Refurbishing/converting an old ice box

[Sugaree]

Keeping with the theme of my speakeasy-style bar at the house, I'm considering turning this into a liquor cabinet.  I am not completely convinced that it's not a reproduction, but on the chance that it isn't, I'm not wanting to completely gut it anymore than it already is.  Only the left half still has the metal liner and the panel that divides the two sides is missing.  Right now my thoughts are to clean the outside with Murphy's, build a set of shelves that just sit inside the box rather than being attached (maybe adding a drawer to the part where the drip tray used to go), and putting some rechargeable LED, motion activated light bars inside.  I'm also considering attaching casters to each leg so that I can move the thing around without scraping the feet up.  I'm not sure about that part.  I'm not really wanting to drill into the feet so I might build some kind of sleeve that fits around the feet or a base that are attached to the casters.  Finally, I'm eventually probably going to need to find a way to lock it.  The latches themselves have keyholes, but I don't have a key and have no idea if the locks actually work or not.  Has anyone ever done something like this?  I'm open to ideas. 

[BECABECA]

That’s going to be a really cool piece! I don’t have much to add except that a locksmith can make a key from an impression in those existing locks, and I’d bet that as long as the hardware is still there and intact, the locks still work.

[Sibley]

What's the finish on it? There may be something better than Murphy's, which can leave residue and dull the surface. I use blue dawn dishsoap to clean a lot of wood items, it's gentle but effective.

Locks can be disassembled and cleaned/repaired if necessary. I'm sure you can find videos on youtube. Agreed re locksmith for a key.

[Sugaree]

What's the finish on it? There may be something better than Murphy's, which can leave residue and dull the surface. I use blue dawn dishsoap to clean a lot of wood items, it's gentle but effective.

Locks can be disassembled and cleaned/repaired if necessary. I'm sure you can find videos on youtube. Agreed re locksmith for a key.

I'm not really sure?  I know it's not veneer.  I will probably start with Dawn.  Thanks for the tip. 

[Sibley]

I would think shellac is a possibility. You can test that if you wish, shellac is dissolved by alcohol.

Wipe up excess water, don't let it sit. But that is hopefully common knowledge.

[Dee18]

We had a genuine ice box that my Dad refinished.  It had a lot of sentimental value as my father’s first job as a young teen was delivering blocks of ice for people with those ice boxes in a small, rural town. My Dad used Tung oil for the finish.  Your post brought back memories of when he taught me to put the oil on, wipe off the excess and use very fine sandpaper and then steel wool as we repeated this several times to get a great finish. 

[Sugaree]

@Dee18 , I'll look into the Tung oil.  I've never used it before and to be honest, the thought of sanding this thing terrifies me, lol.



I did open the lock up and figured out that the key is probably a skeleton key.  There aren't any pins that would make it so that it requires a unique key.  I've ordered one off of Etsy that appears to be the right general shape.  I may have to file it down a little to make it fit, but I think it will work.  If my child turns out to be anywhere nearly as devious as I was as a teenager, I may have to pursue a different way to lock it.  That should be a few years in the future though. 

[Sugaree]

I haven't done much with the outside yet, but have made some progress on the shelves.  I built the shelves so that the only part of the original interior cabinet that I had to drill into was the center divider.  I had to brace it up because the old tongue-and-groove boards holding it up had broken.

[Sibley]

Coming along nicely!

[Just Joe]

We had a genuine ice box that my Dad refinished.  It had a lot of sentimental value as my father’s first job as a young teen was delivering blocks of ice for people with those ice boxes in a small, rural town. My Dad used Tung oil for the finish.  Your post brought back memories of when he taught me to put the oil on, wipe off the excess and use very fine sandpaper and then steel wool as we repeated this several times to get a great finish.

Beware tung oil rags. As they dry, they make heat and can catch fire. So, put them out in the driveway (concrete) away from anything or in a steel bucket or in a fireplace while they dry. Unlikely perhaps but it can happen. I like tung oil finishes.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tung+oil+rag+fire

Edited to say: too late, looks beautiful!

[AMandM]

Nice!
Are your lights battery-powered? I assume you didn't drill holes in the back wall of the iceboxfor wires!

[Sugaree]

Nice!
Are your lights battery-powered? I assume you didn't drill holes in the back wall of the iceboxfor wires!

Yeah, they're rechargeable motion-activated LED light bars.  I avoided drilling into the cabinet for almost everything. 

[BlueHouse]

Will you add a slide-out tray to the shelves so you don't have to move bottles to get to the bottles in the back? 

Looks very cool!

[Sugaree]

Will you add a slide-out tray to the shelves so you don't have to move bottles to get to the bottles in the back? 

Looks very cool!

Thanks! 

I have some drawer slides for the smaller door on the bottom right, but haven't gotten them installed yet.  I was thinking it would end up being a good drawer for bar tools.