Todays Auction Finds . . . .

Jim Mattheiss

Member
Messages
467
Location
Long Hill Township, NJ
Went to the local estate auction here this afternoon and we got a little crazy.

The mood was set when I was waiting around for them to sell an older Craftsman 6 drawer rolling tool cabinet. They finally get to it and I hear 20, 25, 30, 35 SOLD. In about 6 seconds. Their tempo is usually MUCH slower. I was still trying to raise my hand at that point. Oh well...

Later on there was a wooden machinists chest that I was able to purchase. It's a National Cabinet Co. chest which if what I read on the googleweb it was Gerstner's value line. It's really dirty and I need some guidance on cleaning it up. The finish on the case is pretty much gone and I'm not sure what to do with it and what I should clean it with. Windex and paper towels are removing tons of dirt but no finish so far.

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LOML purchased what was described as a short barrister book case. The 2 doors flip up but do not slide back into the case.

I then spent $5 on the wooden rocker and LOML spent $5 on the pair of wooden "Burl" baskets.

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I'm looking at cleaning up the chair and if I don't like it selling it in the Townwide Garage Sale we enrolled in in Early May. That how we will get rid of the "Barrister" and some of the curbside shopping items we have picked up over the years.

Cheers

Jim
 

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Nice haul, Jim.

Those baskets look like Chinese carved cedar baskets. You got them for a good price. :thumb: I did a show a couple years ago where there was a Chinese guy a couple booths down from me selling baskets like that for $20.
 
If the finish on the case is pretty much gone, I would consider cleaning it with denatured alcohol until you didn't see any color or gunk and revarnish. I learned about that when a neighbor had a fire and his (family heirloom) dining table was smoke damaged.

I would like to see an open picture of the fake barrister bookcase (how does the lid stay open). I would love to build one for my computer (taller) books. (project list)
 
Oh that's got to really help the sales... :doh:

Actually, I don't think it had much effect. I noticed that the people who spent time in my booth tended to just walk by his booth without slowing down. And his customers walked by my booth like it was invisible. At the end of the weekend, the Chinese guy and I compared notes, and we both had about the same dollar amount of sales for the weekend. He just did about 10 times the volume.
 
Jim if you would like to know the proper way of cleaning the Chest {bty..I want it LOL} Start a tread in Finishing to go through the process.
Your rocker may be a Stickly I have one that looks just like it.
 
Jim if you would like to know the proper way of cleaning the Chest {bty..I want it LOL} Start a tread in Finishing to go through the process.
Your rocker may be a Stickly I have one that looks just like it.

I have a straight arm chair that looks almost the same... we got ours at a junque store in my home town... the guy who owns it's father had a used furniture store next door to my mom's laundry mat back when I was a teen... after Sam died, the buildings were sold and torn down, so Jay Fain, the son, moved into the old cotton gin buildings.... he has anything and every thing you can imagine in there.... the chairs were piled in the old gin building and most are covered with pigeon poop.... the place smells like cat urine, so you need a gas mask to shop... he's overflowed into the street and the city is after him constantly to keep the roadway clear... the chair we got had no bottom in it and it took me a full day to clean the PP off so we could see the wood... but the wife recognized the style immediately and we paid about $60 for the chair.

I like the rocker, don't need it, but I like it.
 
Ok:

Some more pics of the baskets as requested. They both have the mark JH burned into the bottom of both of them. The smaller one is around 8 inches across and the larger around 11 inches.

The bookcase is not a true barrister. The doors are simply hinged - you lift them up, hold it open and insert or extract what you want. My Dad has a pair or real BB's that I covet - though they need to be refinished - he painted them in the early 70's. There was a stack of BB's at the auction but a door was broken. As one of the other buyers was performing psy-op's on me he said it was too big a project for him. He of course bought them . . . .

The rocker needs some love. It's a bit rickety and needs an overhaul. I'll let it stay for a while - like a stray cat - and see if we bond . . .

Cheers

Jim
 

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