Busted up mahogany writing box

[RedShirtGuy]

I picked up this poor thing today in exchange for a slab of beer. It's almost complete including teeny tiny slivers of the old veneer, timber and hardware.

The plan is to bring it back to life for the girly's birthday in September. I think I might need every day between now and then to complete it.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a piece of flame mahogany veneer for a feature top, do a super good french polish finish and get the old boss to emboss a bit of leather to replace the old felt writing surface.

There is one broken brass hinge that I might have trouble fixing/replacing/making, but the rest of the metalwork should be easy enough to sort out.

Updates will be very slow, but stay tuned

[A Duke]

Hi,
That should be fun, enjoy your self and thanks for sharing.
Regards

[Christos]

Taking a seat to watch the progress.

One thing thou you did not say which birthday you are aiming for?

[RedShirtGuy]

Any within the next twenty years, but shhhhh

The guy I got it from held onto it for at least 10 years thinking that he'd get around to it one day. It's obviously a cursed item

[Xanthorrhoeas]

You have a nice challenge with that writing slope. It is good that you have the two ink bottles. The bottles often had a brass fitting and an opening lid - either brass or crystal. I'll post some photos later in case it will help you to find some.

[crowie]

What a project sir.... I'm pulling up a chair to what your mastery... Cheers, crowie

[Xanthorrhoeas]

You have a nice challenge with that writing slope. It is good that you have the two ink bottles. The bottles often had a brass fitting and an opening lid - either brass or crystal. I'll post some photos later in case it will help you to find some.

Finally, some photos (it's been a busy week).

Brass lid for ink bottle - closed.JPGBrass lid for ink bottle - open.JPGCrystal lid for ink bottle.JPG

[RedShirtGuy]

This is one of the three very small internal drawers. Everything that's still together is pulled apart and given a good rub down with metho on a soft rag (and toothbrush in the joints) then given an extremely light scrape (if necessary) to get the eons of dirt off and remove any remaining glue or shellac finish.

Prior to gluing up, each internal face gets a light rub with 600 grit paper to freshen it up. There are a few pieces with some deeper scratches or stains that this doesn't remove, but given the back and sides are only 2mm thick with a very fine rebate for the drawer bottom, I'm reluctant to take too much off. I think the defects add a bit of charm and should be minimised once the finish goes on.

Glue (TB2) is applied sparingly with a toothpick, and once assembled, rubber bands provide enough pressure to hold the pieces together for drying. Any squeeze out is cleaned up with a clean toothpick and a damp "fluffed out" cotton bud.

When they're dry, the outer faces will get the 600 grit treatment also to smooth off the ever so slight overhang of the dovetails as well as to give the outsides a freshen up as well. It looks like the drawer faces had a veneer so I have to rummage through the pile of bits and pieces to see if they still exist. (Edit: They do, complete with knobs.)


The dovetails are complete, but chipped out a little here and there, yet still tight. It's incredible craftsmanship from the mid to late 1800's (estimate).

The close up photos from my phone don't work too well, apologies, but I'm also trying to save the high detail pics for the big finish reveal.

[RedShirtGuy]

This arvo I did a wee test (not literally, although that would be interesting too ) on getting the gunk and tarnish off the brass pieces. Pieces like the handles that sit in a recess are utterly putrid, especially on the back, and I want a way to easily remove the majority of it before I attempt any polishing.

I think that it's more than mere tarnish as there are dark orange, blue and white flakes/powder as well as the usual browning one sees with old brass. These are solid brass pieces (not just plated) so the orange isn't rust...they're just super old.

I left this handle in a cup of Coke for 4.75 hours and this is how it came out without any additional scrubbing other than a rinse under warm water. While the front did clean up a bit, it was the back that really needed the work and the Coke did the job. As well as loosening up the hinge a little (so I can get the pins out for a proper clean), it removed a lot of the cakey crud from the back and in some places it's even shining. A longer soak would no doubt produce even better results in cleaning up the back without damaging the front.


(Side note: I consume about 2 litres of Coke a day (down from >6 during business hours alone!!) so I reckon my guts are sparkling!!! )


Still, they're going to need a thorough going over with Brasso and a polishing felt Dremel tool (because I'm lazy and there's a lot to do), as well as a protective oil coating, but I think the final result should be brilliant in the truest sense of the word.


