Archives

An antique dealer’s secret formula for turning gunk into glow. I’ll bet you’ve got an old, tarnished plane sitting somewhere in your shop. Maybe it was your grandfather’s tool–one he...

My students learn two things about me very quickly: I care deeply about their education, and I care just as deeply about the tools we use while learning together. In...

Logan loves his vintage woodworking machinery, and when the opportunity arose to purchase a 1950s MOAK jointer, he knew he couldn’t pass it up. The jointer needed work though —...

As most of you probably know by now, I’m a woodworker who doesn’t let a bit of rust stand in the way of putting a tool back to work —...

Tapping a New Thread When you can’t find the right thumb screw for an old tool (see Part 1 here), your best option is to drill and tap a new...

Old chisels can be brought back to life using these simple steps. If ever there was a type of used hand tool that was a good candidate for restoration, it’s...

From the Archives: You don’t have to own a lathe to make replacement handles that will feel like an extension of your hand. A few months ago I had to...

Below you can see pictures of the restoration of the rosewood knob, which belongs to my Record SS plane (read part one here and part two here). After gluing a...

As I mentioned in the previous post, one of the primary reasons for a missing knob base is a traumatic fall that results in the bending of the knob screw...

As a collector and restorer of numerous bench planes, all stemming from the classic Stanley Bailey design, I can confidently say that the two components most prone to breakage or...

In my school’s woodworking program, we have a variety of chisels, ranging from wood-handled to plastic-handled. We even have a chisel without a handle, which is a full-tang hybrid between...

Vintage woodworking machinery can be a great bang for your buck.  Vintage woodworking tools have always held a certain appeal to me. Earlier this year, I was out in California...