Reuse, Recycle

I finished classes two weeks ago and am still awaiting the start date of my work placement. This means that I've had two weeks of vacation and am also off next week.  People who know me well are aware that I get bored easily and need to find some kind of 'project' to keep myself busy.

My parents recently moved and through the process of packing up the garage I discovered a hidden gem among my Dad's possessions. This gem is a tool box that was carefully and flawlessly crafted from Douglas Fir by my Great-Grandfather almost 75 years ago.  It was built at some time bewteen the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII. My grandfather's father was a carpenter and the tool box, until very recently, still housed many of his tools. Tools, that many of today's carpenter's would not know how to use.

A simple enough project I assumed. In my mind the task of stripping the paint that had protected the wood for over 70 years would be a pain but it was indeed doable. Following that I would only need to stain and varnish the outside and paint the inside of the box.  Several of the challenges associated with this project evaded my thinking.

After learning the story of this mysterious wooden box in our garage and knowing that I would have loads of time in the coming weeks, I decided to turn it into a coffee table.

Firstly, the paint --that it was as old as it was-- was certainly lead-based paint and would require several safety precautions to remove.  I would like to point out that stripping and sanding lead-based paint is NEVER recommended. I spent a full week removing the coating on the outside of the box.  The paint on the inside was the easiest to deal with since I was going to paint it and only required a few coats of primer-sealer. I spent about four days painting.

 

Brass before (above) and after (below)

 The next challenge involved removing 75 years of tarnish and grime from the brass fittings placed on each corner and the brass lock piece.  I found that the best way to go about this was to soak the pieces in CLR before gently rubbing with grade 1 steel wool before applying a brass polish. This took me a full day.

After all of this was finished I started to stain the wood and because it is recommended that applications are four to six hours apart, this took me a full day. Tomorrow I will be varnishing the stained wood, to protect it from dirt and water, and then I'll be replacing the brass fittings.

The finished product: 

I should have done a little more sanding because it seems that there is some residual paint residue on the wood which is preventing the stain from being absorbed evenly.  To be honest, I don't mind.  I like that gives my coffee table a more rustic, worn appearance.

I think it's a coffee table to be proud of and definitely a conversation piece. 



Finished Product (Top)

 

Finished Product