Finally satisfied with the filling, two coats of primer were applied......then almost entirely sanded off again, once dried. This showed some smaller defects not previously seen. NB: I'm due for new spectacles soon, maybe that played a part in missing the finer nicks! Another two primer coats later, I was satisfied with the result.
As indicated earlier, I enlarged the holes in brackets where the rivets had been (still are, in the timber), so they could remain and become a feature instead of a pain to remove. It would be a shame to do away with those. They won't have any strength any more, but the screws will be sufficient to do the job, I hope. You will note the screw hole at top of the hinge is a long way off alignment. I think those (both sides are same, unfortunately) should be plugged with dowels and redrilled to correct alignment. That will be fun.
Almost forgot I'd already made the tray for this box, then when I remembered it, couldn't find the bloody thing for about ten minutes. The welding doesn't look any better than I thought it was, either.
Finally, this is how the canvas cover will look, once installed. The lid needs to be sanded and painted before that happens. The replacement timber braces haven't been cut to corect size yet. That may be done next weekend.
