Thread: Ice Chest

Hi all,

New here and this is my first post. I have alittle woodworking experience, having attended classes with Richard Vaughan for a while before he moved to Brissy and also having restored a Moth sailing boat a few years back.



My current project is a long overdue restoration of an old ice chest. I'm moving house soon and want to use it in the new place. It was wet when I photographed it and so looks a little darker...





Already I've done some work getting the structure sound (it was a bit out of square with a sagging back) and fitted it with a new floor and hidden feet.

A friend told me it was Tassie Oak and that it would have been finished with shellac and that I should scrub it with steel wool and metho to remove any old shellac. I have done this but on the outside of the box, particularly the sides, it appeared to have no real effect. Inside the lid and in other protected places it noticeably removed a deep reddish-brown finish.

I was thinking of finishing it with Tung Oil (Feast Watson Floorseal) which I have used before on furniture restoration projects before.

It still appears however that there is some visible finish on the sides and areas of the top and the unfinished areas now appear, after the metho scrub, somewhat paler than before (see the close up picture below).



I've decided not to take it back (sand it), as I like the fact that it looks old and used and I don't want it looking too new.

So my question is: After scrubbing it with metho, will I be right to oil it regardless of the appearance of some leftover shellac?

Would bees-waxing it be an option? (it will only be used to store linen or other dry stuff. Not food or anything wet).

I'm not going to be too anal about this piece but want to finish it fairly quickly. I'd appreciate any advice you have that meets these parameters...

Lastly, the original front-door latch was long ago replace by a padbolt. I have no idea what the original latch would have been. I've managed to source new rebated hinges for the front and top doors but don't know where to start on the latch. You can see some original screw holes near the padbolt




Cheers,
Jon