The Discarded Workshop

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Canada
Hamilton, ON
The Discarded Workshop

Furniture repair and custom pieces using primarily hand-tools and reclaimed lumber

06/18/2026

To hold all your treasures

For sale: dm for pricing

Last October, I went to the store and saw this on the side of the road. I stopped looked at it, said no it's too much work and went to the store. On the way back I stopped again. The light was hitting the antique glass, the waves also shimmering. I texted my friend with a truck "can you help". While we were loading the owner who put it on the street comes out, talked to her for a bit, and then comes out with glass mosaic. I couldn't believe my luck. Anyways it sat in the shop for months. As I hummed and hawed about what to do. Finally, deciding to save only the glass case. Every single part has been taken apart, cleaned and reglued. I would say conservatively 80-100hrs of work has gone into getting it to this condition. But it sure is lovely and I'm pretty proud of myself to get it to this condition.

Art and crafts early 1900s glass display case with clear stained glass mosaic. Solid quarter saw oak throughout. Back is a period appropriate William and Morris wallpaper that is peel and stick if wanting to remove it. Completely repaired and refinished. 4 shelves that are very sturdy. This is lovely functional antique piece of furniture, that will require some care when using.

Some minor damage shows on one side nothing inconsistent with something for it's age.

One glass piece has a tiny chip in mosiac.

The door opens and closes however is sticky when closing as shown in video.

06/11/2026

Dressers of different styles

I've been trying to catch up on posting some work from this year. I've got all the pics just haven't taken the time to post

First up in the most recent and is a stunning transformation of this 1980s oak dresser. In my experience, black stain can be a frustrating stain to work with and can obscure the grain of the wood. Not on oak it came out stunning with the open grain coming through. The handles buffed to a nice brass.

2nd from way back in February. This great family heirloom dresser/secretariat. They just wanted it repaired and too look like it would have when it was new! Mission accomplished. The oak mahogany is so rich and the cherrywood 2nd was easy to colour match. Again these came out so nice!

Both were a pleasure to work on!

Do you have something that needs updating, send me a dm, and I can see what I can do for you.

06/09/2026

Vintage oak nightstands.

$350 for the pair

These nightstands are made of a combination oak veneer over plywood and solid oak. Are very sturdy and well made. Drawers are on runner and open and close smoothly. Stained black means the lovely oak grain comes through, offering a beautiful look and texture. Finished in satin lacquer.

Dimesions 25"h x18w× 18d

Please note they were built at a time where new pieces had tiny little holes to make them look "vintage" this does not in any way effect the use of the piece but adds a little quirk.

Check our my other listings or if you are interested in a commision a piece of your own check out my Instagram or my website @gmail.com

06/03/2026

Pine ages the most beautifully of all woods. Is a hill I will die one.

Here are a couple transformations that really wowed me the last couple of months.

The first was this antique pine table if you followed my stories I had dated it to around 1860s. The real star was the top, this stunning clear pine. Once the old oil based poly was stripped back just allowed the the grain to shine and had incredible chatoyancy. I tried to keep the sanding minimal to keep the deep knife marks and pot burn marks visible.
Now a secret, that I swore I would never do. The legs, were solid walnut, and I painted over them (shocks and gasps of horror can be heard). They were covered in lead paint that would have been cumbersome and too time consuming to remove entirely, also dark legs would have taken away from the top which was now the star. Paint has always been used on furniture and keeping the legs light, I think means this table will be used for generations to come! I still chuckled to myself the entire time I was painting though

The next was this really beat up mid century small buffet, it was in bad condition and super dated, however after the repairs were made, 3 coats of this lovely soft white, really transformed the buffet for future use.

Lastly the chair, a neighbor had tossed out because the cane failed. So they trusted me to weave a new seat that I was pleasantly pleased with!

04/10/2026

I think it's time for a proper introduction! I'm Blake McCall and I'm The Discarded Workshop. I work in a small shop primarily with handtools, and I'm attempting to be as sensitive to the impact on the land, water and air as I can be.
I accept commissions, so if you've got a piece that needs some repair or restoring, message me or check out my website at the link in my bio.

03/26/2026

On repair,

There is little emotional attachment to this cutting board. It's not fancy, bought by my partner as she was starting grad school 17 years ago. It's generic from Crappy tire. So why even bother. We have others.

I think for me it has so much to do with curiosity. Can I fix it? Probably it's just a board. But for me I think it's a question of how long can it last is what is motivating me. Here is a tool that is used everyday, maybe every other, it has sit in water causing some mild decay at the edges. But it still works. How long before we can't use it anymore and what is that tipping point. A quick reglue, a sand, and an oil basically made it like new after 17 years. There no reason really it won't last another or is there something.

It's a long game that I think if played well will outlast me.

Address

Hamilton, ON

Website

http://thediscardedworkshop.ca/

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