How to remove wood veneer from wood furniture

Hi friends, the weather has been gorgeous here in New York and that means I get to work outside on a furniture project!  Did you know that under peeling and cracking veneer there is good wood? Veneer lifts and cracks from moisture and can be removed completely with a wet towel and a metal putty knife. A few years back I picked up an antique night table on the side of the road. (You can read the posts here Shabby Roadside Find and Shabby Table & Petunias)  There was some peeling and cracking of the veneer on the top and bottom, but the overall piece is solid wood and has gorgeous carvings on the legs.  I thought maybe I could give this piece some love with a quick sanding, but the damage was worse than I thought, so the veneer needed to come off.

 I'm guessing that the table might have been left outside or stored in a damp basement for a long time to cause the veneer to peel.

Well, if moisture causes the veneer to peel, then this wet towel will help to take it all off!

First I placed a hot wet towel on the bottom shelf and waited about 15 minutes. Then I used my putty knife to lift the veneer. This was my first time doing this sort of thing so I wasn't sure how long to wait before doing this step. The edges of the veneer lifted easily, however the middle was a bit of a challenge.

For this stubborn piece, I poured boiling water right on top of the veneer and used the putty knife to peel it off.  Then I worked on to the top of the table, the sides and the drawer.

The veneer on the top of the table was a beast to remove!  There were three layers of it plus a lot of glue.

The veneer on the side and the drawer were easy to peel off.

The decorative wood on the drawer was cracked in different places, so I completely removed it.

AFTER

Here is the table after the veneer was removed.

TOP

BOTTOM

Here is the finished night table in the guest bedroom 

Next, I will give this night table several coats of polyurethane.  I hope you come back again to see how it looks. When this project is complete it is going to the newly renovated Guest Bedroom.