Wood & Patina

The workshop

A single garage behind the house, shared with a bicycle and a lawnmower.

Why restoration

Good furniture used to be built to be repaired. Most of what ends up in a skip needs glue, patience and an afternoon, not a new life in landfill.

Tools

A bench with a vice, a few planes, chisels, a card scraper and clamps. The only power tools are a drill and a small sander, and the sander is used less every year.

Finishes

Shellac, oil and wax. They are forgiving, they can be repaired, and none of them need a respirator in a small space.

This journal

Every project gets written up when it is finished, with what went wrong as well as what went right. A new one appears roughly once a month.

Workbench with hand tools on the wall