I am the lucky caretaker of my great grandmother’s Hoosier cabinet, the one that she cooked on most of her life and that survived the 1906 SF earthquake & fire. It appears to be a Sears Catalog $19.95 special, so it’s more about sentimental attachment and keeping it healthy for the next generation than a pristine restoration.
She does photograph well!
Anyway, two areas I’m looking for advice on.
First, the bottom case joints are all loose and the thing keeps racking, binding up the doors & drawers. The joints are all tenon & slot, pinned with nails, holes puttied. Some of the cross-pieces have dropped down due to the weight of the drawers, which tells me bent nails and/or damaged tenon. How would you tighten the case back up?
Second, the pull-out top is beat to bleep. It does show character from all those years of heavy use. On the other hand, it’s pretty ugly. Would you replace it? If so, any advice, like the local sheet metal shop, or…?
Thanks for your advice and expertise!
Wayne
Edited 12/22/2007 11:43 pm by wrudiger
Replies
Very cool cab. Since it's a user, I'd disassemble all the carcass joints -- heat and a deadblow should do it -- and rebuild this grand ol' lady from the ground up.
Dunno about the metal. Is it tin? Don't know where you would find it if it is, but if you find the stock, should be easy for a sheet metal shop to fab an new one for ya.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Thanks, Mike.
That is the direction I'm leaning. Be interesting to see what other folks think.
Wayne
I am a Hoosier but that doesn't make me an expert on these cabinets. I have repaired a few of them though, and the first thing I wish to tell you is do not replace the metal. If this is dear to you, and I suspect it is, tear the frame completely apart and re glue it all together once again. Use the tightbond FWW recommended for the glue up. What is nice about doing this is that it will last your lifetime and your heirs also. Make it a work of love, and enjoy yourself and learn in the process.
Edited 12/23/2007 11:41 am ET by 9michael9
Very nice! I'll join in with the others, don't replace the metal! It's a history book! Every dent or ding is piece of history! It adds character!
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I wouldn't replace the metal. That'd be like sanding down the top of an old pine farm table. Best of luck in tightening everything up, it's a wonderful cabinet.
Thanks to everyone for confirming my gut feeling - keep the metal top!
I will dis-assemble the case and re-build. Any thoughts on ways to improve the joinery? A couple of nails through the tenon just doesn't feel adequate. As I'm typing I'm thinking maybe filling the slots above & below the cross pieces will make a big difference. Between that and good glue would I still need to pin the tenons?
Any thoughts on ways to improve the joinery?Hard to say without seeing the condition.. Maybe just clean up the joints and glue on some thin strips of wood to the tenons. Then plane to fit for the glue up?
Looking at the pictures, I would bet money the cabinet was dipped in a paint removing tub. The photos reveal the tell tale signs of chemical-paint removal at some point. I would bet the cabinet was painted white or light green at some point in its life.
Having said that the joints have been saturated with fluid(mostly strong solutions to remove stubborn paint) and that is death on hide glue. If you want the Hoosier to live a stronger life, the joints need to be undone, cleaned thoroughly and re glued carefully. Depending on how original you want to keep it, you may consider some braces. These cabinets were not made to take that muck abuse. I have experience with a couple of these and they are fairly light construction with very short tenon and sliced mortise construction. Its a project but it is very doable.
dan
At least 4 coats of paint, best we can tell. Tank dipped by my folks 30+ yrs ago as a wedding present to us.
You're not kidding about light construction!
It is currently completely disassembled; used a scraper to clean up every piece. I've milled strips from an old wine barrel (hey, it's oak and old!) to fill in the slot mortices - particularly on the right side where I need much better support for the drawers.
Now if I can just kick this nasty flu and get back to the shop...
Its worth the effort. Take your time and get the joints nice and snug. In the long run, you'll be glad you did it and your next generation will appreciate it.
I would document the effort and put it in the cabinet somewhere. The last one I repaired had old newspapers under the bottom drawer. I enjoyed reading the articles.
dan
These joints were good enough to last 80 yrs. so far. With modern adhesives, the joints will be even better and last another 100. Then you'll have to do 'em over again. ;-)
Just use some Titebond -- it'll be good enough. No need for nails in the joints. If you have 'em now, it's probably due to somenone in the past trying to tighten up a loose joint without taking it apart. Don't know of the tenons on this piece were originally pinned tennons, as in pinned with a wooden peg or dowel. If so, drill it out before disassembling the joing and replace it, wood again, after the joint is glued & dried. (Or at least, after it is glued and clamped, if that's convenient.)
