Basket case machinists chest

tooltime · Dec 4, 2011

Hello all-

First post on this forum. I stumbled across this site while researching an old machinists chest that I've had for about 10 years and have now decided to bring back to life because I need a winter project. There is an inked label on the bottom that reads " R. Bliss Mfg. Co. Pawtucket, RI". It's in tough shape, thick paint, numerous nicks/dings/scratches. There's a bit of water damage on the top of the lid also. It's missing the lock. I got it from a shop that was throwing it away and I just couldn't see it go in the trash so I took it. It's held various tools on my bench for the last 10 years but now I'd like to clean it up.

Anyone have experience with one in this condition ? I'd like to strip the paint (I heard Lightning Strip was a good product) and bring back the original finish. Hard to tell what type of wood it it right now though the lid appears to be white oak (I sanded the inside of the lid where the original finish hadn't been covered in paint and it the wood has a very blond color). I understand the company used Oak, Walnut and Chestnut but until I remove the paint completely and have my woodworker buddy take a look at it I don't want to guess.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jim

Ray Behner · Dec 4, 2011

Welcome to the forum. You need to resize your pic...desperately. It's so big, it fell of the right side of my comp. and is dripping on the floor.

tooltime · Dec 4, 2011

Sorry...

I'm new at posting pics. I'll see if I can make them smaller.

tooltime · Dec 4, 2011

Better pics (fingers crossed)

Sorry for the giant files. Can a moderator edit out my original pics ?

Jim

aerodark · Dec 4, 2011

You have 24 hours to edit your post. You may have to take out the link altogether, sometimes fileshare programs are stubborn. Even after you edit the size in those programs, the original size shows up here. :nutter:

Andrew_D · Dec 4, 2011

I was going to read this thread, but my computer won't scroll that far over!!! :eek:

Like others have said, go back and edit the original post and remove the pics. The ones in your third post are much better!

Andrew

tooltime · Dec 4, 2011

OK, pics removed....

Sorry about that. I was using a new image hosting site and wasn't familiar with the settings. You can now read the original post. Thanks for your patience.

Jim

aerodark · Dec 4, 2011

You may want to contact this PM member:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/members/machinistchest/

SouthBendModel34 · Dec 5, 2011

ToolTime:

+1 on "MachinistBox" as a parts source.

If you have deep pockets, you may be able to get some of the hardware from Gerstner.

Drawer pulls - try Horton Brasses, Whitechapel, etc all the old furniture sources.

Approach this restoration as you would approach any other furniture restoration: no irreversible processes.

Be aware that pieces that appear to be solid wood may actually be veneer.

Use hot hide glue if you need glue.

Use removeable alkyd varnish, not polyurethane! I like varnish sold for boats - the look is "just right" to me.

Don't sand at all if you can avoid it.

It's got scars you cannot hide, so don't try to hide them. Remove the paint and refinish it, replace missing hardware, etc. It will not look new; just do a workmanlike job.

tooltime · Dec 5, 2011

Thanks Southbend -

That's good advice and I plan on following it. I can't find much in the way of info on Bliss chests other than the junior tool box version they made for kids. I know it has potential and am excited to bring it back. I'll post pics when it's done might it might be awhile.

singleshot · Dec 7, 2011

I saw one like that in an antiques store- it had had come from an old dentist's office and was used for tools and amalgam supplies. This one was clean enough to be a piece of furniture!

Willis Gregory

Sachmanram · Dec 7, 2011

Hello Jim,

Nice save on the machinist's chest... :cheers:

I'm with SouthBendModel34 about your approach to refinishing. From your pics, I would guess that the underside of the lid is pine and that the top is veneered in oak, although the pic of the top isn't face on enough to be sure. Even with the coat of paint, it appears to have the open grain that is typical of oak, although, chestnut has a rather open grain also.

Looking forward to more pics of your progress.... sans the panoramic ones...

