Woodworking Project - Antique Tool Chest
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This was more of a refinishing project than a woodworking project, but I'm very proud of it just the same. My Grandfather picked up this antique wooden tool chest a few years before I was born. He says that he intended to refinish it then, but never got around to it. After sitting in his garage for almost thirty years, he gave it to me to "tinker with". The tool chest is made of white oak and was originally finished with golden oak stain. The original finish was all but worn off, the nickel plated steel hardware was very rusted, the front panel was in three peices, the leather handle was rotten and broken, and the felt that lined the drawers was badly faded and torn in several places. I began by removing the leather handle and striping out the damaged felt. Then, I gave the whole chest a good cleaning and repaired the front panel. Next, I sanded off what was left of the golden oak and restained it with Minwax Early American. I stablized the rust on the hardware and coated the chest with satin polyurethane. Once the new finish was dry, I replaced the felt in the drawers, made a new handle from a scrap of red oak, and put the old chest back to work. It now houses the small precision tools that I use for another of my expensive hobbies, Model Railroading.