An Old Tool Chest - What to Do? (Pic Heavy)

[dustyrag]

How much should an old tool chest be repaired and rehabbed?

The Chest Under Consideration
Attached below are pictures of the chest under consideration. It can be dated to 1881, the date noted on the painting on the inside of the chest. It is the painted which originally drew me to the chest. Some other features:
• The construction of the main chest seems to be rabbet and nail. I believe each side is one wide board. Cleaning up might reveal more sophisticated joinery.
• The top was been covered with a metal skin. Probably later.
• There are 8 divided tills in the chest. All appear original or at least the same vintage. All are made from red oak.
• The chest itself is likely poplar. This would place it as local made.
• The bottom of the chest is rotting some. However it is a full 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inch thick so there was a plan for it to last.

Needed/Potential Repairs:
The repairs which could be attempted:
• Attempt to close the split in the top
• Replace the missing/cut chunk from the front corner top.
• Replace the back rail and reattach the hinges
• Remove the metal cover from the top and…see what we have. Proceed from there.
• Reinforce the bottom.
• Plane/sand rough spots and touch up the finish, or
• Remove the paint and refinish

The chest will be used to house collected tools. It will not be used on a regular basis as my “user” tools are where I can get at them.

What would you do to this chest? Anything? Why? There are no right answers, but I’m interested in people’s opinions.

By the way, if your name is “Nordyke” and this is your long lost grampa’s chest, let me know!

[henrypig]

In terms of hinges, I had roughly the same problem as you do with an old cabinet I'm (still!) restoring. I was not happy with the existing loose/damaged ones so I removed them, cleaned up the hinge slots with chisels, and filled them in with some scrap maple (I made no attempt to match the color to the old wood). Then I installed piano hinges.

[hbmcc]

The painting does it... Makes the chest worth having. Obviously, the owner had things other than work on his mind..... Cool box; and, if I had resources I'd grab it too.

I am not a preservationist, but:

1. Repair to the level of having a sturdy piece of furniture--lots of cut and paste (splice and patch). Replacing the floor would be a research project for me; I would steer away from dismantling the box, myself.

2. Preserve the finish, including work bumps and dings. Finish the repairs to match the original.

3. The sheet metal cap may have been original. Besides its function, it might hide skeletons. But old sheet metal always looks better in the barn. Have a plan for the nail holes? And, a Plain Jane lid?

Neat, neat project.

[Red Sawman]

I have rehabed several chests like this .... my advice .... FWIW .... if you want a new chest .... build one ...

I usually replace as little as possible .... make it as mechanically sound and well fitting as you can ... the value is in the age & patina ....

BTW ....good luck with the hinges ...

Red

[thomasegan]

That painting. Wow.

I don't know if there is an active market in such toolboxes. Gerstners, for example, sell well but they are not in the same category as rare, old collectible furniture which can get into serious money .

Point being, that painting makes that toolbox unique- I think. You may have the artist's name-- and that might not have been the owner.

I'd agree with Red and add a bit: you might have something that is valuable ($$) to somebody out there and I'd leave it as is until I could do more research on the painting.

Just opinions, no expertise here, except knowing that many artifacts are greatly diminished in value once they are cleaned, refinished, etc.

te

[kenl]

I've got three 19th Century tool chests. I've restored them all and made my living from one for 30 years which now needs another round of tweeking. Two of the chests had been stripped before I got them. the third had, and has, it's original finish. I made repairs that are visible. I did a workmanlike job but did not try to hide them as they are honest repairs that speak to the continuos use of the tool (and tool they are). The metal lid was either original or added for weather protection. I'd leave it as a reminder that some one made his living out of that box. One thing I have always liked about these is that they were the owners business card. When applying for a job the workman presented his tool chest for inspection. Most were made by the owner but not all. If owner made, the quality of the joinery determined whether the owner was hired or not and also what his rate of pay would be. Of course, the tools were also inspected for condition and variety so much could be learned about a persons capacity from inspecting his "business card". The split top is unlikely to draw up cleanly without a major disturbance of the entire top. An alternative, which I have used, is to insert a spline in the gap. In your case that would be quite noticeable through the painting so you might just leave well enough alone and live with the split as you do not intend to take the box to your worksite. I suspect that the painting was done by a painter hired by the manufacturer as I do not think the box is bespoke but rather made for sale. In any case the painting is likely an original not a print.

[Timberwolf]

Quote:

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usually replace as little as possible .... make it as mechanically sound and well fitting as you can ... the value AND THE CHARM is in the age & patina ....

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FIXT!!

[PeteW]

There's just a chance you might have something significant there. A bit of googling reveals an Indiana artist, Micajah Thomas Nordyke, who lived between 1847 and 1919 and was one of the founders of the Richmond IN Artist's Group.

Some info here:
http://www.askart.com/askart/artist.aspx?artist=5039669
and here:
http://www.pal-item.com/story/entertainm.../16409173/

Don't be painting over that artwork until you've checked it out!

[henrypig]

Here were my inside art pieces btw.

[toolemera]

My guess is the top is tin rather than tin plate? If so, it's fairly old and was expensive. I've seen this done to chests that were to be moved in wagons for protection from the elements. The date on the painting matches the handles too, which is always a good thing.

Before messing with the painting, talk to a museum curator who knows about 19th c oil scrumble paints, which is what this looks like.

You have find that a simple surface cleaning of the outside and inside (except for the painted inside cover) with mild dishwashing detergent, unscented and anionic, dilute, may change the color dramatically.