Cosco Carts

 Growing up in the '50's and '60's, my Mom always had a cart in the kitchen to hold all the things she needed next to the stove.  Later it was relegated to the basement for laundry use.  It was an iconic turquoise.  I acquired it 4 years ago and promptly dismantled it for restoration.

It clearly had suffered over the years. I sanded and oiled the casters and soaked them in rust remover.  They weren't that bad and rolled well.

The handles weren't that bad except around the bolt holes, so I polished them up.

I forgot to take pictures of the intervening painting process, but I sanded the shelves with a fine grit sandpaper and steel wool, sprayed on an undercoat, preserving the Cosco label, and found a perfect match for the original color.

I switched out the worst shelf for the bottom and she looks great!

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My next cart was found in a garage at an estate sale and was a tiny version of ones I had seen.  When I looked it up I found that it was only produced in one year, in red, pink, or yellow, and was a child's version.  Mine was a yellow one that had been sloppily painted red.

This one took a lot more sanding and paint removal.

This cart had the cheaper plastic wheels.  The casters were pretty rusty and needed a lot of work.  I painted them chrome.

Sanded, primed, and painted the shelves.  I had to look at a lot of yellow paint to get just the right '50's color.  I did save the label.  It's covered with tape in the picture, but it was pretty messed up with the red paint.

Isn't she cute?  That's what's left of my mother's Primary Color Pyrex set of mixing bowls on the shelves.

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The last one I restored has been sitting in MY garage, unloved and covered with rusty paint cans since I bought my house in 1994.  It had belonged to the former owner and he had left it behind.  

My garage has a dirt floor, so the wheels and casters had suffered badly.  The parts that had had contact with the soil had eroded and chipped off and they didn't turn any more.

My first job was to get them rolling again.  That took a lot of brute force and WD40, but eventually I got them all to move, and oiled them.  Now my problem was to make them round again.  I had read about Sugru and it's ability to fix anything, so searched some out and bought the black.

It worked great!  Then I sanded the wheels to remove excess Sugru and sanded off the rust.

Then I painted them chrome.  I could have used a brand new old stock set of plastic wheels I have, but wanted to use the original rubber, or whatever that is.

Then on to the shelves and handles.  They were a lot more work than the other carts because they were a lot more rusty, but the handles are solid chrome, so a lot of fine grit sandpaper made them look great.  I put metal polish on them, too.

Since I don't take off all the old paint and don't sand down to metal, the paint job isn't nice and flat and shiny.  I did multiple coats and used 2 cans of spray paint, and I'm satisfied, but it isn't perfect.  When the sun's not shining on it it looks pretty good!

This is one of the carts that had an electric socket and cord on it so the hostess could wheel it into the living or rec room and make coffee or fondue on it.  Mine was missing, and I'm still searching estate sales for a socket and cord to restore.

New Life For An Old American

Sometime before I bought my house in 1994 I picked up a rusty old cast iron sewing machine base from an antiques dealer.  I wanted to turn it into a table with the top made from an old sewing table top I had found covering a hole in the basement of my last rented house.

There is a yard marked out on one edge of the table.

First I needed to glue them back together.

So glad I collect furniture clamps!

Then I sanded and spray painted the frame.  It had been sanded and painted over 26 years ago, but has sat in my damp basement all that time and needed an update.

After assembly.

I sanded and sealed the top and tested it for size.

I had to add support to the bottom of the table top as it had a tendency to bow, and I needed something to screw the base to as the table is only 1/2 inch thick.  Cut and mitered the ends of some 3/4 stock and glued and screwed it to the bottom of the table.

Clearly, I need more clamps!  But the extra weight did the trick and solved the bowing problem.

Finished after 27 years!

Here is a picture from an auction of an original American with its machine intact.

I'm finally getting to all those projects I've accumulated over the years.  Stay tuned for more!

Widman Barrister's Bookcase

This bookcase originally belonged to my maternal great-grandfather, Charles Augustus Bedgood, shown below with his second wife, Anna Euphemia Lundborg Peterson.

