Lansing Company 1800's Hand Truck Restoration Project ?

An early american hand truck, aahhh just what i was looking for ";) Oak & Cast Iron the bad ass hard core material of it's day..............and still :o)

It was in my friends  basement for about 10 to 15 years after being saved by the road side. And now it's mine. It will retire as a hand towel rack in my bathroom and moon light as a hand truck in the evenings :o)

I will start my research starting with the  Lansing Company as we can see from the tag that is still on it. 

 But first.......

I will take it apart mend the broken handle and wash the grease off before i decide to sand.......

FINISHED MORE PICTURES

SEE THE BEFORE CART BEHIND IT.........

Finish :o)

Finished sitting in the garage !!!! :o)

Foundry Cart Project: So i cleaned the Iron with WD 40, a wire brush and...

Foundry Cart Project: So i cleaned the Iron with WD 40, a wire brush and...: "So i cleaned the Iron with WD 40, a wire brush and fine to medium wire sponges. it looked so good that i decided not to paint any of the whe..."

So i cleaned the Iron with WD 40, a wire brush and fine to medium wire sponges. it looked so good that i decided not to paint any of the wheels. Instead i sprayed then with a clear coat that i mentioned earlier in the blog where i speak about products.

Final Sand & Stain

So before i talk about todays activities there is something i would do differently before sanding on the next project. I would power wash the cart and let dry before sanding. I decided to wash one side without sanding and was surprise how clean the wood got. I was trying to keep the stencil on the side and didn't want the uneven look of parts of it being sanded and other parts not. But it was all for not as the stain kind of made the stencil harder to see. Say-La-Vee :o) I'm happy........

1. When to Home Depot to gather all my finishing products.

IRON PARTS

• WD40 - I never knew this product was so magical. Sprayed all the iron with wd40 then scrubed with steel wool & wire brush. I was amazing how much rust came off. I'm glad i didn't have to deal with Navel Jelly.
• Extend Rust Neutralizer - instead of primer the Home Depot guy recommended this product, while i think you can go either way i'll let you know how it does for me. Will do this later today.
• Rust-Oleum Flat Protective Enamel - flat black paint
• Miniwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer - I will finish the iron with this clear satin finish thats good for wood or metal. So long it doesn't shine to much.

WOOD

• Miniwax - Red Oak Stain 215
• Miniwax - Polycrylic no sheen, I will put three coats to protect the top.

Sun is hitting it, not quit actual color show

Before & After

Not bad hey, now this is without the Poly coat.

Red Oak or White Oak, that is the question

What Kind of Oak is my cart made of, Red or White Oak?

"well after ripping off the first layer of 100 year old dirt it starts to reveal itself. but as of yet i don't know how to read the lines. Made this will help me learn the difference from red or white oak."

2. Look at the Rays

When looking at the face of the board, especially in the flat-sawn areas, you may notice little dark brown streaks running with the grain, sometimes referred to as rays.

Look closely at the picture above, (click on it to enlarge it if you have to), and note the length of the rays in both types of wood. Red oak will almost always have very short rays, usually between 1/8″ to 3/8″ long, rarely ever more than 1/2″ in length. (Pictured above on the right.)

White oak, on the other hand, will have much longer rays, reaching about 3/4″ long or longer. (Pictured above on the left.)