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...

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 —...

Fast and easy, lasers can literally blast rust away in minutes. I’ve already created lots of things in my woodshop laser center, but with my latest project I didn’t create a single [...]

This beauty dates from 1939. The motor hangs off the back, like a contractor’s saw, but the trunnions are bolted to the body, like a cabinet saw. The body is...

Back in the late 1960’s, the folks at Record tools in Sheffield, England, redesigned their classic 044 plow plane (or plough plane, as they spelled it). It’s a tool used...

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...

I collect all sorts of old tools. I figure that come the day when I need an unusual tool, I’ll have it, even if I only use it once. I’m...

I use dividers regularly in my work. They’re indispensable for spacing out and dividing lengths—whether laying out dovetails, bisecting a line by drawing intersecting arcs, or sketching circles [...]

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...

“So this is what they used to look like. Wow!” That’s what I told all my friends after spending hours completely disassembling, cleaning and polishing a Porter-Cable Model 507 Extra...