Following on from our previous post here, over the weekend I started to strip the paint off the awesome atomic magazine rack and disassemble it.

For stripping the paint I used a combination of both a heat gun for the straight, flat surfaces and paint stripper for the turned pieces. Although I’m not an overly  big fan of using paint stripper it certainly does help on those curved/turned surfaces/edges.

Once the majority of the paint was removed I got down to the disassembly part. The initial stage was easy, 4 bolts & nuts and the rack broke down into 2 pieces. The second stage was a little more time consuming. Old glue, thin veneer and doweled joints all added to the difficulty however after a little persuasion it all came apart.

So what was underneath that old paint? Well as I thought the timber is coachwood with the legs and handle solid timber while the rack is plywood.

It’s always interesting to see what you discover whilst restoring. Makers marks, little notes, tricks of the trades all add to the fun. So what did I uncover thus far? Well as you can see on the bottom side of the rack there is the original makers stamp. The name is a little hard to read, however the ‘147’ is clearly visible. This more than likely was their manufacturers # and I’m hoping in time I’ll be able to identify the maker. 4 small nail holes and a dowel hole that has been filled were also found underneath the old paint. Due to the position I’m picturing that there would of been some kind of separating piece of timber that would of stopped the magazines from slipping all the way over to one side, effectively doubling the storage. I’ll have to see if I can find a similar piece online and see how it may of been originally. It should be reasonably easy to knock something up.

Stay tuned, repairs and preparation for reassembly next post!