Gerstner Veneer Restoration

[Cheese]

My neighbor sent me a couple of photos of an older Gerstner tool box he is considering purchasing. He wanted to know if the veneer is salvageable. I told him I thought it was but I had no knowledge as to how to go about it.

It appears that water permeated the veneer however, after it dried the veneer never shrunk back to its original size and it buckled.

Has anyone seen this before?

Has anyone done this type of repair?

Any and all tips are appreciated.  [big grin]

Top

[attachimg=1]

Front

[attachimg=2]

 

[bertv]

Check out this Youtube channel:

He’s the master and your problem’s solution is in one of his videos!

From heart: soften the veneer with cloths soaked in warm water, inject glue in the voids, clamp the hell out of it.

 

[mike_aa]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] 
You might also try calling Gerstner in Ohio.  They are still making tool chests just like the old ones and they do restorations on old ones.  Their restoration services are really pricey, but they might at least be able to offer some advice.

If you end up needing any parts, they do offer some at this link

Good Luck!  Mike A.

 

[peter halle]

You might want to check out https://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/flattening.htm

Peter

 

[Cheese]

Check out this Youtube channel:

He’s the master and your problem’s solution is in one of his videos!

From heart: soften the veneer with cloths soaked in warm water, inject glue in the voids, clamp the heck out of it.

[member=5467]Bert Vanderveen[/member] do you remember in which video you saw the method you describe? I've watched 4 of them so far and no enchilada.  [sad]

 

[bertv]

Check out this Youtube channel:


He’s the master and your problem’s solution is in one of his videos!

From heart: soften the veneer with cloths soaked in warm water, inject glue in the voids, clamp the heck out of it.

[member=5467]Bert Vanderveen[/member] do you remember in which video you saw the method you describe? I've watched 4 of them so far and no enchilada.  [sad]

It’s been a while. Do a Search (Google, or my pref: DuckDuckGo) with
"thomas johnson antique water damage veneer"

First hits are the ones I remember.

 

[kevinculle]

The Robert Johnson series must include a hundred or more videos and many cover veneer repairs...good luck!

 

[Oldwood]

It looks like it could be old enough to be hide glue.

You can reactivate hide glue with heat and moisture. A search for hammer veneering with hide glue will bring up a lot of info if you have not done any of that work. I got my info from a Tage Frid book (shaping , veneering and finishing). You can use the same technique to reactivate PVA glues.   

I have seen repairs to small bubbles in veneer repaired by cutting with a razor blade and injecting glue but I would not try that for your example. I think it is too damaged for that. YMMV

It looks from the picture like the glue has failed. If it is because it got wet then it could maybe be reactivated and pressed down. If the glue failed for some reason it may need to be completely redone.

Looks like a fun project but hard to know for certain going in what is going to be the solution.