French polish restore the surface finish.

Can anyone recommend a good (portable) item/what type of wood to choose?

TIA

Have a look at ‘ antique wooden boxes/ vintage wooden boxes/ writing slopes ‘ on eBay. Look for wooden ones that have flat sides and be about 10” wide- can get some for about £15 + postage. See if anyone you know has one ( my dad had an old one in his office which I acquired …)
There are some lovely boxes that need some TLC which you can learn from E,g re gluing joints, repairing veneer, practicing French polishing.
Make sure you check the state of the hinges and if there is still a lock ( even without a key it is better to still have one) as these are added complications for the novice. It would be portable and at the end you have a lovely box/ jewellery box. They often have paper lining which needs to be removed ( can gently steam off or scrape) so would also have the added learning on how to cut and glue felt lining.
Run this past the tutor and see if that would be suitable.
If not - a small antique wooden coffee table, as old ones inevitably have loose legs and need some surface work.
Another one could be a very thick wooden picture or mirror frame?
Just some ideas.

That is all brilliant Apple - just the info I was looking for! Had not thought of a box at all, I really like that idea. Off to eBay/Marketplace...

Google 'how to make a storage footstool from a drawer', they don't have to look old fashioned. You can also cut down a chest of drawers, leave the legs on or remove them, add a piece of covered foam to the top.

OP- did you manage to get on the course, if so how did it go?