How-To: Clean and Restore Old Tools with Common Household Items

Whenever I head back home to the Midwest to visit my family, my dad and I always schedule at least one afternoon to spend together, scouring local antique stores for beautiful old hand tools. Why? Because, beneath years of dirt and grime, we’ve found files, planes, screwdrivers, and hand-drills that have turned out to be some of our favorite and most-reliable tools in our workshops—all they needed was a bit of cleaning and some basic maintenance to bring them back into good working order. So, if you’ve been collecting old tools but not using them, maybe it’s time to put ’em back to work! This helpful guide to cleaning old tools with common household items that Anne Briggs from Anne of All Trades shared on Craftsy is a great place to start.

Much like my beloved 1936 Singer Featherweight sewing machine that still sews better than most of my modern machines, many older tools were made to last generations. And, if you treat them right, they will!

Ready get started? Click here to show your old tools some love.