(Other Note: Sure, you don't see the back of these pieces when they're in position so there's no real reason to clean them completely, but I do it anyway. If it helps those bits to survive until some other poor bugger decides to re-restore it in another 150 years, I'll be long dead but happy they don't have an additional 150 years of crud to clean up )


I am having a hell of a lot of fun doing this restoration (for once) and am really enjoying the entire process and showing it off to y'all. It's been a looong day and while I'm away for a few days before I return to another sort of restoration work next week (refinishing filthy restaurant tables), I hope I can keep y'all interested long enough for the final reveal of the finished product...whenever that may be But thank you for the interest in this journey thus far. I hope I don't let y'all (myself, and the girly) down

[Bohdan]

Hot canned tomato soup does a brilliant job cleaning up old copper so it might work on brass. BTW I hope that coke is Zero as I was on that same quantity and ended up diabetic. Stopped drinking coke and my blood sugar is nearly acceptable.

[RedShirtGuy]

BTW I hope that coke is Zero as I was on that same quantity and ended up diabetic.

Fair dinkum, after 20+ years of over-consumption it's a miracle that I'm not.
I'm overweight (technically obese) and if I don't have a Coke in my mouth, it's a smoke (switching to primarily vaping tomorrow) or booze. If it wasn't for my other medication (and rampant family history) I might have begun to think that I was immortal








(I jest quickly, yet know that I'm in serious trouble and am receiving help in many forms )

[Xanthorrhoeas]

This is one of the three very small internal drawers.

Glue (TB2) is applied sparingly with a toothpick, and once assembled, rubber bands provide enough pressure to hold the pieces together for drying. Any squeeze out is cleaned up with a clean toothpick and a damp "fluffed out" cotton bud.

Have you thought about using hide glue instead? The original glue would have been hide glue and new hide glue sticks better to old hide glue than PVA. It is also reversible so someone restoring again in 150 years will thank you. You do not need a glue pot anymore as Titebond liquid hide glue is easy and convenient. I have been using it for a couple of years now without failures, although big glue ups on restore projects I still use my glue pot and pearly (hide) glue. Hide glue has been proven for hundreds of years, PVAs have not.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Still, they're going to need a thorough going over with Brasso and a polishing felt Dremel tool (because I'm lazy and there's a lot to do), as well as a protective oil coating, but I think the final result should be brilliant in the truest sense of the word.

Looks good so far.

The best and most traditional sealant for the brass is shellac, so, presuming that you are going to use shellac to refinish the piece (the only traditional polish for it) then you can just polish the brass pieces with shellac as well.

The pins on these were usually iron. If yours are the same then it is best to neutralise any remaining acid from the coke very carefully - a bicarb soda bath should do that - and then apply some oil to the pins before polishing.

[RedShirtGuy]

Thanks Xanthorrhoeas. Good info on all counts

I had considered using hide glue but didn't want the hassle of the glue pot, so I'll definitely give the Titebond version a go for the rest of work as I've been a bit skeptical about the strength of the PVA for the thin butt joints that are going to come up later.

Not having used it before (or read up on it yet), is it ok to use for reattaching the thin veneers?

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Yes the hide glue is perfect for the veneering. Hide glue was what was traditionally used for veneering fine furniture. For very thin veneers often rabbit skin glue was recommended because it is more watery, but most antique veneers are more substantial at 2- 3 mm thick, so do not need the rabbit skin glue in my experience, and in fact benefit from a more substantial glue.

I have used fairly runny hide glue from my glue pot or fresh TB liquid hide glue to repair chips of veneered work - in fact the TB version is my preference for that because there is so much less fuss and mess.

There is some debate about the TB hide glue in the US forums, with some very pro and some quite negative traditionalists but I suspect this is more a "new can't be good" than about experience. My experience is that it works well and has not failed me in the couple of years that I have been using it. I have also used the TB hide glue to make a couple of new boxes and they haven't fallen apart. For a rebuild of a major structural item like my cylinder-top secretaire I still use a glue pot and pearl hide glue though.