Kirk G
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When we were very young in the late 1950s, the local Montgomery Wards and other hardware stores would sell a steel runner sled during the winter. These wood and steel contraptions would be hauled to the nearest sledding hill, where the local kids would careen down the slope (especially if the snow was packed down or icy) over and over and over again during the cold Michigan snowy winters. Once the snow was on the ground, it was there all season, it seemed.
Over time, these sleds with their thin 1/2 slats of wood, would crack or splinter, the steel runners would bend or rust, but I never saw one collapse or be thrown out. They were work horses.
My father started shopping for one in the early 1960s, but found one that was double length, and brightly painted. It was the envy of the neighborhood, as two kids could sit on it like a bob-sled, but only one could "steer". I still have my long sled, painted in silver, red and black, but the slats have occasionally splintered or popped free of their fastenings. The runners are rusted, but intact.
My question is how to restore the sled, particularly to rejuvenate the slats. I don't know what type of wood the slats are, but they appear to be harder than pine (maybe aspen?), sanded smooth, with rounded edges. The paint is intact, but I feel the wood has dried out over time and may be brittle.
Would I be wise to rub linseed oil into the wood, either from behind/under the slats OR over-top of the paint? I don't want to dismantle the sled...just preserve what is still there. (I have heard the old sign painters would mix linseed oil into their paint when creating "Mail Pouch Tobacco" Barn sidings and they lasted decades as a result.)
Years ago, I glued a running split in the slate with carpenters wood glue and clamped it. It's still holding, though the glue oozed out of the crack and hardened.
I'll try to attach a photo for reference, but I'd appreciate any advice from you woodworkers out there. My father passed some 20 years ago this February and all his woodworking skill and a lot of the knowledge went with him. So any fatherly advice would be most welcome.
Over time, these sleds with their thin 1/2 slats of wood, would crack or splinter, the steel runners would bend or rust, but I never saw one collapse or be thrown out. They were work horses.
My father started shopping for one in the early 1960s, but found one that was double length, and brightly painted. It was the envy of the neighborhood, as two kids could sit on it like a bob-sled, but only one could "steer". I still have my long sled, painted in silver, red and black, but the slats have occasionally splintered or popped free of their fastenings. The runners are rusted, but intact.
My question is how to restore the sled, particularly to rejuvenate the slats. I don't know what type of wood the slats are, but they appear to be harder than pine (maybe aspen?), sanded smooth, with rounded edges. The paint is intact, but I feel the wood has dried out over time and may be brittle.
Would I be wise to rub linseed oil into the wood, either from behind/under the slats OR over-top of the paint? I don't want to dismantle the sled...just preserve what is still there. (I have heard the old sign painters would mix linseed oil into their paint when creating "Mail Pouch Tobacco" Barn sidings and they lasted decades as a result.)
Years ago, I glued a running split in the slate with carpenters wood glue and clamped it. It's still holding, though the glue oozed out of the crack and hardened.
I'll try to attach a photo for reference, but I'd appreciate any advice from you woodworkers out there. My father passed some 20 years ago this February and all his woodworking skill and a lot of the knowledge went with him. So any fatherly advice would be most welcome.
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