How to Restore a White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer Wooden Tub

A leaking White Mountain wooden tub does not always need to be replaced.

Traditional wooden freezer tubs can shrink after long periods of dry storage. When the wood remains structurally sound, soaking, tightening or replacing the rings, repairing hardware, and refinishing the exterior may return the tub to service.

White Mountain wooden tubs are built from individual wooden staves held together by wire hoop rings.

When the tub dries out, the wooden staves can shrink, and small gaps may form.

Once the tub is filled with water, the wood absorbs moisture and expands. In a sound tub, this swelling can reduce or stop minor leaks.

Before restoration, inspect for cracked staves, rot, loose bottom boards, severe separation, broken rings, damaged hardware areas, and insect damage.

A tub with widespread structural decay may not be worth restoring.

Three key questions should be considered before deciding to attempt restoration, because it is easy to get wrapped up in this project and make it overwhelming.

Do I want to just restore the functionality to the point it is usable again?

That basically means you want to make the staves tight enough to keep from leaking out and replace only the needed hardware, even though new hardware may not match the original.

Do I want to restore to the original condition as a collectible? That means a major woodworking and refinishing project along with replacing hardware with the replated original hardware.

Is the tub in such bad condition that it is not worth repairing, and I don't really care if it is wood or a new poly tub?

New replacement wood tubs are no longer available. You may be able to find a used one on eBay that is in better condition. Immergood offers a new leak-proof insulated poly tub that comes complete with all the hardware for the 4 and 6 qt White Mountain Freezers.

When you decide the path, then follow your instincts.

Inspect all three wire hoop rings. These rings help keep the staves under tension as the wood expands and contracts. Replacement stainless steel rings are available from Cottage Craft Works. These may not match the original water marks and will need to be tapped down using the tapper of the tub to tighten the staves. The best way to secure these in place is to use an electrician's staple gun with rounded staples to secure coaxial cables. Work with staves when they have low moisture content so that they will only expand when the wood becomes wet and seal the joints. See video on ring replacement.

Clean the exterior carefully and remove loose or deteriorated finish without unnecessarily removing sound wood.

When refinishing, preserve the traditional function of the wooden tub. Avoid heavy interior coatings that prevent the wood from absorbing moisture and swelling naturally.

For original restoration, the staves will need to be sanded until most water stains are removed, using a combination of sanding and chemical stain removal. "Google" hardwood floor stain removal. The tricky part is holding the staves together while doing this process. Once they fall apart, the project becomes even more complicated. Meaning you will need to keep the staves bound during the ring removal and refinishing process. Doing half of the tub at a time might be the best option,  unless you want to disassemble the staves completely and sand them individually. Sanding the edges between the joints is probably not a good idea, especially on a belt sander. It is impossible to keep the same joint if you don't remove material evenly on each stave.  Disassembly may be needed if you need to remake any of the staves to replace a damaged one. White Mountain used several coats of lacquer to seal the tubs on the inside and outside. There will still be bare wood between the staves to absorb and expand, sealing the cracks. White Mountain used Northern White Pine in making the staves. Matching the taper and joinery will be critical for the staves to seal properly with a new stave. For a novice woodworker, this may be an overwhelming task.

Replacing hardware for functionality can be accomplished with Immergood improved tub latch and tub ear, along with a Delrin poly tub center from Cottage Craft Works. If you want to replace with the original hardware, it will likely need to be wire-brushed and either coated with clear lacquer or replated with a replating service or powder coated with a silver powder coating. Removing the tub latch rivet will be tricky, and finding a suitable replacement to reassemble it to original equipment will be difficult. A used tub center can sometimes be found on eBay, or a new one may need to be sand-cast by a blacksmith enthusiast or gunsmith who is into making small replacement parts.

Various Individual sellers have replacement White Mountain decals for sale on the Internet. "Google" White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer Logo Decal.