Posted 9 years ago
trunkman
(149 items)
Thought I would post this for the person who was inquiring about a similar trunk. This was my first attempt at dealing with a metal covered trunk. There were four places where the metal had rusted out -- so I cut off the center pieces and used those tin pieces to patch the end top left and a place at the back. I used the leather from an old purse to make new handles. I used a stop rust product to slow down the rust and then gun oiled the tin -- just do not like painted tin so I do my best to make it look presentable. It has a very nice "East Lake" style lock. The last pic was the before shot....
Boy, that looks great! Still have my humpback, that was painted light blue by my mother back in the early 1970s. Been a long time since I last talked about it but I will soon be restoring and showing it hopefully. Great job!
Thanks so much Signaholic -- (should change my moniker to trunkaholic) -- looking forward to seeing your results!
Thanks officialfuel for the love...
Thanks bjb5859 and aghcollect for the love...
One word, okay maybe two..... WOW!!!!! AWESOME!!!!
Trunkman, that's some incredible work you did there. I love the heavy hardware and the interior looks amazing!! Nice one!!
Thanks kerry and jscott for the encouraging comments! Seems I learn a little something new from each project....
Thanks BB2, Big-Zingo, myoldkyhome, walksoftly, jscott0363, fortapache, kerry10456, mikelv85 and KathyKay for the love...
Thanks for the love bladerunner22....
Thanks Trey for the love....
I really like the detail on the hardware T-man. Did you use some kind of clear coat on it after you cleaned it up?
This one I did a light coat of varathane on the wood and gun oiled the hardware.
Isn't that a wood deck ???
Yes but I've been ignoring it....
Lol ... Had to get a zing in ... Been awhile :)
Thanks for the love and the lol eye!!!
You are very welcome :)
I've looked at all of your photos of your magnificent trunks. The word "Handsome" comes to mind. A great fusion of metal, wood, leather, etc. brought back to a glowing health. I think one of the best uses I ever put to a trunk was to cut four right angle triangle pieces of wood to conform to the curved camel top. Attached to a smoothed edge and rounded corner, sheet of glass about 2" larger all around than the length and width of the trunk, makes for a wonderful coffee table. I did basically the same thing to a much larger flat top cedar chest and have a collection of a couple hundred phonograph needle tins displayed under glass and a functional coffee table. Great Fun!
Thanks so much Phono for the great comment. I would LOVE to see a pic of the glass top/trunk if you still have one lying around. I hope to see your collection of phono graph needle tins.... and welcome to collectors weekly.
AWESOME!!!!!. Looks like you traveled back in time to buy it NEW from the store.
Thank you for the lovely comment namji....
The Goodwills have trunks stacked up for Halloween ...
And that is the report from the field ...
OMG...you really did an amazing job! It looks perfect. I could never attempt something like this, it really was a big job wasn't it? Gotta hand it to you!
Scary stuff having to stack trunks... good work Corporal, I will send that info up the chain of command.... such as it is...
Thanks shareurpassion -- the hardest part is finding the nice ones to redo!!! I really enjoy working on old trunks because they are already banged up and no one notices the hack job (um... imperfections) of the makeover. This is a hobby for fun so I don't have to worry about getting it right. Thanks for the encouragement!!!
You are so welcome. It's well deserved and you would probably have to point out whatever part you finagled, it just works so well. I have seen many of your trunks and they all look so good! Keep it up!
nice one trunkman! Love the work you did on it! Check this out when you get a chance...it may look familiar :)
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/169228-domed-immigrant-trunk-w-excellent-forge?in=user
I just found your post and am so impressed! The job you did is amazing! It looks fantastic!!
Thanks Rick55 -- I had a lot of fun doing it..
That's the best part... doing something you love and having fun doing it! I love the work you do, I'm so impressed!
Thanks so much Rick55 -- trunks always come out great with a little work so the rewards are always there at the end.
GREAT restoration! Makes my knife restorations look like mere child's play! Where in heck do you find room to store them all?!!?
NevadaBlades thanks so much for the nice comment -- whether small or large scale the refinishing skill is the same :) -- just happy to be able to play with these. Every once in a while I have to "thin the herd" and let some of my precious trunks go... :( -- most on my site I have still with a few exceptions. Have one in basically every room in the house...
True with knives, as well, just that the "bad" ones take more time! With over 500 knives, it seems like I'm always "thinning the herd", but the number seems to never get smaller because I keep buying more than I sell!
I noticed when you bought this trunk it had dark hardware. The after pictures shows that they are a beautiful silver. I have tried sandpaper, wire brushes, and a sandpaper dremel tool but it still leaves a lot of the dark. What would you suggest?
Sometimes the metal is too pitted to be fully redeemed. My best results, typified by this trunk, comes with a powerful drill (not a battery operated one) using a brass wire brush attachment. Hope this helps...
Thanks for the suggestion. I will try this evening. I'll try to post pictures next time.
OMG, I think my trunk is identical! I just found myself be and it's filthy but I'm going to clean it. I haven't found one that is the same until now!
Ok, it's not identical but VERY close. The closest I have found. And, sorry for the autocorrect above!