I am in the process of cleaning out my dad's house and gathering all my great grandfather's tools .
My great grandfather was a cabinet maker. According to my late father, great granddad, like other cabinet maker apprentices, had to make his own toolchest and storage as part of his final test before being a tradesman.
For my whole life, my dad had this set of drawers, that looked very much out of place, attached to the bottom of his workbench.
They belonged to the nesting tool chest great granddad made. Modern woodworking has nothing on the 1800s.
Here is a shot of a tool drawer. No nails or screws. No plywood. Just solid wood, joints, glue and finish. All done with hand tools. Using hardwood you would find in high end furniture. Drawer front is about 2 inches tall with a veneer of some species added. Otherwise appears to be mahogany. 2 Different knobs are on the drawers. I suspect the one in the photo is not original due to the design and that it was attached with a bolt from the back. (What i suspect are the originals, are small ebony knobs that are glued into the face like dowels)
Currently, cleaning all the years of grime that my dad and I got on them when used as "just some old drawers".
If I truly realized what he had, I would have bought him some cheap drawers and rescued these decades ago.
A bit of water and fine steel wool is a good start.
My great grandfather was a cabinet maker. According to my late father, great granddad, like other cabinet maker apprentices, had to make his own toolchest and storage as part of his final test before being a tradesman.
For my whole life, my dad had this set of drawers, that looked very much out of place, attached to the bottom of his workbench.
They belonged to the nesting tool chest great granddad made. Modern woodworking has nothing on the 1800s.
Here is a shot of a tool drawer. No nails or screws. No plywood. Just solid wood, joints, glue and finish. All done with hand tools. Using hardwood you would find in high end furniture. Drawer front is about 2 inches tall with a veneer of some species added. Otherwise appears to be mahogany. 2 Different knobs are on the drawers. I suspect the one in the photo is not original due to the design and that it was attached with a bolt from the back. (What i suspect are the originals, are small ebony knobs that are glued into the face like dowels)
Currently, cleaning all the years of grime that my dad and I got on them when used as "just some old drawers".
If I truly realized what he had, I would have bought him some cheap drawers and rescued these decades ago.
A bit of water and fine steel wool is a good start.
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