Help on Restoration of Chest?

[Spartcom5]

Hey guys found this at Goodwill for $8, been wanting a nice big flatware chest like this for my sterling! It's a Wallace Sterling chest with what I think to be brass? Any ways I had some questions, anyone know what wood this is? Are the handles brass? How would I restore this? Anyone have good videos? I was planning sanding it down a little and refinishing the wood, unsure on how to polish the brass. Anyone know the relative age of this thing? Currently I'm airing it outside as it has that old smell, I just vacuumed it out as it had some tiny dead bugs like 4 or 5 of them lol gross!

 

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[bigcaddy64]

You couldn't go wrong with some medium walnut stain to cover the spots of damage. 800 or greater sandpaper would take time but won't be as aggressive as 220.

The hardware could be brass but I'm leaning towards a plated base metal due to the flashing on the seams. Take a file on the little nub that fits in one of the pivot housings. That would be the fastest way to determine plate vs solid.

I've refinished many cigar humidors and have a long trial & error period to figure out what works. Minimal effort would be achieved with some Howard's restor-a-finish that soaks in over the original finish and no sanding.

I really don't think it's worth that much effort because of its relative low value compared to its original contents. Nobody worries how the wood case that holds the silverware looks when it spends its whole life in a sideboard

 

[captain flintlock]

I would agree with bigcaddy. There's really no value to these boxes. I would look at it like a blank canvas and make it what you want.