These small mahogany boxes hold a set of engineer rules and a parallel rule. Both are British and date from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Restoring them included stripping off the old, warn, and water damaged finish; repairing stripped screw holes; replacing damaged hardware; and making a replacement key for the engineer rule box.
The new finish is a base coat of pure linseed oil, three coats of shop-made shellac, and a topcoat of shop-made hard wax made from beeswax.
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