My antique pipe rack restoration project

[hobie1dog]

Thought I'd post up some pics of the restoration of an antique pipe rack I got on Ebay last week. There was a very similar 6 pipe rack that had the documentation with it and it was built in 1880...this one looks just like it inside and out, but holds 8 pipes. It was naturally a little smaller once I unboxed it, compared to the pictures on Ebay. Here's what I started with...a walnut construction box, and some of the joints are pretty good, and others not so good which gives it a definite old world look

Poor joints

neat relief cut for the hinges though.

Didn't need to wipe off any excess glue back in those days either.

I put a CD in front for size reference.

The top has a divot in it as well as some scratches.

The 4 panels for the humidor section are all beveled for a friction fit and lift right out.

The bottom was covered with a thick paper which I got 50% off with a little scraping, the rest will sand right off. I'll replace it with thin sheet of felt I have used before that the Craft shop sells.

I started sanding the original finish off already.

I'll have alot of sanding to do on this part...I just wish I had some cloth backed sand paper for this section.

I'll post up some more pics once the sanding is all done and after I put the initial coat of stain on it.

 

[cortezattic]

Great project hobie! Thanks for the pix -- I can't wait to see it all cleaned-up.

Maybe some steel wool can be used on those curved surfaces instead of cloth backed sandpaper.

 

[classicgeek]

Neat!
I watched that 6-pipe humidor, and it didn't sell. It's back on eBay again. Keep us posted with your restoration. What are you planning for the stain?
Simon

 

[hobie1dog]

I watched that 6-pipe humidor, and it didn't sell. It's back on eBay again. Keep us posted with your restoration. What are you planning for the stain?

I'm not a fan of Walnut, so I'll likely stain it to match most of the rest of the wood in my house which will be like this turntable which is also made of walnut.

I first use Masters stain called Fire Red,

and then seal it with a light coat of lacquer, then brush on some Brehlens mahogany tinted Grain Filler Paste, and removed with a gray 3M Scotchbrite pad.....then coat with 3-4 coats of Pre-Catalyzed Lacquer, sanding between coats with 320 to knock down any grain that raises up or to remove any debris that gets in the topcoat. The only can of it I have, is actually a semi-flat sheen, so I pour off just the top lacquer and leave all the flattening agent that has settled in the bottom of the can, that way I get a pretty good gloss finish.
Wadda ya think of it?
Here are pictures of the speakers I recently built for the garage stereo system which were made of Honduras Mahogany ( yeah, I know, I'm to blame for the devastation of the Rain Forests), Kind of the same effect.

 

[hobie1dog]

this is a pic of the speakers installed on the side walls next to the heat pump indoor unit which allows me to work in the garage in the summer

110 inch projection screen is on the RH side of the pic

 

[classicgeek]

That stain color looks good. I'm partial to reddish stains myself and it was what I had in mind when I posed the question. The humidor/pipe rack will definitely look good next to the other "accoutrements" of your garage... although from the pics I'd say that "mantuary" is a better word for it!
I obviously need to consult my interior decorator when it comes to my garage.
Simon

 

[hobie1dog]

This is one finished corner of my garage.

It's very hard to get things up off the floor even with the added cabinets and loft I added

Command control center

 

[hobie1dog]

Well, I spent about 3 or 4 hours today out in the garage sanding on this thing.

Used the orbital sander on the top to decrease the size of the divot in the top

and more sanding results

the paper on the bottom came right off too.

This is the stain, called "Crimson Fire" which I was wrong in the previous post about the stain color title.

same goes for the grain filler name too.

those pipe troughs were a mother to sand.

re-glued the joints that came apart during the sanding process which shook the things apart.

So that's all for today. Rest of the day was spent spraying the finish on my friends subwoofer tube I built for him.

6 coats of automotive primer to fill the mdf

I'm tired now, as Forrest said

 

[josephpaul]

Lookin' good Hobie1dog - can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

[admin]

This thread is useless without pictures. ;-)
It's fun following along with you on your project Hobie1dog.

 

[python]

Nice project! Thanks for posting the photos and sharing it with us!

 

[hobie1dog]

I applied the Masters "Crimson Fire" stain tonite and will have to let it sit till tomorrow evening.
First photo is just showing how bright red the stain is out of the can.

This is the finished job, and yes, I even did the inside which will be covered up by the natural cedar liner.

Yes, I did the bottom which will be covered up by a new sheet of thin felt. Got it elevated so that it will dry properly.

 

[hobie1dog]

Today, I sprayed 3 full coats of Pre-catalyzed Lacquer on the pipe rack after I was satisfied with the stain job.

I put the metal insert in the top with the off white side facing out, this was the original orientation, but I'm not really into it.

Flipped it over to the brass side to see what it looked like.

I'll likely make some new panels out of Stainless Steel tomorrow at work and try them too. Overall, it's ok, and will match my speakers in the garage. I've got to stop and get a sheet of thin black felt for the bottom and will likely cut some strips of it and put them in the pipe stem cut-outs to cover up the roughness, and protect the stems from scratches.

 

[classicgeek]

Looks really classy. Nice attention to detail.

 

[fred]

What fun! Your project restoration is like watching Old Yankee

Workshop. Years ago, the cabinetry bug bit me big time. Thanks

for sharing.

 

[igloo]

Very nice work .

 

[cortezattic]

Like Fred, your project reminded me of the Yankee Workshop show. Nice job.

 

[python]

Nice job Hobie!

 

[josephpaul]

What an improvement - looks great!

 

[hobie1dog]

Thanks for the compliments guys. It's kinda sad, but every refinishing job usually has one little spot that doesn't turn out right due to glue remnants not allowing the stain to penetrate, or a bug that flies into the final coat, etc. and it is rarely that I'm happy with any job I do....it's just built into me that way...cannot change it....tried, doesn't work.
For 7 years I did rather high end refinishing in the Pipe Organ business, and every job had " a spot" that bothered me...no one else rarely ever noticed the flaws in the finishing. I use to have spots where I had stain problems and I would color back in the black grain lines in the wood with special pens....all in a 1/4 inch diameter spot.

This is some of my finishing work.

This is had the bottom part existing and we added all the casework up on top to match.

This one was all mahogany that was installed in a guys house in Atlanta.