Restoring a Carbon Steel Wok

A few years ago I gave Meg and Ben a carbon steel wok. It has a build up of carbon in the bottom and is ready for a "strip 'n season" (my girlfriends are convinced this would be a great business name if I ever decide to do this on the side- one even made a logo for it).

The carbon build up is only in the bottom of the pan, so I went with the localized oven cleaner spray, or "yellow cap treatment" in the cast iron enthusiast community (I know- nerdy).

First, I sprayed the built up areas with a good dose of the spray (use goggles and gloves) then wrapped it up in a garbage bag to soak for a couple of hours.

Before treating

After soaking, some of the carbon had bubbled up, but not all. I gave it a rinse and scrub (using PPE as always) and then gave it another spray and soak in the garbage bag (this time about 24 hours).

Carbon build-up is bubbling from cleaner

After the second soak, I gave it a good scrub with my chainmail and then Barkeeper's Friend. There were still a few small areas at the bottom, but not enough to warrant an additional cycle.

After stripping. The other color variations don't affect the surface 

I dried the wok well with a minute of heat on the range (but not so hot I couldn't handle it) then proceeded to rub it with a thin layer of Crisco and a clean rag. I put in in the oven at 400 upside down for one hour. After this seasoning, I anticipate it can be maintained with a quick wipe of oil. 

Surface is smoother with the seasoning

Now- to preventative maintenance:

• Rinse/soak right after using, while it's still warm
• Scrub well with an abrasive scrub pad (or even chainmail)
• Dry with a bit of heat
• Give it a light coat of oil on the inside before storing

Water Ski Table & Sign

More fun with water skis. I got this pair of vintage Dekko Lake Region water skis at an online estate auction for $37. These were probably made in the mid-1970's and in were in surprisingly good condition. 

I cleaned the skis and removed the screws to remove the bindings. 

Bindings removed

After needing to fill all of the holes on the skis in my recent bench project, I opted to screw the binding clips back in place, thinking that it added to the ski appearance as well. It took me some time to figure out how I wanted to cut the skis, and exactly where, to preserve the designs as much as possible. I had to make careful measures and markings, given that the skis aren't flat, nor rectangular. I used Cara's miter saw to cut each ski into thirds, as well as the remaining length of 2x3 board I used in the bench, planning how I'd join the ends so the joints would be hidden under the table legs. The skis were wide enough that they couldn't be cut in one go, so there was dremel and hand sanding involved to smooth the cut edges. 

Frame assembled, ready to stain

I assemble the frame offsetting the screws so they wouldn't be in the way when I screwed on the table legs. I stained the frame and then gave it a coat of poly. I stained the cut ends of the skis and touched up the stain on the ends. I added a coat of gloss poly to the table top to protect it.

September

I wasn't quite done having fun with water skis. I got this vintage wood one off Facebook Marketplace for $10. I was going for a distressed look, and this already had it. I cleaned it, then put on two coats of poly. I added house numbers. The hardest part was figuring out how I wanted to mount it in the ground. I wanted to screw the ski to a 4x4 so the ski wouldn't be on the ground. Rather than a post that surrounds the 4x4 on all sides, I wanted a U-shaped one to allow the ski. I finally found one on Amazon. The screw in section that goes into the ground was enormous and well over 14" long. It was a big effort (and took over 2 hours) to dig a hole in the ground with all of the rocks in it and finally get the post screwed in.

Digging process

End result