box project

[peebix]

Hello all
Happy to find this busy forum and thank you for accepting my registration. I have no woodworking experience, but I am thinking of trying a small starter project and I would appreciate any advice.

I bought the attached wooden picture card at a flea market yesterday, it's about the size of a postcard. It's quite dark which I am guessing is because the varnish has darkened over time. (I could be completely wrong...). I was thinking of trying to remove the varnish to see if that restores some colour. I found youtube videos about oil painting restorers removing varnish, but wood is not the same as an oil canvas of course, and I wondered if anyone has advice about that?

Also I am thinking of setting myself a project of making a box with this as the lid. Maybe a hinged lid or I was thinking that it could be a drop lid if there were some guide pieces added on the underside of the card.

Does anyone have thoughts on how I could get started? What would be a minimal tool set and are there recommended brands? Since I am thinking this could be the start of a hobby, I don't necessarily want the cheapest available tools. Also I don't have a dedicated space that I could use for woodworking and I am not sure how much I can do at a regular table, or if I would need at least a small sturdy worktop. Any advice about that is also very welcome. Thank you.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Hello all
Happy to find this busy forum and thank you for accepting my registration. I have no woodworking experience, but I am thinking of trying a small starter project and I would appreciate any advice.

I bought the attached wooden picture card at a flea market yesterday, it's about the size of a postcard. It's quite dark which I am guessing is because the varnish has darkened over time. (I could be completely wrong...). I was thinking of trying to remove the varnish to see if that restores some colour. I found youtube videos about oil painting restorers removing varnish, but wood is not the same as an oil canvas of course, and I wondered if anyone has advice about that?

Also I am thinking of setting myself a project of making a box with this as the lid. Maybe a hinged lid or I was thinking that it could be a drop lid if there were some guide pieces added on the underside of the card.

Does anyone have thoughts on how I could get started? What would be a minimal tool set and are there recommended brands? Since I am thinking this could be the start of a hobby, I don't necessarily want the cheapest available tools. Also I don't have a dedicated space that I could use for woodworking and I am not sure how much I can do at a regular table, or if I would need at least a small sturdy worktop. Any advice about that is also very welcome. Thank you.

You should be able to remove the varnish in exactly the same way as you would on canvas. There are of course many gotcha problems. First is the varnish soluble. Picture varnish can be resorted using the base mineral. If the box has been sprayed with a modern sealer it might not be soluble. If it is then the next problem is what’s under the varnish. An oil painting has a thick layer of paint that you can carefully work over. On the box it could be a thin transfer print. If it has no current value to you it is worth an experiment.

As to making a box that is a basic right of passage for any new woodworker, that said you can buy ready made boxes very cheaply and maybe find one the right size to simply replace the lid.