Antique Chest: Tools to Turquoise

I had the urge to go hunting for treasures one day a few weeks ago.

So I went to a favorite thrift store, walked in and saw a man bending over a large, old wooden box right in front of the cashier. I was crestfallen, gasped, and said, "Oh no! I'm too late!"

You see, in addition to bun feet, curvy legs, and Italian 60's furniture, I also love boxes. And this was a very cool one, a chest, with many old tools inside. The man straightened up, and I noticed his name tag. Name tag! He worked there! He told me that the chest was just brought in and they had just priced it. "Sold!" I said. To me.

In this chest, when I got it home, were so many amazing things from the past:

A vintage task light in a cage, hand drills, wooden handled screwdrivers, Ford Model T tools (pliers, socket set and screwdriver), a hammer set of three sizes with matching heads, early wrenches, a blue painted oak level, large tin snips, lots of metal files, solder, and many other items that indicated that the former owner was very, very productive.

But the really nice thing about this chest is the condition. The inside was totally unfinished, surprisingly clean, and had a sliding tray that rested on ledges inside. However, someone had taken the original lock off and put an ugly galvanized padlock loop on it that was causing the trim to split, as well as more modern galvanized handles on the sides. I cleaned it up, removed the ugly galvanized hardware, sanded it just to get the rough parts under control, stained the lid and trim, and washed it with my favorite turquoise so the wood and grease stains still showed through.