Trunk Project

I finally got started on the small trunk.  After work today, I went downstairs and decided to get started.  We had taken some of the canvas off the top the other night and sanded a little bit of both the wood and metal as a test to see exactly what we are getting ourselves into. Yes, that is a huge crack thru the wood on the left.  We haven't decided whether to fill it with wood filler and hope for the best or dismantle the lid and replace that piece yet.

The left is just stripped, the middle has been sanded and a little of the slat between, the right still has canvas

On the left you can see some shine on the metal where Andy sanded it

Today I completely stripped the whole thing of rotten canvas and it already looks tons better, even before sanding.  Andy couldn't help, the poor guy is really sick today.

Before

After

After I got it stripped, I was looking at it trying to decide what to do next and I noticed that the bottom half of the trunk looks funny (you can see it in the after pic).  It is a different color and texture than the top and it shows water damage.  Wood doesn't usually show water marks.  I started examining it and decided it had to be particle board.  I was really confused at this point because nothing I have read has said anything about trunk makers using particle board and it wouldn't hold up to the travel that these trunks went thru back in the day.  Besides, I don't think particle board was even made a hundred or more years ago.  We decided that maybe this trunk was a reproduction, but that was confusing too because of the very obvious aging showing on this thing.  I gave up and decided to try and tackle the inside.  This trunk has it's original paper lining.  Very thin and well glued and it's going to be a pain to get out.

You can really see the water damage on the inside of the lid

In the photos, you can hardly tell the inside is paper lined

So I got out a razor blade and started scraping away at the paper and then got even more confused.  It was showing solid pine boards all around and top to bottom.  What the?  Andy was downstairs at this point and we both got looking at it and decided it had to be a covering.  I found a spot that had been gouged at some point in its life and decided to gouge it further with a flat head screw driver.  I took out a big chunk and discovered the bottom half of the trunk, but only the front and sides, not the back, is covered in a thick compressed cardboard stuff.  I can't find anything on any site even mentioning this.  Do I leave it or remove it?  I am hoping to refinish this trunk with minimal dismantling.  With that in mind, if I remove the cardboard without removing the slats, I think it will be noticeable around the edges as it will make the slats look pushed out from the sides, but I highly doubt it will take an oil coat or stain and therefore will look awful if I leave it. But I was happy to realize that this is the real deal and not a reproduction.

Weird huh?  I think so

Nice wood underneath tho

I guess I can always remove it the same way I removed the canvas and then if it looks funny, dismantle the slats and metal.  Big pain I hope to avoid, I'm already not looking forward to attaching the lid and replacing the latches on the front. You can't just pry everything off and yank out the nails.  These trunks were built to hold together and last, if you just start yanking things you will remove huge chunks of wood and ruin the entire thing.  Trunk makers really knew what they were doing.  The nails used for these taper at the ends and are made of a pliable steel.  They used a hammer and a steel "heal" to nail them together.  The heal is held on the inside while you hammer the nail in thru the outside and when the nail hits it, the end curls and "clinches" back  into the wood.  What this does is makes the nail hold tight and not come out.  To remove them you have to very carefully pry at the head and then snip it off and push it thru to the inside.  Its a lot of work that could very easily go wrong.  I'll have to special order the nails to get the right ones, but I'll have to order some replacement parts anyways like handle and latches.  I found a great site that has these things for not too much money.

Anyway, we have a lot of work ahead of us.  This thing has broken parts and rust all over it.  It will be so worth it when it's done tho.  I'm already in love with it and can't wait to see it done.

The lid is not attached and will be interesting getting it back on

Broken latch that will have to be replaced and the corner is rusted and banged thru to the wood

The corners are beat up and rusty

Ooh look at the bottom of this thing!  Rust and split slats and half ruined rollers oh my!

This will most definitely be a refinish job rather then a restoration (there is a difference).  I have no idea why the blogger turned some of the pics, it's annoying and I can't fix it.