Restoring Vintage Box to Record Box

All you will need is sandpaper, hammer and screw drivers. Some sort of wax, varnish, oil or polish with some old rag for your finish on the box.

You can get these from school clearances and places like car boot sales. They are beautiful wooden boxes so please don't just chuck them out! When you first get the box, remove all the ironmongery so it is easier to sand. Be sure to place these small bits into a container so you don't lose them. On picture number 2, you can see the boxes floor was damaged and wearing away so I decided to replace it. This was easily done by prying it open using a flat head screwdriver.

I used a fine grit sand paper on my electric sander to get a really soft finish although this did make the process a bit slower. I recommend this for a smoother finish but either way is fine. Spend as much time as you want on this stage but be sure to remove the old varnish. A way I used to find patches of old varnish, is holing it up to the light and the varnish will reflect the sun.

I simply used on old draws bottom for this as I didn't have any plywood thin enough. I would go out and get some but due to the virus, I couldn't. I then placed the old base on the new base and drew an outline. I then cut it out on the chop saw. I simply attached it on with small pins.

For this project, I used a rustic pine bees wax as I really like how it darkens the wood. I applied it with a rag and in the nooks and crannies, I used my fingers as it is non toxic, and even food safe. After this, wait 20 minutes or so and rub it down with a clean rag. This removes excess and really makes it shine.

Get all the little bits and reattach them to the box. I recommend spaying the hinge with WD-40 to protect the metal, make it shine and obviously free it up more.

Now you have a beautiful box to put things in like records. It was perfect for me, because the records are about 1" smaller than the width of the box so they fit in really nicely.