Mike Mason
07-28-2023, 11:11 AM
I just purchased two old matching simple pine storage chests (not furniture quality) off of craigslist because I could see from the photos that they were handmade from very wide, perfectly clear pine lumber with very close growth rings. All of the boards are 7/8" thick and vary in width from 16" - 19". The longer chest is 59" long, the shorter one is 36" long. All told, there is 43 board feet of lumber, for which I paid less than $2 per board foot. I disassembled both chests and have stored the boards for a future project I have in mind (an antique reproduction).
Based on some scraps from a greeting card I found lodged between two of the tongue & grooved bottom boards (not included in the above-mentioned 43 board feet), the cast bronze swivel casters with wooden wheels (Payson No. 183), tooling marks from sawing, pencil layout marks, and the inaccurate crosscutting, I think that someone made these by hand right around 100 years ago.
Question: I doubt that the maker would have sourced specialty boards from a sawmill; these are just simple boxes with hinged lids, nailed together with butt joints at the corners - looks more like what a non-woodworker homeowner would do to make some cheap storage chests. Does anyone know when pine boards of at least 20" width and a full 7/8" thickness were commonly available at a lumber yard? I'm just curious, trying to gain some idea how old these boards might be. The seller bought an old apartment building and they were left behind, but that's all he knows about them.
Based on some scraps from a greeting card I found lodged between two of the tongue & grooved bottom boards (not included in the above-mentioned 43 board feet), the cast bronze swivel casters with wooden wheels (Payson No. 183), tooling marks from sawing, pencil layout marks, and the inaccurate crosscutting, I think that someone made these by hand right around 100 years ago.
Question: I doubt that the maker would have sourced specialty boards from a sawmill; these are just simple boxes with hinged lids, nailed together with butt joints at the corners - looks more like what a non-woodworker homeowner would do to make some cheap storage chests. Does anyone know when pine boards of at least 20" width and a full 7/8" thickness were commonly available at a lumber yard? I'm just curious, trying to gain some idea how old these boards might be. The seller bought an old apartment building and they were left behind, but that's all he knows about them.