Antique Screwdriver Tool Restoration
I really wanted to do a restoration video on one of these antique screwdrivers with wooden handles and I was lucky enough to find one. I thought this would be a quick and easy video to make, but it ended up being much more complicated than I expected. I made about 10 attempts at the handles before I was able to produce something I was satisfied with. The subtle angle at the top and bottom of the handle was very difficult to reproduce and each side has a slightly different shape/length than the other.
In retrospect I probably shouldn't have polished the metal before fitting the handles because I had to sand off the excess epoxy. It wasn't as big of a deal since I had already done most of the hard work of removing the deep rust pitting.
No one has been able to correctly guess the type of wood I used on my cleaver yet. Hopefully you guys can do better this time. ;-)
(Hint: it was the most expensive wood per board foot at the lumber yard I bought it from)
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The most beautiful and elegant screwdriver I have ever seen. A design classic! Now restored to look even better than is was when new!
That screwdriver never looked as good as it did in its lifetime. What a fabulous result!
This type of screwdriver was the 'cheap' range for one of the American stores like Sears about 100 years ago. How many of today’s cheap hand tools will be around in 10 years never mind 100. Another brilliant restoration, very nicely done. But I’m afraid your great great great grandson may have to restore it again.
Beautiful job with all the polishing, the handle etc. If I may make a suggestion, though, I would have re-ground the very tip at the end so that it has a more defined shape and is less likely to slip out of the screw slot.
That's not just a screwdriver. It's a work of art. Outstanding work on this :3
What an elegant piece. Beautiful restoration. Thank you.
Wow, nice job! I glued the scales on a perfect handle screwdriver and I had every yahoo on youtube telling me it would not work. It has been at least a year and they still on tight. You really do a first class job polishing. Cheers
Very nice job of rebuilding and old screwdriver. I have a lot of these "perfect" handled screwdrivers from tiny to very large ones. This type of handle with the wooden scales are used on a number of other tools. Alvin made this type of straight screw diver famous and are quite expensive. Cabinet makers and gunsmiths often use them. If it were my tool I would have kept the wooden parts and re-ground the tip for a specific screw head. Then I would continue using it to restore or repair other projects. Thanks for the video!
its amazing the amount of work people would put into making a simple tool
that screwdriver is a treasure.. wonderful restoration ..
Walnut, truly stunning job!
Well done, a tool for another 100 plus years!
linseed oil was a nice touch. really shows the grain
I'm also guessing walnut...nice restoration!
What a fantastic job you made of that. Well done!
Perfect job!
Very good work here my friend. Those are tools that will last forever and now it's shining like a brand new one.
It does look good. I have one which I restored in almost exactly the same manner but was told that they were originally black coated instead of mirror bright, lol!
Wow you did a great job!
Superb job and think those handles needed replacement. Sometimes wood goes hard and splintery. I nice smooth, newly oiled handle is beautiful to use.
Hickory and I love this video 👏👏👏👏👏
Great restoration.
AWESOME Job!!!
Nice job man.
Oh so beautiful!
Fantastic job
All I can say is, NICE!
Suuuper! Pretty good work!
Very good restoration bro 👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏
I'm going to say Walnut.. A very Nice Job
cherry, it burned when he looked at it lol XD
Pretty cool!
Una maravilla te quedo el pulido buenisimo, un saludo
Nice job. I'm going with mahogany or teak... although no very little about hardwoods.
Really fine job. I prefer to save the original wood whenever possible, but I think you honored the history of this piece by taking so much time to get those pesky angles right. The brass pins were a nice touch. #throwawaythethroawayculture
Is it walnut. Making me think it's time to do the handles on my 3 screwdrivers like that
Cool job,,,,Nice restoration,,,,
Cherry wood. Nice restoration.
Nice restoration good job! And it seems like its Cordia Wood ( Bocote ) or maybe Lignum Vitae ( Guayacan ).
Is bet $15k that the finished piece get restored is higher and better quality than when it was new
Awesome!!!
Amazing😊
I saw the screwdriver which My 'Mechanics' restored which motivated me to do the same with the one I had. It's a larger, number 6 driver but was in pretty bad condition. The shaft was bent in 2 places, one of the brass pins in the handle was missing and replaced with a bent nail, the wood was in poor condition and the tip looked like it had been used as a pry bar or chisel. I'm glad I restored it and it now sits with all my other screw drivers :). Interestingly, I restored my screwdriver in almost the exact same way and encountered the exact same issues as you did...lol! I ended up using Silky Oak for my handles. BTW, I don't know who made my screwdriver. It has crossed pliers on a shield on the tang of the screwdriver as a logo and a Germany mark stamped on the shaft. Anyone got any ideas?
