Inspiring repair cafe makes old garden tools like new | Wow to | Gardening Australia

Costa lives by the 3 Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - but he believes there should be a fourth R - Repair. He visits a repair café in inner city Sydney to learn how to give his old garden tools a new lease of life.
The repair café is not a free repair centre; it’s a workshop where people can bring broken items and learn how to repair them. Apart from saving resources and money, and keeping useful goods out of landfill, Luke Mitchell, workshop manager at the Bower Repair Centre in Redfern, says using repaired goods is rewarding and satisfying, too.
Costa has a box of his grandfather’s tools to work on, including a saw.
Other visitors have brought in a spade with a broken handle, a pair of secateurs that needs a new spring, as well as cleaning and sharpening, and a pair of shears that was blunt and had a broken handle.
1. To clean and sharpen a saw
What you will need:
Rusty, blunt saw!
Screwdriver
Vinegar
Steel wool
Sponge
Sandpaper
Linseed or other wood oil, plus brush or rag to apply
Bench vice, plus two pieces of scrap wood
Saw file sharpener (called a Cant file)
Clean rag
What you do:
Use screwdriver to remove screws from saw handle. Remove handle.
Pour a little vinegar on the blade and scour it with the steel wool to remove any rust. Wipe it clean with the sponge.
If needed, lightly sand back the timber saw handle; Costa leaves his because it has some lovely carvings on. Now apply the timber oil quite thickly, using the rag or a brush - allow enough to soak in.
Put the scrap wood on either side of the saw blade and clamp it tightly in place so it can be sharpened. Run the file through the gaps in the teeth to sharpen edges.
Wipe off any excess oil from the handle using the clean rag, then replace the handle on the blade.
2. To revitalise rusty secateurs
What you need:
Secateurs
Screwdriver
Steel wool
Vinegar
Machine oil.
Sharpening stone or file.
New spring, if needed
What you do:
Take apart the secateurs using a screwdriver.
Clean off rust with a steel wool and vinegar.
Oil the blades with machine oil.
Sharpen blades on a sharpening stone, a file or knife-sharpening tool.
Put back together.
Install new spring if required.
You can use this same method for hedging shears or larger pruning shears.
3. To repair a rusty spade or shovel
What you need:
Shovel
Damp cloth
Steel wool
Vinegar
Metal file sharpener
Sandpaper
Clean rag
Linseed or other wood oil
What you do:
First clean soil from the shovel with a damp cloth, then remove rust from the shovel-head using steel wool and vinegar. Minimise the amount of steel removed to keep the shovel-head strong.
Use a metal file to sharpen the edges of the tool. Again, remove the least amount of steel to make it sharp and prioritise removing any nicks in the metal.
Smooth the handle with sandpaper. You can also run the sandpaper over the shovel-head to polish the metal.
Use a clean rag to apply lubricating oil to the wooden handle and metal blade. Wipe off excess and allow it to dry.
Preventative maintenance
It’s easy to repair your gardening tools to make them look like new, and here’s some advice on how to keep them that way. At the end of every gardening day, spend the time to:
Rinse off mud and dirt from your tools and wipe them down
Hang tools rather than have them standing on an edge, or clanging with each other
Occasionally wipe with oil.
You can store tools in a sand bucket to keep them clean and sharp
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[@grainovsand3229]

Another 10/10 from Costa and the gang. I'm off to my local antique shop to find some gems to restore!

[@catey62]

One of my favourite things to do. explore antique shops and find treasures I can take him to fix up and use.

[@hollykeddie753]

This is the most amazing idea I've seen in years. What an inspirational guy and there needs to be a few million more like you !!

[@teamoceanox3335]

everyone do the 4 R's Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and REPAIR!!!

[@WatchingMyLifeFlashB]

Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, he or she can eat for a lifetime. To see that elderly lady sharpening the serrated sawblade was awesome. Too many people, with their uncaring use, trash their tools, toss them into the trash, & mindlessly purchase newer, inferior tools in a sick cycle. This is almost like seeing a kid learning to fix his bike & then showing pride in it. Good stuff. I wish that there would open up similar cafes concerning sewing, soapmaking, butter making, laundry issues, restoration of kitchen paraphernalia for the younger generations. These things aren't being taught by parents who either don't know how or would rather pay someone else & schools are about learning to obey in regurgitating the latest Newspeak propaganda. With just a little instruction, more people would have their common sense expanded upon enough to become more independent from the consumer industry. Reuse & reduction of waste soon enough becomes production of real proportions. People want to use what they've learned to create something unique rather than replacethe mundane.

[@krisa9022]

Awesome, I've been wanting to rejuvenate my tools for a while. I had no idea it could be that simple.

[@RGRGJKK]

Great idea part of circular economic reuse old hand tools that are better than new one today pura vida

[@frenchandpinayssimplelifei1174]

Great video

[@bleepdupdupbloop6777]

Farkin costa mate what a bloke!

[@chezgirlrose7654]

Great video, I wish we had one of these cafe here in Townsville ... my question is, how did Dave sharpen his segatares (sorry about the spelling, Google doesn’t want to help me out today lol 😉). Thanks guys 👍🏼

[@freeman10000]

Enjoyable video

[@xxxxharry]

Thanks Mate

[@AustralianRadioindie]

Ok Looking forward for friday night info cheers

[@michele5861]

Hi is there a Repair Cafe in Melbourne to repair my tools?

[@jamie8510]

What type of oil do you use for the wooden handle? Great video by the way, thanks!

[@alfonsomunoz4424]

Linseed. Preferably raw because it is chemical free and it dries more slowly so penetrates the wood better.

[@isabelleer7501]

When the Fab 5 goes to Australia can we let them work on the beard? I bet they would love learning about gardening and sustainable practices!

[@chezgirlrose7654]

How did Dave sharpen his segaters (sorry for the wrong spelling, google doesn’t want to help me today 😉) mine are as blunt as. Thanks guys.

[@kowe76]

Soo close for a beard trim....Maybe next time 🤣🤣

[@catey62]

Lol..was thinking the same thing..

[@myunknownland9272]

How do I make new handles for broken Tools?

[@papakelt1]

To do it properly you would turn them up on a lathe

[@dennisharold5030]

This time I will do it manually with the help of Woodglut designs.