Make a DIY Antique Inspection Kit
Save Cash and Time with This Easy-to-Assemble Tool Kit
Apr 8, 2009
Do you miss out on buying something you like at a antique shop, auction, garage sale or flea market because you're unsure of its authenticity or its real value? Do you find yourself having to make trips back home to check on the measurements of an item you fancy?
Why not carry a simple, portable antique inspection kit to help you recognize a bargain (and its size) when you go out bargain hunting?
A DIY, portable antique inspection kit allows you to check measurements or determine if something is the real thing. It’s easy enough to assemble one yourself as most of the items or tools can be found in your own basement or garage, or at the local hardware store.
Here is a list of must-have items in your antique inspection kit:
Flashlight
Probably the most important item in your inspection kit, it is essential for peering inside desk drawers, underneath tables, and into dark corners of shops and barns. A small, pencil-sized light is easy to handle and effective enough for your needs.
Notebook and Pen
You can save yourself both worry and grief if you write down your room dimensions if you’re looking for furniture. This way you will know if that chair, table or painting is the right fit for your home. Rather than worry whether or not an item is the correct size or style you need, you can concentrate on the condition and the price.
Cell Phone with Camera
If you’re not sure if the folks at home will like something that may be a major purchase, photograph and send the photo of it on your cell phone to let them know what you’re thinking of buying. Even better if you can send the photos to a restorer friend if you’re not sure if an item requires major repairs or restoration and is not worth buying.
Magnifying Glass or Jeweler’s Loupe
Silver, glass and porcelain collectors know the value of a magnifying glass in identifying crucial marks. It can be used to distinguish veneer from solid wood, identify signatures on prints, mint marks on coins, and patent dates on lamps. You will also be able to separate hidden repairs from signs of age.
Tape Measure
How wide is that round oak table? Will that old Victorian mirror fit your dresser? A light-foot tape measure can help answer crucial questions on your way to a purchase or a non-purchase.
A tape measure can also allow you to distinguish genuine antiques from recent reproductions. Wood shrinks with age, though not equally in all directions, Very little shrinkage occurs in the direction of the grain, but across the grain the amount is generally measurable, Legitimate round oak tables will probably no longer be perfectly round; as the tape will reveal, over the years they will have shrunk across the grain to a slight1y oval shape.
Magnet
A small magnet will leave no doubt in your mind as to what is brass or copper and what is iron or steel. Genuine brass beds, pulls and hinges and bird cages won’t be attracted to the magnet, though their cheaper imitations will.
Paint Scraper
On a few rare occasions it may be necessary to scrape away a small section of paint to determine what kind of wood is underneath. Never, however, scrape paint from a piece without the owner's permission.
Small Screwdrivers and Needle-nose Pliers
Not every seller will let you unscrew the top from a tilt-top candle stand or lift an upholstery tack, but some will, especially if they think you’re a serious buyer and you ask them nicely. Be equipped, so that if they say yes, you’ll be ready with your own tools.
All Purpose Reference Book
Choose a current, general price guide or a specialty guide for your favorites.
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