Pictures of Miscellaneous Stuff & Things

[Mumbleypeg]

My mother had a similar cedar chest. I don’t know the the brand name. It had a finish on the exterior as it was darker than the interior, but I think the interior was sanded smooth and unfinished, to allow the preservation properties of the cedar to be uninhibited inside the chest. When the chest was opened the cedar aroma filled the room. You might look into using cedar oil to “feed” the dry wood. I’m not sure how or if that would work for wood restoration, but I buy it and use it for insecticide and insect repellant so it is available - it’s just cedar oil in an inert carrier. Smells great, and it works.

Ken

[OLDE CUTLER]

About three weeks ago I happened to get up during the night to use the mens room, and in the process I could hear this scratch-scratch-scratch coming from the bathroom vent fan in the ceiling. I just stood and listened to it for a while, and took a flashlight and tapped on the ceiling and the sound would stop. Then in a couple of minutes it would start again. I didnt know what to make of it, I originally thought that there must be something on the roof that was scratching on the outside of the fan vent cap. So I went back to bed and thought nothing of it until a few days later when a terrible stench started to emanate from that ceiling vent fan in the bathroom, and there were some "juices" dripping from the fan. I immediately unscrewed the ceiling grid, put 2 sheets of bubble wrap between it and the ceiling, and screwed the grid back on. That took care of the smell, but I ordered a new fan to install as I thought SOMETHING had died in the fan. Well the new fan arrived yesterday, and today I took the old unit out and what did I find but this-----a mummified dead bat. I have been up on the roof twice to look at the cover for the fan vent to check for damage, and it all looks good. So I have no idea how he got in there.
I know something like a bat can wriggle thru a space that you would think impossible, but I have been all around the outside of the house and looked closely for any small space where he could have gotten in and can find nothing. I am not sure what species this is, but it would be the equivalent size of a flying mouse.

[bladecollectorr]

Again, thanks for the interest.

I'm just about done giving the outside its steel-wool and soapy water scrub. I've had to get up close and personal with all parts of the (clean) chest and have discovered that as well as Eastern Red Cedar and Oak there are also two Walnut panels on the bottom of the sides and the vertical rounded corner pieces and lip on the lid are matching walnut as well.

The panels of Eastern Red Cedar on the front and sides are not just flat planks but are hand flared outwards in a gentle curve to meet the walnut uprights. This thing was built right using hand techniques where necessary. The choice of high-end materials is artistically beautiful and very functional. The feet, base and cross-piece above the drawer (which is also the bottom for the chest area) are all oak which is good for strength. The strong oak lid matches the feet.

What oil will you use, and will it darken the natural color? I have a friend who has a very successful antique restoring business, i was having a discussion with him one day about cleaning up wood, i was referring more about knife handles. He said you can use just soap and water as you do, and he gave me another suggestion which he uses on older woods, that need a bit more care. Leather cleaner or soap, e.g.- saddle soap, as long as it is PH neutral, so it is not Alkaline or Acidic, it is roughly the same principle as why they invented Renwax. It has to be Leather cleaner/soap not, conditioner, i have been using it on all my wood knife scales since. If they are really grimy, i use 000 steel wool first then a soft rag both with the leather cleaner, or if they just need a spruce up, just with the soft rag. I would value your opinion of this method with your qualifications. But i am really interested in how you oil the wood without darkening it if that is your intent. You have a good weekend my friend, and looking forward to seeing the end result of your work, keep posting photos.

Basically the two alternatives are boiled linseed oil and tung oil. It has to be a "drying" oil which actually means it cures and hardens as opposed to just drying up. The mineral oil we often use on knives is non-drying and basically stays wet forever so it can just be washed off with soap and water.

Here's a link comparing the two old-school oil alternatives:
https://vermontwoodsstudios.com/blog/li ... -tung-oil/

I don't want the finish to darken the wood very much. I just want the richness of the colors to come out. Tung oil will do this and doesn't yellow with age like linseed oil. It has other superior properties as well so it's what I will be using.

I considered treating the cedar parts of the exterior with pure cedar oil as well (as that would re-create the effect the chest would have had on a room when new) but there is so much cedar that I would basically live inside a cedar chest if I reactivated all of it. It still smells aromatic when you put your nose next to it. I think that's strong enough for the outside especially after I sand it which will also pump up the scent. Hand rubbed tung oil wins as finish over all of the exterior.

Here's a good link regarding the use of tung oil. I will pretty much do exactly what it suggests. It depicts how much both oils darken wood. https://www.canadianwoodworking.com/get ... king-myths

...You might look into using cedar oil to “feed” the dry wood. I’m not sure how or if that would work for wood restoration, but I buy it and use it for insecticide and insect repellant so it is available - it’s just cedar oil in an inert carrier. Smells great, and it works.

