50 Times Old Things Got A Second Chance At Life (New Pics)

The doors are about 130 years old, made from oak and are heritage protected. I am a carpenter and my job was to restore them, rebuild missing parts and treat the surface. I hope I did them justice.

I started this project not knowing exactly what to expect to find underneath all the old crusty white paint. I’ve also never worked with quarter sawn wood before and wasn’t sure if the medullary rays were a mistake from not sanding the door correctly. The Reddit community kindly let me know that this was a very valuable find and not a mistake. Super excited to be done with this project and have such a great looking door restored to its former glory. Thanks for all your help and kind responses.

Was mentioned I should post this here too

Found on marketplace for $30 and scrambled to get it before anyone else recognized it. Late 1970’s rare lamp, not a speck of paint left on her and shines like a mirror!

I made a DIY Barbie house with my "little" in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. My goal was to repurpose items or make things myself as much as possible.
I already had basically all the woodworking tools I used for this project, but this was my first big project with them. It was definitely trial and error to figure things out, so there were lots of mistakes made along the way.
Almost all of the furnishings and decor was made from thrifted odds and ends or bits of plywood and dowels. A few things were purchased at Dollar Tree or on clearance at various craft stores. My amazing mom sewed the table cloth, bedding, curtains, shower curtain, and towels. Most of the flooring is stick-on wall paper/decals from Dollar Tree. Kitchen flooring is shelf liner I already had (I think from Target). The "rugs" are placemats that I thrifted or bought at Dollar Tree.
If anyone has questions about where other items came from or how things were made, I'm happy to provide lots more detail.
(Side note: see my post history for kitchen cabinets that were later added... Sorry I don't have any photos of them in the house.)

I still have some more to go but I am just so happy I could cry. I bought this poor vanity a month and a half ago when it was just caked in chalk paint. It hid many secrets: gorgeous inlays, some child’s “artwork” of scratching the word “help” in the wood, and the manufacturer stamp! I have spent the last month and a half spending every free moment I have had into stripping off the most gooey, gross paint and sanding it until FINALLY tonight I am to this point. And I am so happy! Tomorrow I get to start staining but I am so proud of how far I have come. I have never done anything like this before and this was a pretty ambitious first project but it is paying off!

In 1963, my grandfather acquired some of these giant flywheels that were in an old factory that used the current from a stream to turn their spindle machines. They sat in his garage for decades until his passing. In 2021 they made their way to me and the other day I turned one of them into a table. Had to router out about 1/8” of the beveled inside edge to make the glass fit. Pretty happy with the way it cleaned up.

Restoration work was carried out: one side part of the seat, decorative parts of the legs and embossing were restored. The surface was covered with walnut stain, as well as three layers of oil and one layer of wax. The customer's upholstery was complemented with decorative nails along the edging. How do you like this restoration?

This is it's first time in the water, all finished. My father had never built a boat nor approached anything wood related to this degree. He used to do wreck diving as a hobby, but took this on as going into the cold murky depths off of Long Island is no longer appealing to a 63 year old man. He apprenticed with a boat restoration shop once a week and worked on his own boat in his spare time.

Found this antique end table at a storage auction; it’s essentially a miniature dropleaf dining table. Absolutely stunning cherry wood underneath!

Found on Facebook marketplace for $15 and refurbished as a nightstand.

Found in what we have dubbed the "horror room" in the basement of our century home, this table needed some serious tlc. I could have tossed it, but I needed a table for beside the window, and this was literally the perfect height to not block the window and add some extra storage/utility.
Top was scuffed, dented scratched and covered in construction dust. The bottom of the drawer was warped and falling apart. The slide-out panel was swollen stuck and had to be sanded down in place to be removed. The finish was chipping and there was a tar-like residue leftover from some kind of screwed on padding on the feet, not to mention the rusty screws still left in the base of the feet. And naturally, there was rusty hardware that needed to be replaced and split pieces of wood that needed to be glued back together.
In the end I used dollar store contact paper for the drawer and leftover stain and other materials, probably spent $30 max and got some quality bonding time with my new garage and enjoyed some lovely warm spring weather while working on it. Considering how beautiful the grain of the wood is and the hints of chatoyance, I am so in love with this table and happy to give it a new life. Many books will be read and mugs of tea set here.

Made quite a few mistakes but overall I’m happy with how it turned out. I had no idea the wood underneath the paint was so cool. I originally wanted to stain the trim but it was pretty battered and had been filled and painted black previously, so I just painted it to save myself the headache. I think it makes it a little goth anyway, which I love. I was refinishing it because I planned to sell it but now I’m not so sure I want to.
Ps the mirror was cracked in a moving accident. I’ve had it for 5 years.

This is a before/after of an early 1960’s Omega Seamaster Automatic that belonged to my Great Grandfather. I had it restored back in January and I can’t believe how well it turned out!
On a technical note, the watch got a new internal spring to get it running and some spring pins to put the bracelet back together. Everything else is completely original.
I added the leather strap to preserve the original steel bracelet, as it was a little wobbly. I also prefer the look. I’m almost positive it’s a knock—off, but I don’t really mind because I have the original bracelet that can easily be put back on.
I also understand that some aspects of a restoration can diminish the value of a vintage watch. I’m not particularly concerned with that either because I will never sell the watch, so resale value is irrelevant. I would much prefer the watch to look great, as I wear it to court with a suit and tie multiple times per week.
The restoration cost about $750 USD after tax. I estimate it’s worth somewhere in the ballpark of $1,500 in its current state.

Before and after pictures of my restoration of my grandfather’s old bench grinder. I suspect that he inherited it from my great uncle. The stand is actually the base for an old cream separator. The grinder housing and the stand are both cast iron making this thing heavy! Thus the addition of locking casters.

Sandblasted and painted everything. Replaced all the bolts with new. New power switch, bearings, belt, and wood top. New 8” wire and buffing wheels. Dismantled the electric motor to clean and check everything. Other than a mouse nest in it the motor was in amazingly good shape.

It’s so quiet now it’s unbelievable. They sure don’t make them like this anymore.