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.)

Start Sanding Day One.....

THE TOOLS

RYOBI - Belt Sander 49.00 @ Home Depot

Norton Sand Paper - 50, 80 & 120 grid

50 foot 12 gauge extension cord (more than you need)

One 50 grid got it this far.......

you also need that thing to counter sink nails......and a pair of pliers to pull staples.

All Striped Down and no where to go

I took all the Iron off of the cart. Sprayed each nut with WD40 and let them sit for a while. They all came off pretty good with one wrench. Two nuts had to be held on the other side with a vise grip.

The Iron all laid out. Actually they don't look too bad. Now to research how i'm going to take the rust off and paint.

Now i'll spend my rainy sunday afternoon looking for nails and staples to pull or hammer in before sanding.

Sizing up work load today

These antique factory carts approximately 100 years old were all manufactured by the Lineberry Co. from Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

The carts were originally designed for use in railroad depots to move cargo, trunks and other luggage to and from the baggage cars for passengers.


Later as factories sprung up all over America the manufacturers of furniture began to use the carts to move working parts from one artisan to the next.
Who would have ever imagined 100 years later, these carts would be used as coffee tables? So much history is being preserved in these carts.

Not to mention the beauty of the cart when used as a table after of course restoration is performed properly.

Well today I dusted it off and  turned it over, just getting a real good look at the cart to see where to start. Loosen a couple of bolts to see if anything was rusted on. None! yay! a good start. It's a little wet on the top since i moved it to the garage in the pouring rain.

All the hardware seems to be in good shape........

As you can see the bottom is surprisingly good looking.

Close up of the hardware. It will be beautiful when i finish the Iron restoration work.