Category Archives: Restoration

I remember sitting at my workbench last Tuesday, staring at a moth-eaten wool waistcoat that looked like it had been dragged through a briar patch. Most folks see a piece of old cloth and think they need to spend a Continue reading Stop Treating History Like Disposable Junk: the Slow, Disciplined Art of Cleaning and Preserving Historical Textile Artifacts.→

I remember sitting in my old workshop back in ’84, staring at a cracked landscape that had more flaking paint than actual scenery. A fellow craftsman tried to tell me I needed a specialized laboratory and a degree in chemistry Continue reading Stop Rushing the Restoration: Why Patience Is the Only Way to Master Techniques for Repairing Damaged Antique Oil Paintings.→

Most folks think that bringing old stone walls back to life is just a matter of grabbing a bag of modern cement and slapping it into the gaps like they’re filling a pothole on the highway. That’s a mistake that’ll Continue reading A No-nonsense Guide to Bringing Old Stone Walls Back to Life→

I remember standing over a heavy workbench in a fabrication shop back in ’84, the air thick with the smell of cutting oil and the rhythmic, grating screech of a junior apprentice who thought he could finish a job in Continue reading Techniques for Manual Metal Filing→

I remember standing in a fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a young apprentice blow through a perfectly good piece of mild steel because he’d grabbed a dull, cheap saw blade just to save a couple of dollars. The smell Continue reading Essential Tools for Cutting Metal→

I remember a job back in ’88, working on a custom brass fitting for a client who thought he could save a few bucks by buying a generic, bargain-bin buffing setup. I watched him spend four hours fighting with a Continue reading Selecting the Right Polishing Wheels→

I remember standing in a drafty fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a young apprentice try to force a heavy-duty joint together using nothing but a pneumatic gun and a prayer. He was rushing, trying to bypass the fundamentals of Continue reading Methods for Metal Riveting→

I remember standing over a workbench in a drafty shop back in ’84, watching a young apprentice ruin a perfectly good piece of high-carbon steel because he thought he could skip the soak time. He was impatient, treating metal heat Continue reading The Importance of Heat Treating Metal→

I remember sitting in a drafty shop back in ’84, staring at a botched assembly where the builder had tried to force a square peg into a round hole using nothing but brute strength and a prayer. He’d skipped the Continue reading Achieving Tight Fits in Metalwork→

I remember sitting in a cramped, soot-stained workshop back in ’84, listening to the rhythmic clink-clink-clink of a hammer hitting an anvil while the smell of hot iron and burnt oil filled my lungs. I watched a young apprentice try Continue reading Fundamental Metal Fabrication Skills→