I’ve just sent a chair restoration question to Tom Johnson of Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration in Gorham, Maine. (If you were a fan of his channel, you’d find that funny.) I edited the message a few times to tone down the fanboy. But, really, I find him very inspirational.

I got a bit aggressive while sanding off the old finish and it introduced a waviness to one side of the table, which became obvious after I applied a finish. Today I’m going to sand that down and try again. My goal for this weekend is to completely finish the table and get started on the chairs.

Rachel’s dad was cleaning out his garage and offered me this rickety workbench. I took it home and built a new top for it out of some salvaged studs from a hundred year old house. I fastened it to the wall and now it’s solid and serviceable.

It’s been a frustrating few days trying to get the finish right on this leaf of my in-laws’ table—and I still don’t have it right. But I’ve learned a lot more about finishes and techniques so 🤷‍♂️

One of my finds from my Friday drive was a Stanley no. 80 cabinet scraper. $15, which I thought was a pretty good price for one in such good condition. There was minor rusting on the hardware that came right off after a few hours in vinegar. Replacement blade coming from Lee Valley Tools.

A good weekend for cheap, reused stuff:

1. I came across a thrift/junk store (location: secret) with a large selection of old tools. I didn’t have time to look around much but I will go back next weekend.
2. My in-laws gave me a couple of old garage cabinets. Ain’t nothing fancy—but it freed up a lot of room.
3. An acquaintance gave us one of those roller composters. We’ve struggled with that kind of composting in the past but we’ll definitely try it again for free.
4. We found a bathroom cabinet for $10 in good condition. Rachel has had an eye out for one for a long time. Minor repairs, replaced a bit of hardware, painted it black.

I built a serving tray out of a gate I found alongside the road a few weeks ago. Plenty of flaws, but it was fun.

Door is done! Now everything around it needs new paint.

New video: Screen door, before painting.

I’m hoping to finish the screen door today. This morning I’ve been planing it to size. Maybe I’m sorta kinda almost maybe figuring out how to use planes? Also smoking pork spare ribs on the grill for the first time. And listening to a red-shouldered hawk make its way around the neighborhood.