Brian

SouthBendModel34 · Dec 7, 2011

In another thread, I mentioned Van ************'s Restorers as a source for trunk and chest restoration materials. (No relation, just a satisfied customer.) An internet search for "Antique Trunk Restoration Supplies" turned up other interesting websites.

What's the spacing on the drawer pull ("bail") holes?

Are there "shadows" of a backplate behind the pull? What was the shape of the backplate?

And, to top it all off, there was a thread on this forum about a year concerning a very similar chest which, IIRC, had interesting drawer pulls which just might be the same as the ones your chest is missing.

tooltime · Dec 7, 2011

I have the original brass pulls and side handles. I happened to snap the pics after I removed the hardware.

It is missing the lock but machinistchest.com has a replacement. It's a little pricey but would work perfectly.

The back of the chest has a flat bar with spurs on it that apparently locked the drawers when you pushed it down (you can see the outline of the plate it fit through in the second pic).Once the lid was locked the whole box was secure. The parts that the spurs locked into are missing so I may have to fabricate some.

I ordered a product called Lightning Strip to remove the paint. It won't harm the wood according to the company. I'll test it on something else before applying it to the chest.

Thanks for all the great ideas and suggestions. I'll keep you posted as the work progresses.

Jim

rcrew002 · Dec 8, 2011

Restoring tool chest

Hi Jim,

I have restored a number of antique tool and furniture items. I have also spent a small fortune on strippers and finishing supplies, most of which either had nasty side issues or simply did not work. About a year ago, I bought a product call soy-gel from Rockler (no connection, just a user) that has has work very well on some tough cases (no pun intended), and it is both safe and easy to control. It might be worth a try.

The other thing you want to do BEFORE you do anything else is degrease all the drawers inside and out. You will be amazed how quickly this residue will creep into any newly stripped wood or your new finish and ruin it. One method I have used with great success is to use something like "GoJo" wipes or similar treated indsurial wipes. I have even use baby wipes. Do not use water based spray-on cleaners. Then I wipe things down with mineral spirits, and a light wipe of laquer thinner.

I noticed you are a town or two over, so if you need any help just PM me.

MachinistChest · Dec 9, 2011

R.Bliss Lock cut out Dimension

Not sure what kind of paint is on there however easy off might be hot enough. wipe it down with a coarse steel wool and rinse I use shellac on all my restos, then a fine steel wool to take the shine off a bit lt`ll bring back that antique look,it dries fast Is this what the lock cut out measures to be? Bore detail Eagle lock Co. Machinistchest.com | Flickr - Photo Sharing! I machine these locks take a look... Machinist Chest Reproduction Eagle Top Till Box Lock MC

tooltime · Dec 10, 2011

Hardware before and after cleaning

Thought I would post a couple of pictures of the work so far. The hardware had been painted over many years ago. There was also what looked like varnish on some of the corner braces. I removed the heavy stuff with a brass brush then used Chromax to clean the pieces followed by some 0000 steel wool.

Sorry for the crappy pics.

aerodark · Dec 10, 2011

Nice progress! I enjoy threads like this. :cheers:

MachinistChest · Dec 10, 2011

Ah yes, The paint protected the metal from rusting.. Lucky you!!! You might want to lacquer ( dip) the hardware. If I`m correct there should be shellac under that paint unless it was first striped before it was painted, but I doubt it, someone just slobbered black paint all over it the paint also preserved the wood over the years this is a good thing. Some of those old style boxes (1800`s) were refer to as Birds Eye meaning Birds eye maple wood but I may be wrong here, we`ll see I recognize that lock strike plate.

tooltime · Dec 14, 2011

After stripping off the paint....

Here are some more pics of the chest after I stripped the paint. There is a fair amount of what I assume is oil staining the wood around the pulls. I'm enjoying this project so far.

Basket case machinists chest

Plastic

Diamond

Plastic

Plastic

Titanium

Cast Iron

Plastic

Titanium

Diamond

Plastic

Plastic

Stainless

Diamond

Plastic

Plastic

Cast Iron

Plastic

Titanium

Cast Iron

Plastic

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