# Treasure chest



## willg180 (Mar 7, 2011)

So this is really more of a 'help me!' thing than any thing else. My dad has some really old silver thats handcrafted, but he keeps it in a cardboard box! Insanity... so i wanted to make him an old looking treasure chest. One of the ones that has the dome top, adorned with iron handles and locks and the siding. I pretty much know how im going to build it, but would any one know how to do the iron work on it? Or even where to get the metal in the first place? Also i wanted to give it an old 'hey i just dug this up out of the ground' 1800s look to it. How do you give wood that old antique, weathered and beat up look?

Thanks guys


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## DST (Jan 10, 2011)

Try Lee Valley for the hardware.


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## timmybgood (Jan 11, 2011)

I've actually been wanting to build one of these recently. I'm planning on a angled top instead of curved for simplicity. I was planning on using just some steel strapping, painting it black, and putting a bunch of carriage bolts in it to make it look like riveted iron banding.

There is an ironworks close to me, you probably have one also.


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## TGRANT (Jan 25, 2011)

As DST pointed out, there are many sources for antique looking hardware, but if you want to make your own, if you know a hobbyist blacksmith, they should be able to make the custom iron work. If the look you want can be made with sheet metal or thin steel, you can cut it with a hacksaw and files, then hammer it to shape after heating it with a propane torch or even hammer it cold. 1/16 inch steel is about all you can work with a propane torch though. Most hardware stores sell bits of metal. An old blacksmith trick to make metal look old is to heat it until dull red hot and dip it in used motor oil. It smokes and stinks but does the job. After it’s cold you can rub it with thinned linseed oil. This is potentially dangerous so do it outside away from combustible materials, use a metal container that has a lid for the oil, and have a fire extinguisher handy (attempt at your own risk). Gun bluing solution can also be used to make metal look black and old (which is easier than the former method unless you have access to a forge). I’m also a hobbyist blacksmith and have done both methods. If you look at my project “hickory side table”, that metal was finished with gun bluing. Brass can be used and altered to give it a weathered appearance, but I don’t know how to do that.

Wood can be made to look old by any number of methods. The method is somewhat dependant on the species of wood. If you can get hold of it, George Frank’s book: “Adventures in Wood Finishing” has some information on how to do it. For example, oak or any wood with tannins in it can be blackened with ammonia. Soaking nails in water for a week then applying the water to the oak also colors it grey or darker. Hitting wood with light chains will give the wood a random distressed finish, and an awl or ice pick used cleverly will mimic insect borings. Old wood will have changes that are difficult to duplicate – like hills and valleys in the grain from uneven weathering, so another option if you can find some is to use old wood in the first place. Old barn boards or wood that has been lying around can be used quite effectively, but finding it can be a problem.


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

I picked up an antique steamer trunk at an auction when I was a kid, and just sold it a few years back. At the time, I googled "steamer trunks" and "dealers" and found a few companies that were all about buying/trading/restoring trunks of various kinds. If you still need hardware, give it a whirl.


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## PSDkevin (Dec 18, 2010)

I did one with wooden "strapping". Used black oil dye (used for guitar fretboards) to make it resemble metal. Love the look and ease of wood. I wanted to make the lock out of wood too but never did. Next one....lol


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## Starkey (Mar 1, 2011)

I made a treasure chest out of hickory last winter. It had a curved top. I bought some CMT bits at the wood show in Kansas City. it made a strong joint. when you curve the top make sure to make a jig when you are clamping it. for the hardware I bought some metal straps from the hardware store and used that rustoluem hammered paint. It turned out looking really nice. I have had a couple people want me to build one for them but some people just don't understand custom work takes more money than some cheap painted pine you buy at snobby lobby.


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## Watsin38 (Mar 10, 2011)

willg180 said:


> So this is really more of a 'help me!' thing than any thing else. My dad has some really old silver thats handcrafted, but he keeps it in a cardboard box! Insanity... so i wanted to make him an old looking treasure chest. One of the ones that has the dome top, adorned with iron handles and locks and the siding. I pretty much know how im going to build it, but would any one know how to do the iron work on it? Or even where to get the metal in the first place? Also i wanted to give it an old 'hey i just dug this up out of the ground' 1800s look to it. How do you give wood that old antique, weathered and beat up look?
> 
> Thanks guys


Change its paint. search some designs on internet and try to apply them on it.
May be you can also trim it too. Suit the way you like.


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## Watsin38 (Mar 10, 2011)

Watson62 said:


> Change its paint. search some designs on internet and try to apply them on it.
> May be you can also trim it too. Suit the way you like.


Las Vegas Senior Apartments


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