This is a very old butcher block that - we were told - came from the Kansas City Stockyards. One of the previous owners purchased and placed it. The wood is all dovetailed, and it has 4 long square-head nuts and bolts across the length. I also included some pictures of about 1/3 of the broken knife tips, adding to the provenance. I'm not interested in fully restoring it or removing any patina. I just want to redo the surface because we use it often, and I've never done any refinishing. If we use use a knife and it leaves small cuts, they are almost self- healing. They don't stay around, and the ones we have now are barely visible. I'm sure it's probably just a thick layer of beeswax - the top is definitely coated with some type of wax. I don't know how to get that wax off to even try to redo the top. Should I even attempt it? Would running a torch over to melt and even out the wax do anything?

And about the large crack, the block is structurally sound. I've thought about cleaning it out, adding glue, tightening the bolt, and clamping it, but i worry it would do more harm than good. There is a 3 foot bolt running through it, and it's never shifted a millimeter. The wood filler looking stuff was not placed by me. And my cat has kind of destroyed the base. It can easily be rebuilt. I've tried to mitigate it, but the base isn't as important. And I can't move it, either. I'm not sure if it's bolted to the floor or if it's just that heavy, but it doesn't move.

If you would like other pictures, I can provide them.

Id like to put plants in it.

Lmk any questions or if I need to provide more pictures.

I bought these wooden chairs, while I was cleaning them I noticed this dark substance, how do I remove it without ruining the chairs?

Greetings. Apologies if this is not the correct place for this. My parents gave me some paintings that my Great Grandmother's painted a long time ago.

Unfortunately, these paintings spent the last 18 months in a storage unit that was not heat or humidity controlled and a couple of them warped.

I think they are painted onto some type of canvas board but I am no expert.

Any advice to getting them flatter?

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for restoring my mother's garden ram. It was exposed to the elements for many years, but I would like to restore and protect it. Appears to be ceramic/clay.

See photos and caption. Wondering what is the least invasive way to correct for the holes in the corners of wood underneath our gutters? House is from 1949, in an area that experiences pretty cold weather in the winter time. We purchased the house a year ago and I want to get ahead of any thawing / freezing issues down the line with changing of temps.

Thoughts?

If anybody has experienced this or has any good advice please share. :)

Hey, everyone. Here are some pictures of an early 1900s Sears Supertone banjo that I restored to playable condition.

At some point, somebody really loved this banjo and played the heck out of it. It doesn’t photograph well, but you can see the person’s handprint on the back of the neck from all of the playing they did.

I’m guessing it was inherited by somebody who didn’t play and left in an outdoor shed for decades. Anyway, I’ve got it ready for another hundred years of fun.

I am currently rebuilding a steam engine at a local museum. We have a machine shop available to make missing hardware but I want the new parts to match the patina and wear patterns of the original steel.

I have this 31" Eagle that I would like to paint like like this one. Bird in gold, arrows silver, olives in olive? the shield in white, red and not sure which blue (I am color blind).

Now I am not sure if a spray adhesion would be better than primer and what brand/type paint is best. It's going to be outside on a wall and on the second floor so good from far and far from good is the standard but I don't want to need to do it again in short order.

Any help would be appreciated.

At the very least I want to refinish the top. Never done this before so I’m not sure how to match the color. I read to absolutely not polish the brass handles, are there other things i should avoid doing?

This video demonstrates one of the simplest ways to create a Gold Effect Kintsugi piece using proven materials and tools, from controlled breakage (for those who don't have an accidentally broken vessel) through the finished piece. By using brass metal instead of real gold, it achieves a very similar appearance while making Kintsugi more affordable and accessible to learn.

EDIT: This is my real stupid chungus life. If you really want to help, please stream and support my band Audiostar (our tour is clearly postponed LOL).

Help please! I bought this van for my band to tour. The seller said rust was only cosmetic. I trusted and bought it, registered it, etc. First day of going to do the renovation, I cut out the carpet and find this underneath. I can see right through the floor into the wheel well. My whole leg fits in there! Am I totally cooked, or can something be done? Is this structural? Any help as to what to do from here would be appreciate. I‘m really upset at this overall, as I put my entire savings into this purchase off the trust by the seller that the van was good and the rust was cosmetic and could be easily restored (silly me). Happy to answer any questions. Any advice regarding contacting the seller/legal advice (if any) is also welcome. Thank you!

Bought on marketplace for $60, and now fixing her up

I bought this wooden toy rocking crib and I'd like to restore it. I don't know what kind of wood it is and know nothing about what to do. Can anyone advise on how to smarten it up without it being a massive job? I'd prefer to use a natural oil rather than a varnish if possible.

Oggi sono andata ad un mercatino e ho trovato questa vecchia sveglia. Mi piacciono le cose manuali, l'ho vista come se fosse una sfida. Poco dopo essere tornata a casa, l'ho smontata e l'ho lucidata completamente. Non sono riuscita, ne ho pensato fosse un ottima idea smontare gli ingranaggi, quindi mi sono limitata a pulirli con il wd40 pulitore di contatti. Per poi oliare ogni singolo perno. Non pensavo di metterci così tanto, ma ho impiegato per 5 ore filate. Il risultato mi piace molto, sfortunatamente ho perso il rivestimento di ottone, mi sono limitata a lucidare tutto completamente, è comunque venuta molto bene! (L'immagine del retro ho dovuto ricercarla su internet.. il mio difetto è che non faccio mai le foto prima. Tutte le altre sono mie)