Safe interior restoration

Rog

Tried searching the best I could but didn’t find anything relating to restoring the wooden panels and drawers inside old-time safes.

Is there a location, person, etc where I can find more information on such - i.e.
how to remove the current panels without destroying them.

Is there a procedure to follow to get them out intact… ?

I have a friend who I’m sure could build ne a couple replacement drawers and panels section, if I can get the original apart safely.

Thanks
Rog

Tom Gordon

I have always assumed that they were glued in - or are they sometimes screwed in?

Rog

Tom Gordon wrote
I have always assumed that they were glued in - or are they sometimes screwed in?

now that is my whole reason for asking - since I’ve had that awful tendency to assume I knew what to do and then screwed myself by going where no man should go… 🙁rofl):

But this appears to be incredibly well crafted what with the tendon joints, etc.

[unknown]

Dean Nickel

I would also lean to glued in. The one safe I have removed the inner box to fit a new one was glued in and that was an 1920s safe. I don’t remember the brand. Used a heat gun to get the glue hot and scrape it out but the old box wasn’t worth saving being it was damaged.

Rog

Halflock wrote
I would also lean to glued in. The one safe I have removed the inner box to fit a new one was glued in and that was an 1920s safe. I don’t remember the brand. Used a heat gun to get the glue hot and scrape it out but the old box wasn’t worth saving being it was damaged.

I’m going to have to get my 300W light out and stick my head inside and see if I can figure this out.
Hopefully I can get it rebuild as near original as possible.

I also came up with another pair of lock boxes and a drawer from a couple of old safes that got trashed and were headed for the crusher. The boxes are the same facing as mine but are a bit smaller in size, as is the drawer. The key to my safe lock box does fit one of these other lock boxes as well, so who knows I might try to incoroprate that box into the rebuild project.

Meantime I’ll keep searching the world wide web and see if I can get lucky and find some old schematics/blueprints of the interior design for this or some other antique safe.

[unknown]

Tom Gordon

If you put a 300w lamp in and semi-shut the door then I would imagine the glue would all soften over a few minutes or hours.

Pete

Won’t dry heat cure glue? I would think to get glue to soften, you would want steam. I would think you might need to wet the glue and use a heat gun. I am assuming the glue is animal bone glue.

Either way, after you take it apart, I would have the inside made as close to the original as you can. I wouldn’t take another salvaged cabinet and just put it in there. You may as well do it right. It is only a few pieces of wood.

———- Post added at 01:59 PM ———- Previous post was at 01:53 PM ———-

Looking at the pic close up, I don’t see how they could have joined those wood pieces using glue. It looks like the shelves were designed to keep the sides in place. I think if you take the metal box out, you can pull the top of the side boards towards the center and everything would come out fairly easily.

wylk

I think this depends on the type of glue. Heat will soften some types (e.g. hot-gun glue) but will have no effect on other types. Moisture might loosen other types. I’m not sure what they used at the time for this purpose.

Tom Gordon

I know that my ancient cabinet maker (him not the cabinet) uses a hot iron for animal-glued veneer.

Pete

Haha. Tom is that to put the veneer on or take it off? Those woodworkers have some strange tricks and anyone who does that type of restoration would know how to soften old glue.

Tom Gordon

If a bit of veneer is bubbled then he heats it up with an iron and a damp cloth until he puts some weight on to push the veneer back down and then leaves it until it is cold and the glue is holding the veneer in place again.

Russell Stoner

Rog, i want to raise a possible suggestion for the interior wood panel removal.

On the 1st image you show, it looks like the internal coffer is an add on.. un-bolt & remove.
I noticed that this is bowing the woodwork somewhat.

In addition, I noticed that at the top, between the wood lining & the safe, there appears to be a half plank of timber. If this is the case, then, by removing that one piece, it should release pressure on the innards. The top ‘should’ simply slide out by pulling, followed by easy removal of the sides, then its base.

Please correct me if Im wrong..

Regards
Russell Stoner
Withy Grove (Leeds) Ltd
t: 044 (0)113 2721441
www.wgsafesonline.com

Tom Gordon

I havent seen a metal coffer inside a wooden support before but the size seems so good that it may possibly be original. From the picture, as good as I can see, there were not two drawers on the left at the top originally, so this reinforces that possibility.
I see no plank at the top. In order to insert three pieces altogether after the steel of the safe was made, I suspect that the two sides, at the botton, slide towards the middle, while the top piece would be bowed to allow it to come out. Another possibility is that the two sides come out first and then the top drops down. Either way, thr central wood part would need to be removed first and the glue dealt with, if in evidence.

The inner coffer

Russell Stoner wrote
Rog, i want to raise a possible suggestion for the interior wood panel removal.

On the 1st image you show, it looks like the internal coffer is an add on.. un-bolt & remove.
I noticed that this is bowing the woodwork somewhat.

In addition, I noticed that at the top, between the wood lining & the safe, there appears to be a half plank of timber. If this is the case, then, by removing that one piece, it should release pressure on the innards. The top ‘should’ simply slide out by pulling, followed by easy removal of the sides, then its base.

Please correct me if Im wrong..

Regards
Russell Stoner
Withy Grove (Leeds) Ltd
t: 044 (0)113 2721441
www.wgsafesonline.com

[unknown]