i always enjoy a nice restoration project where you make something nice out of something not so nice. this is an excellent case in point. i didn't take a 'before' picture, but you can see from the one below that there was some pretty serious mouse damage on some of the rails of the case. someone must have left a few pies in there when the store closed. click the photos to enlarge them ..
the case appears to be from the late 1800's and i give the schwanbeck brothers credit for some good design sense. the case is entirely held together with screws, no glue, and so, was easy to completely disassemble.
there was a little groove on the bottom of all four panels that engaged the top lip of the base. once the panels were assembled on the base and screwed together on the corners, the top was put on like a hat. screws were added from the top and bottom that went into the edges of the vertical panels and the case was then completely rigid.
pattented 1897 ...
the new guy, chris, did most of the work on this one . sweet little case .. it's headed for the store with the new pizza oven ..