Ken

I mentioned in my previous post:

"For the inside of the chest I will use soapy water method to clean it, leave it to completely dry and then give it a light sanding with fine sandpaper to expose a new fragrant cedar surface. This might well be all it needs but if not I'll give it a rub-down with 100% cedar oil to really bring back the strong cedar smell inside."

We're on he same page regarding the totally unfinished inside. I will use 100% cedar essential oil with no additives which is exactly the same as what the wood produced itself while growing.

[cudgee]

Thanks for all the info. Keep it coming, finding it most interesting, in your opinion are Tru-Oil and Tung Oil very similar, or does Tru-Oil darken the wood more?

[bladecollectorr]

Thanks for all the info. Keep it coming, finding it most interesting, in your opinion are Tru-Oil and Tung Oil very similar, or does Tru-Oil darken the wood more?

I've never used Tru-Oil so I'm not qualified to answer that one.

Here are more pics though showing some details.

The inner velvet-lined cedar tray is removable and fits into place using wooden slot pieces. A pic with tray removed:

Close-up with tray removed showing the two pieces which make the box shape.

Close-up of tray slots:

Tray in place:

End view again with no ugly writing.

Three-year Moth Insurance in the sum of $250 included with purchase:

Front corner detail highlighting the walnut post and cedar panel joint. Note that there is an inset brass strip running around the entire top edge of the chest. I strongly suspect the cedar panels are fully dado jointed into the walnut uprights (leaving the appearance of separate outer pieces and a corner-block) but the brass hides this construction detail.

[cudgee]

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

My mom had a cedar chest too. Even 60 years after she got it, when you raised the lid, you could smell the cedar. She kept her wedding dress in it, as well as my sister's wedding dress, and some quilts that had been made by my grandmother. My wife actually wore my mother's wedding dress for our wedding (with a few modifications ).

[bladecollectorr]

... I am not sure what species this is, but it would be the equivalent size of a flying mouse.

I don't want to "steal your thunder" with my cedar chest project and I think I am familiar with that species. I believe it is a Little Brown Bat. They are quite common and have a wide range across most of N. America from Arizona to Alaska.

Check out these two links. I think you will find the size and appearance are a match.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=little+brown+ ... &ia=images

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_br ... nd_habitat

They zoom in on your monofilament line using echo-location and then veer off at the last moment when fishing at dusk or at night in bat country. That's when I have found myself in the thickest swarms of them. Like the proverbial moth to the flame, the bat is to tight fishing line strung across water. They squeak like mice when disturbed or cranky during the day so you can often hear them if they are in your walls. They can wedge their bodies through tiny openings like a hole the size of a dime to find daytime hiding spots.

They are a common carrier of rabies! Bat bites must always be seen by a doctor and you should bring the offending bat with you if you can so it can be tested. Dead bats should be treated as if they have rabies. Heads-up!

That's about all I got on 'em!

[bladecollectorr]

My mother had a similar cedar chest. I don’t know the the brand name. It had a finish on the exterior as it was darker than the interior, but I think the interior was sanded smooth and unfinished, to allow the preservation properties of the cedar to be uninhibited inside the chest. When the chest was opened the cedar aroma filled the room...

Ken

My mom had a cedar chest too. Even 60 years after she got it, when you raised the lid, you could smell the cedar. She kept her wedding dress in it, as well as my sister's wedding dress, and some quilts that had been made by my grandmother. My wife actually wore my mother's wedding dress for our wedding (with a few modifications ).

My mother as well. Our "family" cedar chest is still tucked away at my 92 year old father's house. It will go to one of my three sisters I suspect. My mom's is more formal with a shiny dark laquer finish outside and cedar within. Same deal regarding the smell. I'm 53 and I can guarantee it smells the same as it did in 1972. My mom also included a couple moth balls in the chest so it has a unique and heady aroma.

Some things stored in her particular chest have an interesting history. My dad's family were United Empire Loyalists who left Pennsylvania for Upper Canada in 1780. One of my ancestors was a Member of Parliament during the last term of Upper Canada and the first term with John A. Macdonald as first Prime Minister of the new country Canada starting in 1867, nearly 100 years after we arrived in "Canada".

Things were very different in Upper Canada in the late 1700's and early 1800's than they are today. When a certain branch of my family was pioneering in Upper Canada they were attacked by a First Nation war party. The parents were killed. The homestead was razed to the ground and their two young children were taken as slaves.

During the subsequent journey to take the children back to their new "home", which was to be a Native settlement or village, the boy who was only about 5 would not stop crying. Their captors killed him and continued on keeping only the 8 year-old girl as a trophy slave.

She lived as a slave among that group for about 5 years. Obviously she had to learn all the First Nation traditional "women's skills" such as sewing garments and bags etc so she could be of use to the tribe. Failure to be useful would result in her death.

