North Bros. Tree Stands

So a while back I had picked up a box of pre-1947 North Bros. Christmas Tree Stands.   I just though they were so cool. Well I finally got around to refurbishing them.   It was fun except for the sand blasting, I hate sand blasting.  I refinished 13 all together and they came out really nice.

I tore them down and ran them through the bead cabinet, then was ready to move to the next step.   I boxed them all up and brought them over to the house and cleaned them all up.  Then it was just a matter of priming and painting.   I hung up a makeshift clothes line and then cut wire that I used as hangers.   I primed and painted each one, letting it hang to dry.  This process in itself took me two weeks painting off/on.

Once they were dry I moved into the house where I used a paint marker.  Yes a paint marker, who know they made such a thing.  Well it worked great for this application.  I taped up the legs and then added the gold paint.  For all the rest I just free handed with the marker to add the gold paint where needed.

I used a paper plate and stuck the bolts through it.  Then I could spray paint the heads black to match the rest.  That worked great and didn't make a big mess.  then it was just a matter of final reassembly.   I struggled a bit with the first one, but that allowed me to see what I needed to and the order that I needed to put them back together.

All in all I am very pleased with the outcome. I see these listed on eBay for $65.00 to $250.00 depending on condition.  For me they will become pieces for other items I may want make.

You can see below that I have already repurposed two of them and made lamps.  I found some old ceiling lamps at the flea market and bought three of them for a dollar.   The base was white and required some modifications, but I loved the glass globes that were on them.  I did some research and bought wire, off/on switch and the lamp socket and put it all together.  I made two and have them on my desk at home.

Next I was going to see if I could use some old cameras and wire them up, so that the light will be where the flash bulb is currently.   I'll keep you posted but think they will be pretty cool when done.