I have a somewhat irrational issue with unfinished projects. I kind of hate knowing that there’s something lurking in the shop or closet that’s not done. So the fact that I finally completed a refinishing project after more than a year was a pretty big deal.
Some long-time readers may remember that, more than a year ago, I bought an old gun cabinet at Goodwill for $39. It had a big case of the uglies and the locks on it had no keys, so it was essentially locked shut forever (minus guns, I might add). But it was solid wood, and thus possible to refinish.
Because the cabinet has glass doors, I thought it might make a cool faux barrister bookshelf, i.e. a bookshelf that has glass doors covering the books to keep them from getting dusty. The sneezing jag I started the last time I pulled a book from our old open bookshelf makes this concept appealing.
The poor gun cabinet/bookshelf had a hard year in the paint room. After being torn apart into many pieces, it endured excessive cold, heat, and a small flood. But last weekend, the refinished bookshelf finally made it upstairs into our living room. In addition to the new mahogany finish, it has shiny new hardware and locks with keys.
Anyway, it was a close thing. The bookshelf came upstairs on Sunday, which was good because on Saturday, I obtained my next refinishing project: a treadle sewing machine.
For those of you who sew and are into these things, let me just say that it’s a really cool one. It’s a 1925 Singer 66, which means that all the attachments from my 1957 electric Singer work with it. I bought a new treadle belt for it, took the machine head off the table, and spent some quality time with WD-40 and sewing machine oil. I put it all back together and lo and behold it sews great. I’m so jazzed 😉