Mom's Old Hope Chest

I like to romanticize the idea that my Grandfather built this chest in the 1920's, but Mom wasn't born until 1928. It hardly seems sensible that he would have built it so early in her life, but I still like to think of it that way. Truth is, she would have most likely been in her mid to late teens. So, it was probably sometime in the 30's or early 40's that my Grandfather built this chest for Mom.

From my earliest memories of it in the basement holding some of Mom's treasures to finding it in one of the out buildings after Dad passed away, this thing has been a fixture at my parent's home all of my life. Dad really never was much of the "handy" sort, and he never took much care of it; he just used it for storage. Without my romantic notions of age, this thing is still conservatively 70 years old. It's not a piece of furniture so much as it's a piece of my heritage. I wanted to spruce it up for a few more decades.

My grandfather was a master carpenter, but he kinda threw this thing together. Mill marks from the lumber yard are clearly visible on the inside and bottom of the chest planks. He only planed the show face and one edge of each plank. There are two planks per side, but they weren't jointed and put together. Rather, the planed edge on each was turned to the top and bottom and the gap was covered by some thin strips to give it a frame and panel look. Joinery was toenails from corner braces on the inside corners to the planks. Still, it's square and it's solid, and it's well worth the investment of a few hours to help it along the way.

Click on any of the pics to enlarge and get a better view...

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Refinishing the Chest --

Disassembly ...

First step was to take the thing apart. Granddaddy didn't use any sort of matching hardware. He had used a set of cast iron handles, some decorative brass plate hinges, and old wooden wheels. I wanted to keep the old wooden wheels for their nostalgia. And, I wanted to clean up and reuse the old cast iron handles again. I really liked the look of them.
Also, the furring strips he had used to give it that "frame and panel" look had to come off. That got it down to a wooden box. Time to trudge on.

Stripping the finish...

For as long as I can remember, this thing has always been a dark brown, mahogany color. I don't know if it was brown paint or a heavily pigmented stain, but it's the original finish. Well, I've never used a dichloromethane (or methylene chloride) base solvent before... always been afraid of them.
So, I used one of the "orange" strippers. I let it do its thing and after a couple of hours, it was pretty well cleaned off. The first piece was the lid. OH MY GOSH!!! To say that the grain raised has got to be one of the all time understatements ever uttered. Click the pic at left to see what I'm talking about.
I let it dry for about two weeks, and that helped, but it was still pretty bad.

Sanding...

The left side has been sanded down, but the front still has a lot of the original pigment embedded in the raised grain. Still got a lot of sanding to do.
Sanding, sanding, sanding...

Still sanding...

As you can see, it's getting there, but it's slow going.

Don't kill the character...

Almost done with the sanding. There's still a little to do around the edges, but it's pretty well done.
As you can imagine, this thing has developed a lot of "character" over the years. Some has been there the whole time (look at the saw marks at the top) while some has just been gained over years of wear.
The trick now is to figure out which to fill and which to leave. I may just leave it all... it's been earned.

First coat of finish is on...

Milled up the furring strips and "ebonized" them with some die. After that, I put the first coat of finish on both, the chest and the furring strips. Only got about five more coats to go.
I used my favorite finish... it's a home brew finish I cook up right in my garage. It's not anything special. I mix:
1/3 mineral spirits
1/3 oil based polyurethane (matte, semi-gloss, or gloss to your liking)
1/3 BLO or tung oil (again, to your liking)
This finish was meneral spirits, semi-gloss poly, and BLO.
I've used all of the combos listed above. The finish winds up very thin and acts more like a wiping varnish. It's very easy to control, but it usually takes several coats.

Almost done...

Here it is with about three coats of finish. Eventually, I'll wind up at #0000 steel wool, and all will be good.
I go through a butt load of tack cloths!
I can't remember the final tally, whether it was six or seven coats, but...

Finished and at home...

Here it is, finished, and at home in Martelle's room. Hopefully, one day, she'll want to take it for her own. It's easy to see the ebonized furring strips.
The tapestry on top of it is a little something I picked up around 1978 while I was stationed in Italy. It serves as a "buffer" between several hours of hard work and the things my daughter piles on it when she visits from school.

Back to Woodworking Home

	Disassembly ... First step was to take the thing apart. Granddaddy didn't use any sort of matching hardware. He had used a set of cast iron handles, some decorative brass plate hinges, and old wooden wheels. I wanted to keep the old wooden wheels for their nostalgia. And, I wanted to clean up and reuse the old cast iron handles again. I really liked the look of them. Also, the furring strips he had used to give it that "frame and panel" look had to come off. That got it down to a wooden box. Time to trudge on.
	Stripping the finish... For as long as I can remember, this thing has always been a dark brown, mahogany color. I don't know if it was brown paint or a heavily pigmented stain, but it's the original finish. Well, I've never used a dichloromethane (or methylene chloride) base solvent before... always been afraid of them. So, I used one of the "orange" strippers. I let it do its thing and after a couple of hours, it was pretty well cleaned off. The first piece was the lid. OH MY GOSH!!! To say that the grain raised has got to be one of the all time understatements ever uttered. Click the pic at left to see what I'm talking about. I let it dry for about two weeks, and that helped, but it was still pretty bad.
	Sanding... The left side has been sanded down, but the front still has a lot of the original pigment embedded in the raised grain. Still got a lot of sanding to do. Sanding, sanding, sanding...
	Still sanding... As you can see, it's getting there, but it's slow going.
	Don't kill the character... Almost done with the sanding. There's still a little to do around the edges, but it's pretty well done. As you can imagine, this thing has developed a lot of "character" over the years. Some has been there the whole time (look at the saw marks at the top) while some has just been gained over years of wear. The trick now is to figure out which to fill and which to leave. I may just leave it all... it's been earned.
	First coat of finish is on... Milled up the furring strips and "ebonized" them with some die. After that, I put the first coat of finish on both, the chest and the furring strips. Only got about five more coats to go. I used my favorite finish... it's a home brew finish I cook up right in my garage. It's not anything special. I mix: 1/3 mineral spirits 1/3 oil based polyurethane (matte, semi-gloss, or gloss to your liking) 1/3 BLO or tung oil (again, to your liking) This finish was meneral spirits, semi-gloss poly, and BLO. I've used all of the combos listed above. The finish winds up very thin and acts more like a wiping varnish. It's very easy to control, but it usually takes several coats.
	Almost done... Here it is with about three coats of finish. Eventually, I'll wind up at #0000 steel wool, and all will be good. I go through a butt load of tack cloths! I can't remember the final tally, whether it was six or seven coats, but...
	Finished and at home... Here it is, finished, and at home in Martelle's room. Hopefully, one day, she'll want to take it for her own. It's easy to see the ebonized furring strips. The tapestry on top of it is a little something I picked up around 1978 while I was stationed in Italy. It serves as a "buffer" between several hours of hard work and the things my daughter piles on it when she visits from school.