When I was younger, there was a popular song with the title “New Lives for Old” sung by Wayne Watson. It was about a man who stood on the street corner preaching the Gospel and the people who would just walk by thinking he was just a fool. 
There is a store not too far from our Corps that is run by someone that is considered to be a hoarder. It is so full you can barely make it down the aisles to look at all of the “stuff”. One day as we were looking, I found 8 old rusty handsaws. I am always looking for new crafts to do during our Tuesday Morning Craft Time, so I purchased all of them for just $2.00 each. I research the beloved “Pinterest” Internet Site to find a way to make these once usable saws into something that would give them a new purpose.
Click HERE are the steps as directed.
Instructions:
- Choose a good saw blade—circular, hand or two-man.
I’m not sure what they mean when they say “good”. Ours were very rusty and the handles needed some work.
- Clean the blade with steel wool; remove rust and oil residues.
Wow! Talk about rust—steel wool alone would not work on ours. They were that bad.
I sanded them down with a hand sander before bringing them to class. The next step was using 60 grit and 100 grit sandpaper. This step you must be very careful with. The blades are still sharp and with the rust can be dangerous. And to get the last little bit off, we painted the saw with “Krud Kutter” found in any hardware store. (Please read the warnings on the back so you and your ladies use it safely).
- Dry it thoroughly.
You have to wash the “Krud Kutter” off. Please use gloves while doing this.
- Spray on a coat of metal
Primer.
When doing this step, you will want to be in a well vented area. If you have ladies with lung issues, you might want to use a mask. We didn’t use a spray. We used “Kilz”. It has to be oil based so it adheres to the metal properly.
- After the primer dries, ad a base coat of flat black acrylic paint on the blade.
We used Black Chalk paint because it was what we had on hand. It took a couple of coats to get this to cover up the primer paint.
- Draw your pattern with white chalk. Patterns can be found anywhere metal-painting supplies are sold, or you can make up your own design. A neat idea is to put your name and address on it and hang it on the mailbox post.
I printed off pictures from Pinterest of painted sawblades and had them handy for the ladies just to give them ideas. I also cut pieces of brown paper the same size and shape of the saws to practice on before we even got to the painting stage. [AND..I am not sure if putting the saw on your mailbox post is really a good idea???]
- Start at the top left and work your way down. This will help keep your hand out of the fresh paint.
- You can use oils or acrylics. Oils take much longer to dry, but look smoother.
We used acrylics. You can purchase them at Walmart at a reasonable cost
- Paint the picture or pattern you like. Let it dry completely.
- Finish with several coats (follow the manufacturer’s directions) of a clear, outdoor-quality varnish such as Varathane.
And there you have it. It did take us several weeks to complete this process. But in the meantime, while we were working on these used up, rusted old useless pieces of metal, we had great fellowship and shared about our lives. We began to see the correlation to what God does in our lives. He came searching for us. Maybe he found us all tucked away and forgotten about. He sees potential and picks us up with his well-worn, scarred hands because he sees us with his eyes. He sees us and knows what we are capable of. He sees beyond all of our nicks and rust and missing teeth. And with the touch of the Masters hands, through a process that is sometimes as painful as the sandpaper on the saw, he takes us down to the raw edge.
Then, he paints a healing salve on our exposed areas. He waits because he knows the process is accompanied with long suffering and perseverance. And then the most amazing thing happens. He begins to paint a beautiful picture that would be our new life with brilliant colors that only he can use. When he is done, with tears in his eyes, he holds it up for all the world to see. For all who see it—it gives hope!
NEW LIVES FOR OLD BY WAYNE WATSON
They say he ran a carnival, he used to come to town
‘Til one September afternoon he shut it down
They tell me something happened, some say he lost his mind
Now most September afternoons this is what you’ll find
An old man on the corner where he used to sell his show
Now he shouts what sounds like foolishness
As the people come and go
CHORUS:
New lives for old
Warm hearts for cold
Have I got a deal for you today
C’mon, step right this way
And get your new lives for old
He puts it in the paper, he goes from door to door
The people say he’s such a fool to come back for more
Old friends are mostly puzzled, they don’t know what to say
Cause ever since that afternoon he’s just been that way
It’s like the old man died and someone came to take his place
Now he just stands out there bellowin’
A smile upon his wrinkled face
Remembering the story as I once passed through that town
I thought I ought to stop and see if he’s still around
There was someone on that corner where I heard he’d always stand
And he chuckled when I asked where I could find the man
He said “Thank God that crazy fool finally died last spring”
And I said “I’ll take up where he left off then
‘Cause I’m pushing the same thing”
