I was sitting in my workshop last Tuesday, cleaning up some old shavings, when I saw a neighbor hauling a box of brand-new, “designer” non-stick pans to the curb. It hit me then how much of the modern world has Continue reading Maintaining and Restoring Cast Iron Cookware
I remember sitting at my workbench ten years ago, staring at a rusted-to-hell Stanley plane I’d pulled from a damp cellar, thinking I’d need a chemistry degree and a mountain of expensive solvents to bring it back. I was wrong. Continue reading How to Restore Vintage Hand Tools
Most folks think that if a chair looks washed out, you just need to slap on some heavy-duty cleaner or a quick spray of dye to hide the damage. That’s a load of rubbish, and frankly, it’s the fastest way Continue reading A No-nonsense Guide to Restoring Faded Antique Fabric Upholstery
Most folks think that if they want to learn how to restore old wooden furniture, they just need to grab a bottle of high-gloss varnish and a heavy-handed sanding block. They see a scratched-up mahogany sideboard and think they can Continue reading A No-nonsense Guide to Restoring Old Wood: Why Shortcuts Only Ruin the Grain
I was hunched over my workbench last Tuesday, staring at a pitted 1920s bevel edge plane that looked more like a lump of orange scale than a precision instrument. Most folks will tell you that if you want to save Continue reading A No-nonsense Guide to Removing Rust From Vintage Tools Without Wasting the Metal
Most folks see a heavy layer of black oxidation on an old silver spoon and think the piece is ruined, or worse, they think they need to go out and buy some expensive, chemical-laden spray from a supermarket aisle. That’s Continue reading A No-nonsense Guide to Cleaning Tarnished Silver Without Wasting Your Time or Your Metal
I was out in the garage last Tuesday, staring at a cracked cast-iron skillet that a neighbor had practically begged me to throw away. He’d spent a fortune on one of those fancy, pre-packaged metal repair kits he saw in Continue reading Essential Tools for Metal Repair Kits
I remember sitting in my first industrial shop back in the seventies, the air thick with the smell of ozone and hot scale, watching a young apprentice try to hide a botched weld by slapping on a generic, sandblasted finish. Continue reading Creating Textures on Metal Surfaces
I remember sitting in my old mentor’s shop back in the seventies, the air thick with the smell of burnt oil and fine iron dust, watching him work a single chisel for nearly an hour. A younger version of me Continue reading Sharpening Metal Cutting Tools
I remember standing over a workbench in a cramped shop back in ’84, watching a young apprentice try to save a few bucks by mixing a DIY batch of metal etching acid without a lick of sense. The smell of Continue reading Using Acid for Metal Etching