The bookcase has been kicked around a lot and, at some point. lost it's glass doors.  It also suffered some breakage to the foot section, which I repaired by replacing the missing panel and re-gluing the legs.

There is a sizable chunk missing which I hope glue will help hold together.

The top has some water damage that I hope I can remove.

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I started the refinishing process today.  Here is a picture of the shelving units before restoration.

There is birdseye maple veneer in the back and some other kind of wood for the bottoms.  Oak on the sides and front edges.

I am using Formby's Refinisher to take off the old darkened varnish and some of the dark finish and will then re-varnish.  I'm not touching the back panels, as they are in good shape.  There is a decal on each of them that says "Widman".  Looking up that company has yielded the following information:  J.C. Widman & Company started in 1899 in Detroit making furniture, then merged with the Humphrey Bookcase Company in 1910 to form the Humphrey-Widman Company.  They were bought out before 1923 by the Udell Works, who continued to make bookcases using the Widman patents in the 1930's.  The J.C. Widman Company changed to manufacturing automobile bodies.

"Since 1873 The Udell Works has held to high ideals of better 

workmanship, careful and progressive design and the best of material in 

building furniture.

The name Udell has been synonymous with quality for more than half a 

century. Always, the name Udell has stood for the best in materials and 

the finest skill in wood working. Udell sectional bookcases are typical of 

every article that has ever borne the name. They have niceties of 

construction and finish that stamp them as the peer of any bookcase on 

the market.

The non-binding door does not and cannot stick. The door guide 

absolutely prevents friction. Doors operate on roller bearings and are 

instantly removable. The sections are dust-proof and practically 

moisture-proof. A metal dust shield at the top of each section protects 

the books. The doors are air cushioned, and slide back over the dust 

shield.

Several years ago, The Udell Works purchased the stock, machinery and 

patents of the J. C. Widman Company of Detroit, Michigan. Udell 

bookcases retain all of the valuable and exclusive mechanical features of 

the Humprey-Widman bookcases that were manufactured by them for 

twenty-two years, plus our advanced designing and manufacturing.

Udell sectional bookcases are offered to the retail trade as profit-making 

merchandise. They have the same Udell quality, dependability and 

workmanship, that have for more than fifty years distinguished the 

products of this pioneer firm. You can depend on Udell."

This company is selling PDF's of 5 Udell catalogs of furniture from 1899 through 1932.  I'll bet my No. 190, Class F is in one of those catalogs.  Here is a blurb about the 1927 catalog:

1927 The Udell Works - PDF

This is a high resolution digital reproduction of an original 1927 

catalog for The Udell Works. This catalog features Udell Sectional 

Bookcases and includes a net price list dated 1/25/27. It is 24 

pages, including the price list and front and rear covers. Specific 

models pictured include "The Library" Combination No. 57; 

Standard-Combination Nos. 26-F, 46-F, 28-F, 29-F; Standard for 

Law Books-Combination No. 130-F; Standard High 

Base-Combination No. 476; "Adam" Combination No. 456; 

"Queen Anne" Combination No. 486; and the "Colonial" 

Combination Nos. 43-F, 71-R, 32-F. Product features include the 

Non-Binding Door "Door guide absolutely prevents friction, or 

sticking of any door, furthermore, they operate on steel roller 

bearings and are instantly removable without the use of tools."; 

Air-Cushioned Doors "Perfect air-tight construction gives you an 

absolutely cushioned door without the use of felt or packing."; 

Metal Dust Shield "A steel division between the books and 

receding door, protecting the tops of the books from dust or 

damage. No sectional bookcase is perfect without this protection."

After using the Refinisher these rings are still showing.  I had hoped they were just in the varnish. I guess they will have to stay, along with the spilled ink on the other side of the top.

Finished.  Used an oil-rubbed finish.  Sibley approves.

I added my collection of vintage Tom Swift books.

I don't know if this bookcase was obtained new and was just plain abused over the years, or was second-hand, but I think my great-grandfather would admit it looks pretty good now.