Larry's Hangout: 2012

My Old Trunk Restoration

I was given this old trunk 33 years ago by my parents to restore in my spare time. Must not have found any spare time since it languished in my basement for 33 years before I finally decided I had the time and tools to do the job. I bought a book on how to restore old trunks named
Antique Trunks Refinish, Repair, Restore by Linda Edelstein and Paul Morse
I learned a lot from that book! And I think my finished product shows it if I may brag a bit. Once I started, I became obsessed with finishing it. I spent all of Jan and Feb 2012 every day until it was done. Would I ever do another one or recommend anyone restoring their own? Yes! As long as they keep making great instruction books like above and that powerful Ready Strip, and easy to apply Rust-Oleum, a big yes. All you need is the time.The attached photos show my progress from start to finish. Every step was clearly explained in the book. Hope you enjoy seeing them.

Let's start


Let's start

Let's start


First lots of Ready-Strip

A little glue here and there

Lots of blades used here

Endless scraping

Even more

Some nice oak under all that

Discouraging to start a new side

Top almost looking good

Now that is some nice oak


Top finally done. A little stain, gold paint, Rust-Oleum

Rust proofing the bottom

Front done. Took twenty hours

Looking nice

Now for the interior

Some necessary tools

Keep it wet

Endless layers on layers of old paper

Sharp tools needed here

And here

Third paper layer and I see wood!

Musty, moldy mess. You need a mask.

Through the third layer

Many pictures on each layer

Only one I was able to save

The cleated nails need rust proofed

All the seams were covered with old cloth strips

New ones added on seams and any repaired splits. They were originally to keep dust out.

Next thing to do is replace the original many layers of musty paper lining with some pretty new appropriate paper. I'll post photos of this phase of the project soon. Check back.

May 25, 2012:

OK, I’m basically done with this project. I’ve lined the trunk with a pretty floral wall paper. (Paper cost more than the original auction price of the trunk) I found this job more tedious than all the others. I’ve never applied wall paper to anything but a nice flat wall. Here, I found myself trying to do the topologically impossible. Fitting a 2-dimensional flat piece of paper to a three dimensional ellipsoidal shaped dome. Can’t be done without a lot of cutting and fitting. Got the job done eventually. Had to make the curved lid and latch for that little inside compartment from scratch as it was missing from the original. A little steam, a 1/16” thin piece of plywood, some clamps, etc.

Now I have to decide if I want to make it look like a lot of the old original period trunks seemed to look. They were rather gaudy in my opinion. See the sample photos I found of original ones below. I managed to reproduce the original theme pictures, ‘pretty lady” and “guardian and companion” using Photo Shop. They came out nice. I might install them as in the original. I’m ambivalent about the borders around everything that seemed to be popular in the 1880’s. I can add them or not…..decisions…..decisions. Anyway I’m finished...almost. I never want to see another antique trunk! Facebook comments/opinions welcomed.

My Grandma Oliver's 1905 Morris Chair Restoration

Here is another old item given to me by my parents to restore in my spare time. Again, like my old trunk, that was 30 years ago. It was purchased in the late 1960's at my grandparents Guy and Maggie Oliver's estate sale. When Grandma was a teenager in the early 1900's era she sold Larkin Soap products to her neighbors. The Larkin Company gave rewards back then for selling various amounts. She managed to accumulate enough points to merit this chair, a nice Seth Thomas mantel clock, and a variety of other household items. She used all these rewards to help set up house keeping when she married Grandpa. This was her favorite chair. I remember sitting in it as a kid in the late 1940's. She sat in it from about 1905 until she died in the late 1960's. Grandpa gave it a new coat of paint and varnish every ten years or so. And it has seen several sets of cushions used and worn out by her family of six over the years. Remarkably well made, it needed no mechanical repairs, just a lot of varnish/paint remover, sanding, refinishing, and of course a set of new cushions. I'm pretty proud of the results of my efforts. Here are a few photos of the before and after for the project. Project took about three weeks in December 2012.