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Ok I got the scoop on the retirement bade that went for big money. A friend ran into a retired CFD chief at a funeral last night and he said he has the badge. He was not home and was having his wife bid on the badges. She bid on the wrong one. She was supposed to bid on the Century of Progress badge and bid on the Patrol retirement badge instead. Since he has no real interest in the badge, he agreed to sell it to the Bresnahan family for what he paid for it plus shipping. I contacted the family and they are excited to get it back in the family. So another good ending to the badge saga!!
Went to the welding shop to check on the rails. Of course they didn't do any work on them. We pulled them out and figured they were made of brass. We went on line to see were we could get a 2ft section of 1 1/4 OD .65 brass tubing. I will order it so we can finally get this done. Here are some pics of the wood after 4 coats of varnish. I think its shiny and protected enough that I don't need any more coats.
Are you going to park it outside much? Sun (UV) is the enemy of any clear film type coating and oak wood. If yes, then I'd recommend putting all the coats the manufacturer specifies. Film thickness=UV protection, resistance to checking. Once the film cracks it's all over.
Then I suggest putting 4 coats on it. It's a lot easier to do now than it will be to strip it all off and redo it later. Moisture penetrating even the smallest check or exposed edge will start turning the oak black and lift the finish causing more checks, spreading the damage. Think of it like "wood rust", put too little paint on it to provide a complete seal and the "rust" will soon start taking hold and spreading.
I'll X3 on that. I don't know the man, But from what I have seen of him on here Keith is a rare and special kind of man. Few if any of us think of others needs the way he does anymore. Thanks Kieth for being you. Reps to ya Bud.
I have spent the last few hours reading this entire link. I must say I am very impressed. I am a volunteer fire fighter in my town and I absolutely love fire history. I even volunteer at the Utah Fire Museum when I can. This is just an amazing work you are doing. And then throw in the family history, I am even more amazed. Thank you for keeping the history and stories alive.
I have spent the last few hours reading this entire link. I must say I am very impressed. I am a volunteer fire fighter in my town and I absolutely love fire history. I even volunteer at the Utah Fire Museum when I can. This is just an amazing work you are doing. And then throw in the family history, I am even more amazed. Thank you for keeping the history and stories alive.
I highly recommend Keith's book "The History of the Chicago Fire Insurance Patrol" its a great read with some good history
Looking good. What will you do with the exposed wood by the backwall and below the swooping body sections in the cargo area? Will those be painted black??
Ilya, The sheet metal that goes there was painted black and wet sanded. I am going to temporarily install them to get them off the floor next week. I wish they were going on permanently but I will need access to bolt the rails in. That is probably 2 months before that happens. Here is a pic of the interior metal and rear bins. The front bins are in the center of the table: just 2 small metal pieces with rounded ends. Used to hold the salvage covers in place. The other metal on the table goes between the wheel wells.
As you can see the painter forgot to paint the inside of the rear bins ... some of it will still show with the covers in place so we will have to paint them.
Here are the rear grab handles I bought for the rear bins. They came off a Seagrave Fire Truck. Not an exact match of the front handles but I like them and they are vintage. The chrome is excellent and so was the price!!