If the components of the joint are deteriorated to the extent that they are loose, you can use epoxy with some wood flour for a filler. In the event any tenons are too badly gone, cut 'em off and turn the joint into a slip tenon joint. (Make a mortise where the tenon was and make a new tenon that goes into both the old mortise and the new one.) Just as strong as original.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Don't forget to make sure all the hide glue is sanded or filed (my choice) off before re-gluing. If the tenons are too small just add veneer to one or both sides.
~~mike
If the metal is easy to remove you can take a dead blow hammer and a block of wood and pound out the really bad dents. Be sure you have a solid flat surface underneath.
~~mike
Edited 12/23/2007 6:57 pm ET by 9michael9
How about drilling and putting dowels through the joints?
Not necessary. If tenons are loose adding veneer is the only way.
I'm with the others on this. I have picked up a few real yardsale bargains. They looked like they were ready for the trash truck. I completely disassembled the units, repaired what I could and made new pieces for what I could not repair. My daughters now have heirloom quality bedroom furniture.
I forgot the most important thing of all. Mark all parts or go crazy. Use masking tape and number all the joints.
"Mark all parts or go crazy"
Good point!
Let the games begin!
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Thanks again for all your good advice, and most importantly encouragement! I'll try to take pics along the way and post the story when I'm done.
Edited 12/24/2007 1:33 am by wrudiger
Mark all parts or go crazy
And take lots of pictures!!
Pictures yes! Ever glue the wrong pieces?? Even if you remember within 10 minutes you have a lot of work on your hands.
Been there, done that! LOL
Ever glue the wrong pieces??
Who, me?? Of course not!
(If you believe that, maybe I could interest you in a real bargain on a reddish colored bridge a few miles north of me. - lol)
D,I started restoring a dining room utility table a while back with similar joinery. I stopped when some of the veneering was too far gone to save. One thought I have for strengthening the joinery is to just cut wedges to fill the slots. If it's like the table I have, the slots were all cut w/ a circular saw blade. You wouldn't have to match the curve, but simply cut some triangular pieces to fill out the slots below the horizontal pieces & on both sides of the vertical pieces. That would give you a lot more joint area to resist whatever forces are being put on the individual frame members.
I agree with everyone else, SAVE IT, you'll never regret it. Saving a piece of family history is an honorable trait and a wonderful experience in discovering the methods of early "mass market" pieces. Sometimes those $19.95 specials were a couple of months wages. I did the same with an old 'china hutch' of the family as well as several other pieces. Carefully take it apart, clean, reglue, adjust, use screws and 99% of your problems will disappear. Don't worry about replacing interior case wood with better quality, its out of site anyway! Here's a couple pics of my restore, enjoy I know my wife is very grateful as it almost ended up in the firewood box according to her brothers and sisters.
Thanks for sharing those pics - great rescue job! Also appreciate the in-progress photos; I was thinking of doing the same and you reinforced the value.
I love the idea of adding the internal corner blocks - hadn't thought of that and it will make a BIG difference.
First, two questions-Whats behind the sheet? and who it that good looking woman in the picture?
The finish looks a little hurried and didn't fill well. I think a rub down with 220 sandpaper, and a couple more coats, with sanding after each would be in order. It might just be the flash distorted the look of the grain, and the cabinet looks fine to the eye.
~~mike
what sheet and which woman? I thought I just sent pictures of the dissasembled china hutch and the finished product?
The sheet is visible in DSC00302.JPG. The woman is in a portrait hanging on the wall, visible in DSC02352.JPG and DSC02354.JPG.
-Steve
The sheet is just covering up all the rest of the junk in the garage at the time. I finally built cabinets to avoid the constant critism of the spouse about the eyesore stacked on the shelves. The beautiful woman in the picture is my lovely daughter in her wedding dress, thanks Here's a picture of the cabinets.
I do a lot of restoration work, and if the joints are a little loose,or the wood fibers are pretty soft, like pine gets when its old I'll use gorilla glue or something simular, which has an expnding property to it. Keep the top,just freshen it up with some clear briwax or something similar.
Hi Wrudiger heres a website that specialize in hooser hardware and info
http://www.kennedyhardware.com/
good luck I saved my great granparents old hoosier from the brink and use it in my house. very nice to have some family history around.
good luck mark
For one thing I would not touch that tin.
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