Very awesome redo, I love the look of those screwdrivers. The brass pins are really only decorative since you use epoxy right?, or do they serve structural purpose. I think I could possibly do one without pins, they seem to add complexity, (but look great also). Nice job
They add stability considering you will torque the handles when driving screws.
i can't believe, after all that work, you went and used it, as a screwdriver.
Perfect.
I guess walnut. We used boiled linseed oil to polish our M14 stocks in MARINE CORPS boot camp. We rubbed those things until our hands felt like catchers mitts.
I hawe a few of these flatheaded drivers, no phillips headed ever made?
=D 5+ работа классная! work a cool!
very nice
Nice work! What size brass pins are those ?
well done
Nice job. But there was a fair bit of rust on the tang when you put the handles on.
The wooden handle might be rosewood. They were very popular for making tool handles.
Hickory handle or maybe Teakwood??
Good for another 100 years.
Bravo,! How long did that restoration take?
10:18
will go for Iroko?
The wood is reclaimed timber from Atlantis
Pretty sure it's walnut. You may have lost the temper in the working end when you squared it off. The heat generated may have been enough to cause it to anneal. I would have re-tempered it just to be safe. If it's only for show, then no need to temper. Beautiful result. Probably never looked as good even off the shelf.
Yes, true about the temper of the tip. I have and restored a larger one of these but I fortunately have a slow water cooled/lubricated Tormek grinder which I used to regrind the tip. This one was made by Lenox but I'm not sure who made the one I have. It has a partially worn away mark on the shank which says Germany and another word which looks like 'Woodline'. There is also a logo which looks like a pair of crossed pliers on a shield. Any ideas anyone?
Real nice job. Now I wouldn’t want to use it!
I believe it’s black walnut !
Nice .. Do some big jobs.
I HAVE THE SAME ONE!!!
Is the wood Walnut or Beech?
The handle wood looks like Mahoganyof some species, maybe Honduras.
I believe that screwdriver could be part of a set. That was supplied with WW2 tanks I have a set.
Oh that's pretty neat!
Is the wood pine?
Given my knowledge of wood types I would have to say there are three possibilities: ash pine or walnut
Chuminga la Pocha!!!
Cool
I think it’s walnut but I’m not sure...
حلو
Is it walnut?
Лайк за анонс в конце.
you could have maybe used wood putty to get the back of the handle shape put the putty in then press the wod in to get the shape then pull it out and let it dry
Tried that... it shrinks when it dries... so the template becomes too small... good thought though!
Too bad I don’t have all those machines. I have 3 of these i wanna restore.
Similar to what came in a model t toolkits
I think the preferred wood was walnut.
Suck a simple tool but what a thing of beauty! 😍
I'm guessing the wood you're using is mahogany.
3:09 GOI paste ? )
👍👍👍👍
Didn't someone else do this exact same thing already?
My Mechanics has a similar video with a larger screwdriver. His methods are slightly different than mine. To be fair, this is a criticism you could apply to almost any restoration video. Stay tuned, though. I have a video coming out restoring something I haven't seen anyone else do yet!
Yes, and luckily he did his anyway. You get to see a different take on the restoration. Besides, if you like axes you don't want one axe restoration on KZhead. You want to see more. There's always a new technique or something they didn't explain or get the best angle on.
I know it’s walnut,I can tell by the grain. Black walnut maybe
6:24 "Brass rod not ideal for mixing epoxy"
Omg LMAO!!! Really? XD
Wood is walnut?
The profile of the tip is to rounded
...I remember when I lost it...
I thought the wood was actually Chestnut
Walnut!
old handles was most expensive detail. should use ultrasound for clean, then epoxy liquid and grade. i think. wery sad for a handles)(
Black walnut
Неплохо.
Mahogany?
Walnut
Dang! That’s a piece of art work…I wouldn’t let anyone in the house use it! Well done!
The handle looks a bit too beefy. And the finished product looks like something a murderer might use. I have a number of screwdrivers like that, now I might go and restore them, too )
You want a beefy handle for torque.
No disrespect intended, but why did you ruin the original handle when you could have restored the whole thing without removing it?
Going through all that work to polish a turd, I would have gone with Rose wood for the handles. Absolutely love the finished product! Makes me want to go redo my perfect handle divers!!
Overexploitation has caused Rose wood to be protected worldwide. Banned in the U.S.
I wish more things had wooden handles, or woodgrain in general.
Black Walnut