As fate would have it, she was then seen travelling with the group by some other Europeans who rescued her after 5 years of captivity. Living the First Nation lifestyle for five years had definately changed her but she was old enough when taken to remember her parents, her history and who she was. Story goes she then integrated back into European-based Upper Canada and lived a happy life.

In my mom's cedar chest there is a deerskin bag and a tunic that this very girl brought with her out of captivity when she was rescued. It has been handed down in my dad's family since the early 1800s. Both are decorated with some very nice beadwork. There are also some carved bone implements that were sewing tools. The cedar and moth balls have done the trick. All of it is in exactly the same condition as in 1972 and I suspect very close to the condition it was in way back before Canada was even a dream.

[cudgee]

Fantastic Family history.

[thankgod4rkids]

Giving my teenager a lesson in hand cutting and installing rafters today.
Bill

[Quick Steel]

Evening shadows.

[philco]

Garry you have captured what I consider the most beautiful light of the day. To me it has an almost magical quality as the light and growing shadows form such a sharp contrast. Great photo !

Getting back to the cedar chest for a moment, does anyone else know them as "hope chests" or is that just a local name for them ? My understanding of the term is that young ladies would get a "hope chest" at some point in their teens and they would use it to store items they hoped to use once they married the man of their dreams.

Bill that's got to be tedious work hand fitting those rafters to that old work. Better you than me doing that job.

[FRJ]

Giving my teenager a lesson in hand cutting and installing rafters today.
Bill

That's a big birds mouth with plenty of room for toe nailing. Looks good.

Very nice picture, Garry.

[doglegg]

Garry you have captured what I consider the most beautiful light of the day. To me it has an almost magical quality as the light and growing shadows form such a sharp contrast. Great photo !

Getting back to the cedar chest for a moment, does anyone else know them as "hope chests" or is that just a local name for them ? My understanding of the term is that young ladies would get a "hope chest" at some point in their teens and they would use it to store items they hoped to use once they married the man of their dreams.

Bill that's got to be tedious work hand fitting those rafters to that old work. Better you than me doing that job.

Yep hope chest.

[Paladin]

Getting back to the cedar chest for a moment, does anyone else know them as "hope chests" or is that just a local name for them ? My understanding of the term is that young ladies would get a "hope chest" at some point in their teens and they would use it to store items they hoped to use once they married the man of their dreams.

Phil,
Not just local. Young ladies here used to have 'hope chests' but I don't hear of it any more.

Ray

[TPK]

Garry you have captured what I consider the most beautiful light of the day. To me it has an almost magical quality as the light and growing shadows form such a sharp contrast. Great photo !

Getting back to the cedar chest for a moment, does anyone else know them as "hope chests" or is that just a local name for them ? My understanding of the term is that young ladies would get a "hope chest" at some point in their teens and they would use it to store items they hoped to use once they married the man of their dreams.

Bill that's got to be tedious work hand fitting those rafters to that old work. Better you than me doing that job.

Hi Phil,

I can remember the name "Hope Chest" being used as a young boy in the 70's & 80's. In fact, I think my sister may have had such a thing. Although it was probably more of a box of some sort because I don't remember her having a wooden chest in her room.

The custom of having a "Hope Chest" was also common here in Germany but I have the feeling the custom is fading out over here as well. The most common word I know for it in German is "aussteuertruhe". If you Google that, you can find some pictures. My wife had such a thing, although it too was just some boxes and not a real "chest". The nicest thing in it was a set of silverware she had recieved from her aunt & "God parent". Anyways, we still have & use the silverware. It's actually a pretty cool tradition. Too bad it's fading away.

[Quick Steel]

Philco, In the motion picture business they speak of the "golden hour" towards the end of he day. Depending on the movie, directors often try to shoot some scenes at this time because the film becomes suffused with a sort of soft golden color.

Hope chests have largely faded from the scene but were in fact quite common the 19th and much of the 20th century.

[mrwatch]

We have a LANE ceder chest. Yes lots of girls around here had hope chests. I also have a couple of mini Lane chests with pocket knives in them. Some people would lightly sand the inside to get new aroma for the moths.

[bighomer]

Moon rise a couple of nights ago.

[doglegg]

[FRJ]

Cozy Turtles .........

[treefarmer]

Last evening we experienced a special event, the blooming of of the Night Blooming Cereus. They open only for one night, then they turn down and eventually drop from the plant. The Night Blooming Cereus has a wonderful scent and last evening was very pleasant except for the mosquitoes. We had three blooms last evening but I only focused on the one that was easy to photograph. Miss Joy told me in the afternoon, "We'll have some blooms tonight". So I went out to check around 8 pm and the 3 blooms were not open then around 9 they were open.

The unopened bloom looked this way all day.

The bloom opened fully in just over an hour.

Treefarmer

[doglegg]

Cool Philip.

[FRJ]

Beautiful flowers, treefarmer.