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Using very old boxes

I have this very old box. Not sure what it dates back to but it advertises cigars for 5 cents. Anyway...there is some structural issues however I hope to have found a way around them. The wood is very dry and in fact the lid has some splintering along one of its edges. What I decided to do is cut off the lid and flip it over. The decal on the inside of the lid has a lot of orange color and I think that will look very cool on the outside. The paper decals on the outside are mostly still there however the glue has let go on many areas. I spent about an hour today going around the box with a toothpick and added fresh glue under those areas and glued them back down. I'm wondering about adding some sealer to the inside and outside of the box. I have used lacquer before to actually "seal" wood before but wonder if that should be used in this case. Will that deaden the wood? I've read on here about using an oil finish on the inside......would that be a better choice. For the outside, I think I need something to hold all the decals in place but I like the old look to it and don't want to ruin that by having a shiny solid surface. So I'm not sure how to preserve the outside decals yet still maintain the old rugged look.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on May 26, 2013 at 9:24am

Cool old box. I've used lacquer with good results and buffed it with steel wool to knock off the gloss. You might be able to find a semi-gloss clear coat that would work. Oil finish on the inside could help preserve the wood, but do any gluing before the oil or the glue joint will have problems.

Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on May 27, 2013 at 2:21am

Nice box. Wanna sell it? LOL!

No seriously.......

I hope you will do a retro or distressed build to take advantage of that vintage box. Leave but preserve some patina as it were but make it quite playable.

Nice.

I have a bunch of old boxes in my collection, many are just too small to do much with as a CBG, but a few choice ones are destined for builds. May have to wait for retirement.

I went to an estate sale about two years ago and was looking around. All junk, overpriced, just trash that someone might hang on the wall at a Cracker Barrel resteraunt.... I was looking at some rusty saws and broken hand planes in an old workshop and turned around........

Shelves of small parts in about 2 dozen vintage wood cigar boxes. All priced with contents. Junk. I made an offer for just the boxes, all of them. Seller wouldnt budge.

Anyone need pounds of rusty screws and door hinges?

Often the glue has long since disintigrated and I have taken some apart carefully and rebuilt them so they look like they are very old, but are solid as a rock. Too bad they quit making those old jointed wood boxes. They are great.

Permalink Reply by QGolden on May 27, 2013 at 11:27pm

It is common to use nitrocellulose lacquer in the finishing of dulcimers, and other stringed instruments. Some feel it enhances the sound. It dries quite hard, so it will not deaden the vibrations. It can be found in a Rattle Can too, then lightly sanded/steel wool rubbed, etc... Nice old box. I would flip the lid as you indicated, that will let you practice with the finish on the unused top side. Good luck, and post updates as you go.

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