January 22, 2013 Item 31: DB 11 5
This was probably a medicine cabinet complete with spilled iodine stains. Guessing from the craftsman’s stamp found under the paint it was put together in either May 1911 or September 1905? By DB? The other mysterious stamp is the ‘HO EC’ on the left side.
I found this in a back lane in Petersham Covered in layers of old paint and full of a colony of insects including Redback Spiders. After some meticulous stick flicking the cabinet was declared non-deadly and mounted on the back of my motorbike with a couple of ocky straps.
Just to be clear this was a rescue mission rather than a sculptural re purposing of accumulated components, as would generally be the intent of the item projects. And thus the character of the piece is more akin to its original intent and crafting some 100+ years ago!
Basically I was able to knock many of the joints apart and give it all a sanding. It still had what are probably the original hinges and screws though the door handle and latch were long gone with the housing rebate the only clue. The inside face of the side walls have multiple shelf slots but only two shelves leading me to guess this is a mass produced component to suit different uses.
The back panel was badly cracked and thus replaced. Where the wood was badly stained for various reasons I spray painted white and set up a contrast with the natural timber grain components. The whole unit seems to be a combination of pine and some sort of White Cedar? I put together an additional component that was fitted into the top rear to stabilize the whole structure and provide a secure mounting area to wall hang the unit. A little extra half shelf was incorporated into this. The white knob was some random street find.
Tags: Beach house sculpture, re purposed, street found, timber, timber recycling, timber restoration
- 3 comments
- Posted under HQ Cabinet, Item, Wood
salt and wood 
Permalink #
Susanna Kass
said
brilliant
Permalink #
re-store design
said
Thanks for the message! I find your blog so inspiring! Indeed we appear to be drinking from the same fountain. I love your branding iron…I have been searching for one here, but the thought of dropping over $450 is a tough pill to swallow! Cheers from the East coast of the US!
Permalink #
liamnoble
said
Hi, that is not a ‘hot brand’ though I am looking into one of those or even just a metal stamp that can hammer a logo imprint. That is just one of those rolling ink stamps that you get made up for your office or whatever. The mark is made up of three stamps. One for the basic outline and word ITEM, one for the Item number and one for the date as obviously these parts change as you go. You just give your logo to like Office Works or whatever and they send it away and make your stamp. Not that expensive and marks timber pretty well. Blurs a bit on softwoods though and I have been experimenting with stamping between layers of varnish to get it crisp and long lasting.