Cabinet...

[talesofthesevenseas]

Fingers crossed!!!!

[hosman321]

lol Sorry, had to go to Tacoma to get it and then had to make a few stops. The cabinet is pretty darn cool, in my opinion. Really beat up and rustic but I still like it anyways. Not totally sure it was worth that much money but that's fine. The top was ripped off in transport so I have to reattach it. On the plus side, there is a name stamped into the hinges that I would have never found if the top didn't come off. I can't make out the name but I'm trying to take pics of it. Gotta go reattach the top and then I'll post pics of it. Here's the hinge, I'll take pics of the screws, too. Appears to start with a "C" and end with an "h"?

[talesofthesevenseas]

Looks like "Clark" to me.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I did find some references to a company named Clark that made hinges, but so far I'm not seeing that same name imprinted on them like yours.

[hosman321]

I think you are definitely right tales. I wonder if it was a patent or just the company's name. The hinge is not special, so probably not a patent.
Unfortunately, the top cannot be reattached because the holes are too big for the screws since they got ripped out. What would I put into the holes so that the screws can be screwed back in?
Here are a few pics, cobwebs, cocoons and all.  Super gross inside, I'll have to properly clean it before I could put towels or dishes inside. What was this probably used for originally? A chamber-pot cabinet? (Ew)
If it makes any difference, the are about 100 deep gouges/marks on the inside top of the lid. Not sure what that means...
I'll get a pic of the whole thing in a minute, having memory card issues.

[hosman321]

Cut screw....
Oops, sorry tales. Didn't see your response. Thanks for helping with research, I appreciate it!

[talesofthesevenseas]

Looks like an old screw as you pointed out Hosman, with the typically flat end. Also check out the nice deep ridges you've got going in the grain of the wood in the top photo. That's wood shrinkage. My dining room table with the protruding pegs is just like that. Run your hand over it and I bet you can feel those ridges sticking up in the grain.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Here's an article showing some Clark hinges that date to the 1870's:

http://books.google.com/books?id=myxEOOgjI50C&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=clark+hinges+old+house&source=bl&ots=fIJauaugXi&sig=DMCFH0BLxVjvkdNYBJHqevMHXWI&hl=en&ei=mPgSTaOYCIH6swOtl7WvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

[hosman321]

Now that I get it in the light, these marks all over it are really distracting. I don't know if it's the finish or marks underneath the finish but they look super ugly.  
Ohhh could it be from scraping off the original veneer?

I'm considering milk-painting her with this paint to cover it. Bad idea or no? Barn red or mustard.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=280589778051&si=cwgtvqOmS7zeG7E%252Febp7koPohzs%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
All of the Clark hinges I find are late victorian, 1890's.  

[hosman321]

Yeah, most of the Clark hinges I am finding are late victorian. Which is a bit irritating. I suppose they could be replacement hinges.
I am hoping to find company info, maybe they started earlier but didn't get super common until the 1870's-80's.

[waywardangler]

Hosman, to give the hinge screws something to hold in, dip tooth picks in wood glue, stick in original holes and break off flush with surface, let cure, screw screws into the "new" holes and you will have good wood for the screw threads to bite into and hold.  I do not know how much of the old hole ripped out when the top came off but you may need to glue more than one toothpick into each old hole.

I cannot tell from the photo but all those marks may be from hand planes.  Using milk paint will not cover them up.  They will show through on the surface.  To tell if it was veneered and then had the veneer ripped off, I would look for areas where wear would be normal through the years and see if that wear is there.  I would also look for areas where wear would not be normal.  If wear is where it should be and absent from where it should not be, then I think the surface is original and the marks are rough planed marks that were never taken off from final hand scraping/sanding.  This is something that cannot be shown in photos but must be done with an actual hands on inspection.  So be careful before you dismiss the rough surface marks as a problem.  They may be how the final surface was originally left.  I would not worry too much about the age of the hinges as hinges can be replaced at any point in time.  I would look at the original wood construction techniques and finish to determine age.

[hosman321]

I won't paint 'er then wayward. They are just so haphazard and obvious so I thought they looked like someone didn't care. I'll leave it be.
Thank you for the toothpick idea, too!
I found this hole that was plugged up with gunk. It's a little metal tube/pipe sort of thing that goes from the top section down to the bottom compartment. For water?

[waywardangler]

I am not sure if that was a drain or for ?  I do not see any water stains in the underneath pic.  Maybe the tube was long enough to allow water to drip and not wet the wood around it.  Is this some sort of "dry" sink cabinet?

[hosman321]

I'll go get pics further away so it gives a better perspective. 

[hosman321]

By the way, searching "empire washstand" or "empire wash stand" brings up many that are similar, but not the same and not much info. I suppose it's a washstand, just trying to figure out the mechanics of the hole because I'm curious.