Joe P. of Spring Lake, Michigan spent the better part of two winters in an unheated garage bringing his family’s summer-cottage icebox back to life. The Belding icebox had sat doorless in a Michigan basement since the early 1960s — the original doors were thrown out when the old garage came down — so Joe had to work out how to build a new set from photos he took of iceboxes in antique stores.
The carcass is red oak, stripped, planed, sanded and finished with Old Masters American Walnut stain and Zinsser Bull’s Eye shellac, with roughly 30 square feet of cedar lining the interior box and shelves. Hinges and latches came to $200, the cedar $80, and Joe saved some of the original sawdust to mix with stain and fill the old nail holes.
In joe’s words
I grew up spending time at my family’s summer cottage, where I kept seeing this old icebox sitting in the basement. Eventually, I decided to take it on as a challenge and give it a new life.
My parents bought the cottage in 1959. My best guess is that the icebox dates back to the late 1920s, since the house was rebuilt in 1927 after a fire. At some point, the icebox was moved to the garage, where the doors were removed because my mom was worried someone might get locked inside.
When a Michigan basement was added to the house in the early 1960s, the doorless icebox was moved down there. Years later, the garage was torn down, and the doors went to the landfill along with it.
More than 60 years later, with help from my nephews, we moved the icebox back into the garage so I could start restoring it.
I removed the interior sheet metal and insulation, then completely stripped the exterior wood and reinforced the interior box. I was able to remove the front of the icebox as one piece. Fortunately, I took pictures of both the back of the front assembly and the front of the interior box, which made it much easier to put everything back where it belonged.
After planing, sanding, and staining the exterior pieces, I reassembled the icebox and lined the shelves and interior box with cedar. I also saved some of the original sawdust and mixed it with stain to fill the old nail holes.
It was a lot of work, but it was rewarding to bring a piece of my family’s history back to life.
The build
- Project type: Furniture restoration
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Wood: Red oak and cedar
- Finish: Old Masters American Walnut stain, Zinsser Bull’s Eye shellac
- Tools: Chop saw, table saw, router, planer, brad nailer
- Time: More than a year and a half — no heat in the garage
- Cost: Hinges and latches $200, 30 sq. ft. cedar $80, 1×3 boards $40, 1 qt. walnut stain $20, 1 qt. shellac $20
- Plans: No plans — labeled everything and put it back where he found it, the way he’d handle electrical wiring. Door measurements came from Woodsmith Vol. 37, No. 221
Biggest challenge
My biggest challenge was to get any kind of help in making the doors. I emailed a number of “woodworking influencers”, but never heard back. I found some iceboxes at antique stores and took some pictures of the doors. That helped, but I needed tips and measurements for routing/rabbet edges. Anyway, I finally came across a Woodsmith publication Vol. 37, No. 221 that helped with measurements.
The best thing I learned was to route the corners before making the rabbet edge, because the edge guide on the router bit doesn’t have enough wood to ride on.
It’s a toss up if I would have rabbet edges or cut ripped a track for the door panel. If I want to change the panels (i.e. replace the panel with leaded glass), I can remove the panel without tearing apart or remaking the doors.
Photos
Find joe at teardropvideo.com – I transfer analog to digital.
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