Update- Still Sanding

Wow, this involves a lot of sanding. I put in another 7 hours of sanding. I still have about four more panels left. There are two panels where the handles are and two panels where the hinges are in the back. The good news is I will start removing the interior this week. This way I can get to the handles , remove them and finish up the sanding. I'll post the results of this shortly.

I spent a few more dollars on supplies. I needed more sandpaper, and a new wire brush tip for the Dremel tool. This adds another $11.00 dollars to the project. Check back soon for more updates.

Project time for this post : 7 hours
Total time spent on project so far : 30 hours 45 minutes
Total project cost so far : $33.62 USD

update

The blog is not going to have a posting schedule. As the work gets done I will be posting. Expect at least a weekly update , probably posted on Sunday.

This week I've been catching up, removing the paint and outside canvas of the trunk. Anyone thinking of doing this type of project should expect to do a lot of sanding.  I've spent a considerable amount of time cleaning up the edges.

I would like to post more frequently, but I also want to take my time and make sure what I'm doing is getting done correctly. This means I can't rush through different parts of the project just because the work is boring or mundane. Believe me, sanding this thing is far from the funnest thing I've ever experienced in life. Anyway expect more updates soon, and thanks for stopping by.

Remove Canvas Edging Using A Dremel

I got this great Dremel Tool from my cousin for my birthday. I've used one of these before and knew this would be the perfect tool for this job. For those of you who have never heard of a Dremel tool, it's like a small drill with all kinds of attachments. There is a steel brush attachment which I'm using for the steam trunk project, and an assortment of other attachments like an engraving tip, polishing tip, sanding tips, and all kinds of other cool attachments that have a wide range of uses. If you don't have one of these I strongly suggest making the investment. The basic one runs about $40.00 U.S.D. and comes with a bunch of starter tips including the wire brush tip.

This is the Dremel 3000. Great for doing edge work on the steam trunk.

So I had all this edge work to do along the leather trim and locking mechanisms of the trunk. I used the wire brush tip to get as close to the edges as possible. The Dremel tool has power settings ranging from 1 - 10, I kept the power setting around 5-6. This was just enough to strip away the paint, filler, and canvas without severely gouging the wood. After stripping the canvas and paint down to almost the glue, I took a medium grade sand paper and sanded with the grain of the wood to repair any deep marks the Dremel tool may have left. I then alternated several times between Dremel tool, and sandpaper till the edges were close to complete. When using this attachment for this task I strongly suggest using a very light touch, stay patient, take your time, and use a medium setting between 5 and 6.

Using the wire brush tip on the trunk edging, power setting between 5 or 6.

This process took me about 4 hours which I did in three sittings. Two one hour sessions, and one two hour session.

Trunk latches stripped of canvas. I still want to get a little closer, I think I have a Dremel tip for that.

My hand slipped once and the power setting shot up to 10 and put a small gouge in one of the leather strap holders on the trunk . Besides that one mistake I think it came out pretty good.

On a positive note all that wood filler that I was so worried about turned out to be a small hairline crack going across the entire trunk, and a nice 1 inch gouge near the side. I don't think this is going to be too problematic and should be fairly easy to hide using a darker stain. I have no clue why some asshat would use half a can of wood filler to fill a 1 inch crack, but I'm happy it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

The wood filler debacle doesn't seem to be as bad as I thought it was.

The steam trunk front, canvas removed, wood filler close to gone. This projects starting to look better.

Project time for this post : 4 hours
Total time spent on project so far : 23 hours 45 minutes
Total project cost so far : $22.62 USD

 I have no affiliation with Dremel, and this review of their product is for informational purposes only. This seems to be a good product for this task. This is not a paid endorsement,  and this review simply reflects the opinion of the blogger who hopes his readers may find this product review useful and informative for the above mentioned task.

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year ! I'm back in 2012 ready to complete this thing. I took a break over the holidays, and not only took a break from the blog but also took a break from restoring this old steam trunk. I will start working on this project again this week.

I received a Dremel tool from my cousin for x-mas, and I can't wait to try this thing out. I tested it out for a few minutes when I opened it up, and it should make some of the edge work much easier. Happy New Year, and check back soon for updates.