Early Alpine safe restoration

NatSafeMatt

This safe is a little older and is slightly larger than my last Alpine. 28inches high and 18inches deep and wide. I will post picture of lock mech. later. Hand painted lettering and striping…wider striping is 23KT gold leaf. Mural is done in oils. I hope to be selling it soon…prob on E-bay.

Dean Nickel

You are one of the better at that type of work. I wouldn’t want to touch the safe! Lest I smudge it! VERY COOL!🙁y):🙁y): Great job!

Doug MacQueen

Very nice Matt. Am I understanding that you are now doing the gold the same way it was originally done? Doug

Russell Stoner

Cant beleive the quality of reconditioning you guys have in the States.
Super job!

However, why on earth did the ealy manufacturers put wheels on?

Surely, you wouldn’t need to dynamite in situ, all you need do is push it over a cliff!!
🙁giggle):

Keep up the good work

Russell
Withy Grove

Dean Nickel

It has been put forward that these wheels were to be removed after shipping once the safe was in place. They were almost never removed as far as I know as quite a few owners liked the idea they could move them around. Yes they could help in loading it onto a wagon and then drop/drill/open at any time they wanted.

on subject, how about some before pictures?

bbcci

Gorgeous work Matt! Thanks for sharing.
Bill

Tom Gordon

I don’t think that a quick getaway was an option at that time. It would be an almighty job just to get a safe up onto a wagon behind a horse, before escaping at 10 mph

wylk

Russell Stoner wrote
However, why on earth did the ealy manufacturers put wheels on?

One observation made in another thread was that in the US, at that time, banks would roll their small safes into their vault at night, and back out in the morning. This would have been rather labor-intensive and a little rough on the door sill but it would explain the wheels. The practice seems to have been uncommon elsewhere. Or so goes my recollection of the other discussion.

[unknown]

NatSafeMatt

Doug MacQueen wrote
Very nice Matt. Am I understanding that you are now doing the gold the same way it was originally done? Doug

indeed…i see alot of restorations and all with “swirlies” (“machine swirls”) in the gold leaf…I have never seen an original one with the “machine swirls”. We do the fire trucks this way and it does look cool and I did my National with machine swirls…but.

Doug, you have many pictures of very nice original safes…if you see any with machine swirls…please post…i would like for you to prove me wrong because personally…I like the look of the machine swirls.

[unknown]

Doug MacQueen

Matt I don’t know when the swirlies started but none of the antique safes I have seen had them in the gold striping. Hand applied gold leaf probably couldn’t stand up to engine turning or jiggering which is what the swirlies are called. You do see this type of surface embellishment used on some money chests and vaults. And there were several different manufacturer signature techniques used on the better bronze locks and timelocks in the later 1800’s. Doug

NatSafeMatt

Glad you agree Doug. I do use the engine turn on gold leaf striping though on fire trucks and stuff. The gold is very sof so you have to be carefull not to burn through it. It is done with a “spinnet” tool that mounts in a drill. It has a sponge deal on the end and is wrapped with a piece of velvet or something very familiar. The key to a nice burnish is in the “drying time” of the holding agent…or “sizing”. I’de like to talk to you about your recent trip to FL if I could…I’ll call you in a day or two.