Wade Lippman
12-31-2007, 10:31 AM
My mother in law has a toy her Great Great Grandfather made 150 years ago. It is broken and she wants me to fix it. I guess I should be honored, but I can't figure out what it is supposed to be.
Obviously you open it by pulling the bow out, but why does the stern pivot? Nothing happens when you do that, but it must serve some purpose. On the inside there are two spring arms built in; that had to take some work, but they don't do anything. Is something missing or broken? There are tiny wooden pins on either side that push against the spring arms (only one of which moves at the moment) but they don't do anything beyond that.
And finally, the mahogany piece on the top of the stern is two pieces. Is there a reason for that, or did it just crack in two? The front piece lifts up on one side, but I think that is just wear.
Any help would be appreciated.
A couple years ago I rebuilt a 150 year old mahogany desk he built. Literally better than new; no point to doing it authentically because it had suffered hack repairs over the years that I basically just removed and improved the cosmetics.
The big prize is the spoon he used while in Andersonville Prison; but that is promised to my wife's brother. Damn.
Obviously you open it by pulling the bow out, but why does the stern pivot? Nothing happens when you do that, but it must serve some purpose. On the inside there are two spring arms built in; that had to take some work, but they don't do anything. Is something missing or broken? There are tiny wooden pins on either side that push against the spring arms (only one of which moves at the moment) but they don't do anything beyond that.
And finally, the mahogany piece on the top of the stern is two pieces. Is there a reason for that, or did it just crack in two? The front piece lifts up on one side, but I think that is just wear.
Any help would be appreciated.
A couple years ago I rebuilt a 150 year old mahogany desk he built. Literally better than new; no point to doing it authentically because it had suffered hack repairs over the years that I basically just removed and improved the cosmetics.
The big prize is the spoon he used while in Andersonville Prison; but that is promised to my wife's brother. Damn.