Stripping back varnish

[gc]

Whats the best way to strip back varnished wood?

I have been told i can take some broken down wood from a church (old pews i believe) but was told that it is all varnished (still to see it). So im wondering if i can make use of some of this but wasnt sure about the best way to go about stripping it back to bare wood (not even sure what type of wood it is). My initial thought would be to sand it back with rough grit and work down the grits, however this will be long and messy. I dont have a planer/thicknesser so by hand it would need to be.

Or should i use a paint stripper to help remove it?

Help needed thanks.

 

[MickCheese]

I have found a cabinet scraper useful in the past followed by a hand plane.

I probably would not use paint stripper, makes an awful mess.

Mick

 

[jimmi]

Hi gc i have just done a iroco door with paint stripper washed it all off left for 2 weeks to dry , stained with mahogany stain sprayed 2 pack hardener spray , came back like new

 

[gc]

This is a bit of a weird question (probably unanswerable) as i guess they could use any wood they like but does anyone know what type of wood they would likely have used to make pews with?

 

[theartfulbodger]

Nitromoors is good stuff, if a little evil.

 

[AndyT]

This is a bit of a weird question (probably unanswerable) as i guess they could use any wood they like but does anyone know what type of wood they would likely have used to make pews with?

It would help to know how old they are!
If they are Victorian, and feature largish sections of dark brown wood, possibly with a fairly streaky grain pattern, it could be Pitch Pine. This was a popular choice for pews, and was also used for decent domestic joinery that wasn't painted - handrails, newel posts and so on. Almost unavailable now, which is why it's worth reclaiming it.

Whether churches should be flogging off their fittings is a whole other debate - but this is just a woodworking forum so I won't go there!